# Abhigyan Jha

Abhigyan Jha is an Indian film screenwriter, producer, director, writer and entrepreneur who has worked predominantly in Hindi film and television industry. He has written story for film Krishna Cottage (2004), Phir Zindagi and TV show, Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahaan, and made his directorial debut with Sacred Evil – A True Story (2006). He is the creator and director of Jay Hind!, exclusively made for the Internet. He also directed and produced the late-night talk show Movers & Shakers for Sony.
He is the co-founder of Undercover Utopia. He is also a co-founder of ProMytheUs, a machine learning talent discovery platform.
His latest directorial venture is the groundbreaking science fiction series Janani – AI Ki Kahani (2024) on Dangal TV, acclaimed for its unprecedented action sequences and VFX showcasing robots and artificial intelligence. He also produced Qayaamat Se Qayaamat Tak (2024) in collaboration with BBC for Colors TV and both shows garnered awards at ITA 2024

## Career

After completing the creative training program from the Advertising Agencies Association of India, Abhigyan started assisting to Anand Mahendroo. He published his first novel, November Rain in 1994, followed by his second novel, The Prayer. His novel, November Rain was transformed into a prime time TV series Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahaan, which was aired on Zee TV for over 300 episodes. In 1997, Jha worked as an assistant producer under Ismail Merchant on the international film GAACHH, starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore and Aparna Sen. In 1997, Abhigyan Jha directed and produced the Sony Entertainment's popular late-night talk show, Movers & Shakers.
He wrote the story and screenplay of Ekta Kapoor's production, Krishna Cottage (2004) and has also written the film, Alvida, starring Milind Soman, Gul Panag and Waheeda Rahman. In 2006, he made his debut as a director with Sacred Evil – A True Story. He produced TV series, Kaali – Ek Agnipariksha, which was aired on Star Plus In 2009, Abhigyan Jha launched Jay Hind!, a standup comedy show exclusively for the Internet platform. It was the world's first full format TV show exclusively made for the Internet. He is credited for pioneering the standup comedy genre in India on TV with Varun Grover, Aditi Mittal, Sorabh Pant, Gursimran Khamba and Sapan Verma.
Abhigyan was nominated for ITA Award for Best Director - Comedy at the Indian Television Academy Awards 2011 for Jay Hind!. Later, the show was aired on Colors TV under a new name, The Late Night Show in 2012.
In April 2014, Abhigyan Jha accused Vikas Bahl, the director of Queen for copying the film, Queen from his film, Phir Zindagi. However, Jha accepted the fact that while the scripts of the two films are different, but some major scenes from the film have been copied straight from Phir Zindagi.
Abhigyan and Mrinal Jha co-founded MAJ Productions, creating TV shows (Pishachini, Terr Bina Jiya Jaaye Na) and web series (Qubool Hai 2.0).
For Jai Hind!, He collaborated with writers like Varun Grover, Aditi Mittal, Sorabh Pant, Gursimran Khamba, and Sapan Verma, pioneering the stand-up comedy genre in Indian television. The series earned Jha a nomination for the ITA Award for Best Director – Comedy in 2011.

## Published works

* November Rain: Memories of the Spellbound : a Supernatural Love Story Based on True Incidents. Undercover Utopia. 2007. ISBN 9780979811609.
* The Prayer. Undercover Utopia. September 2007. ISBN 9780979811623.
* The Class of 2010. Undercover Utopia. September 2008. ISBN 9780979811661.
* Soul Search Engine : Till Now... Undercover Utopia. February 2008. ISBN 9780979811647.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Krishna Cottage | Story, screenplay writer | |
| - | Phir Zindagi | Screenplay writer | |
| - | GAACHH | Assistant producer | |
| 2006 | Sacred Evil – A True Story | Director, producer | English |
| 2006 | Gehra Paani | Director | Hindi |

## Television

| Year | TV/Web Show | Role | Channel |
| 1999 | Star Bestsellers Neeti | Story writer | StarPlus |
| 1998 | X Zone | Story writer | StarPlus |
| 1999 | Gubbare | Executive Producer | |
| 1997 | Movers & Shakers | Director, producer | Sony |
| 1995 | Rajani | Story writer | Doordarshan |
| 2003 | Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahaan | Story writer | Zee TV |
| 2009 | Jay Hind! | Director | for the Internet |
| 2010 | Kaali – Ek Agnipariksha | Producer | Star Plus |
| 2012 | The Late Night Show | Director | Colors TV |
| 2022 | Pishachini | Producer | Colors TV |
| 2021 | Qubool Hai 2.0 | Producer | Zee 5 |
| 2024 | Qayaamat Se Qayamaat Tak | Producer | Colors TV |
| 2024 | JANANI -AI Ki Kahani | Director & Producer | Dangal TV |

## Awards & Nominations

| Year | Award Category | TV show / Web Show / Film | Result |
| | Gold Award for Best Story | Maayka | Won |
| 2011 | Indian Television Academy Award for Best Director | Jay Hind! | Nomination |
| 2022 | Indian Television Academy Award for Best Singer | Pishachini | Won |
| 2022 | Indian Television Academy Award for Best Director | Pishachini | Nomination |
| 2022 | Indian Television Academy Award for Best VFX | Pishachini | Won |
| 2023 | Indian Television Academy Award for Best Visual Effects | Pichachini | Won |
| 2024 | Indian Television Academy Award for Best Fantasy Show | Janani-AI Ki Kahani | Won |

## Personal life

He is married to Mrinal Jha and has a daughter. He is the son of Ramesh Rajhans, a theatre director and playwright.
Abhigyan Jha believes in nurturing young talent and empowering future storytellers. He co-founded Undercover Utopia, fostering creativity among young writers, and ProMytheUs, a machine-learning platform to identify children’s innate talents.