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
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 StarPlus1999GubbareExecutive 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 TV2022PishachiniProducerColors TV2021Qubool Hai 2.0ProducerZee 52024Qayaamat Se Qayamaat TakProducerColors TVJANANI -AI Ki KahaniDirector & Producer Dangal TV
Awards & Nominations +YearAward Category TV show / Web Show / FilmResultGold Award for Best Story MaaykaWon2011Indian Television Academy Award for Best DirectorJay Hind!Nomination2022Indian Television Academy Award for Best Singer PishachiniWon2022Indian Television Academy Award for Best DirectorPishachiniNomination2022Indian Television Academy Award for Best VFXPishachiniWon2023Indian Television Academy Award for Best Visual EffectsPichachiniWon2024Indian Television Academy Award for Best Fantasy ShowJanani-AI Ki KahaniWon
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.
References
External links
Undercover Productions & the END of broadcasting (as we know it)