Jaideep Sahni

Jaideep Sahni is an Indian screenwriter and lyricist known for his contribution in Bollywood. Born in 1968, Jaideep was brought up in New Delhi. In his school days, Jaideep could not understand the differences between the arts and science streams, as he loved these academic fields. Later, he opted for science subjects instead of arts. He continued his education at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar that is located in the state of Karnataka. Fondly known as JD during his college days, his friends considered him as an intelligent student who kept quiet in most of the time. He worked with NIIT Limited, a learning-based company as a computer engineer.

He turned his attention towards writing when he found Oscar-winning movie Gandhi’s screenplay in a New Delhi-based bookshop. He did not hesitate to become a lyricist after attending jam sessions with Palash Sen Palash Sen is an Indian singer, songwriter, musici >> Read More... of Euphoria band. Jaideep used to work in advertising agencies where he was acquainted with Ram Gopal Varma Ram Gopal Varma is a famed Indian film director an >> Read More... who was looking for a new writer. After admitting that he had no prior experience of scriptwriting, the film director selected him for “ Jungle Story soon >> Read More... .” Though critically panned, Jungle became a hit in terms of finance. His second outing, Company was well received by critics and audiences alike and won seven Filmfare awards.

However, people recognized Jaideep’s talent after watching Dibakar Banerjee’s Khosla Ka Ghosla, a film based on shady real estate dealings in New Delhi. Critics applauded Banerjee and Sahni for their efforts in the depiction of a common person’s fight against the corrupt world. Chak De! India won 2007 National Film Award in the Best Feature Film category. Jaideep has been associated with Yash Raj Films since 2005 where he began as the screenwriter for Bunty Aur Babli Click to look into! >> Read More... . Then, he wrote Chak De! India, based on Indian women‘s national hockey team. Starring Shahrukh Khan as the protagonist Kabir Khan Kabir khan is a very much renowned director of Bol >> Read More... , this sports drama also discussed issues such as sexism, ethnic and religious prejudice and the effects of the partition post-Independence.

It received positive reviews, hailing the screenplay and songs. The song “Chak De India” penned by Sahni became popular and has been considered as “sports anthem” of India. Sportspersons have cited the flick as a “wake-up” call for the administrators to improve the facilities meant for the players. Without any doubt, the film has achieved a cult status. He also wrote movies such as Aaja Nachle Click to look into! >> Read More... , Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, Shuddh Desi Romance Click to look into! >> Read More... . While the former two could not fare well at the Box-Office, the latter was appreciated with the reviewers praising the script, which raised the issue of live-in relationships in India.

He is also known for his prowess as a songwriter, he has written lyrics for big screen projects such as Chak de! India, Aaja Nachle, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Shuddh Desi Romance, and Before. In an interview, he stated that his parents used to gift him books on his birthday every year. He is fond of reading books, which helped his imagination to expand. He admires Salim-Javed, Vishal Bharadwaj and Gulzar for their efforts in creative writing. He believes that writers should get their scripts registered and copyrights of them as well so that their work gets recognized.