| Rajat Arora | |
| Birth Date: | 1975 7, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | New Delhi, India |
| Occupation: | Writer, Lyricist, Director, Producer |
| Yearsactive: | 2004 – present |
| Birthname: | Rajat Arora |
| Alma Mater: | Asian Academy of Film & Television[1] |
Rajat Arora (born 23 July 1975) is an Indian screenwriter known for his work in the Indian film and television industry. He has been active in the industry for over two decades and has written for various successful films across multiple genres.
Arora's notable works include Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), The Dirty Picture (2011), Kick (2014), Gabbar Is Back (2015) and Taxi No. 9211 (2006). His filmography spans genres such as action, comedy-drama, superhero stories, romantic musicals, and biopics.
Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai is a gangster movie recognized for its dialogues. "The Dirty Picture," loosely based on the life of a South Indian actor, generated discussions about the role of women in Indian society.
Arora also wrote the script for Azhar (2016), a biographical sports drama about an Indian cricket captain, produced by Sony Pictures and Balaji Telefilms. Baadshaho (2017) is a period action-thriller directed by Milan Luthria and starring Ajay Devgn.
In 2019, Arora scripted the Hindi dubbed version of the international film Captain Marvel. His upcoming projects include Thalaivi a biopic on the politician and actress J. Jayalalithaa, and the Hindi remake of the Telugu film RX 100 featuring Ahan Shetty.
Born and brought up in New Delhi, Rajat is an alumnus of Asian Academy of Film & Television as well as a B.Com. Hon. Graduate from Delhi University. A South Delhi boy who migrated to Mumbai in the late 1990s, Rajat at 21 was raring to "struggle" and achieve his childhood dream. Luck struck when within a few months he found an opportunity to write for TV series CID and Aahat.
Rajat started as a dialogue writer but soon started contributing towards the story and screenplay for Aahat and C.I.D.
Rajat Arora burst into the Bollywood scene as a dialogue writer for the hit movie Bluffmaster (2005). Directed by Rohan Sippy, the film was lauded for its dialogues. Veteran film critic Taran Adarsh found the dialogues 'fantastic' while other critics called the dialogues 'quotable'. The dialogues were declared the highlight of the movie. Taxi No. 9211 (2006), one of the highest-grossing films that year, was written by Arora and directed by Milan Luthria. The slice-of-life, high on drama and action story turned out to be critics' favourite and they described it as 'impeccable'.
Rajat teamed up with Luthria again for Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010). The movie won many accolades from critics and viewers alike for its direction and screenplay. Bollywood Trade Analyst Komal Nahta wrote that 'Rajat Arora has penned an interesting story and padded it up with a highly engrossing screenplay that doesn't let the viewer lose grip for even a moment. Aroraa's dialogues, of course, are fantastic, many of them clapworthy.' Arora's next film, The Dirty Picture, was released in 2011
After the tremendous success of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and The Dirty Picture, the writer-director duo Rajat Aroraa and Milan Luthria delivered yet another blockbuster Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! (2013). Once again the dialogues of the movie were said to be applause-worthy and were the cherry on the cake.
Kick (2014) starring Salman Khan, was released on Eid, Kick received an overwhelming response at the box office. The total worldwide collection crossed INR 3 billion and was the highest grosser of 2014. Gabbar Is Back (2015) follows Akshay Kumar playing a grief-stricken vigilante, committed to ending corruption in India, and was praised for its dialogues.
Rajat Arora has co-written many episodes of CID and Aahat tv-series.
Rajat has written dialogues, screenplay, story and lyrics as an writer for over a decade.
| Year | Film | Director | Contribution | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Bluffmaster | Rohan Sippy | Dialogue | |
| 2006 | Taxi No. 9211 | Milan Luthria | Story, Screenplay, Dialogues | |
| 2007 | Hattrick | |||
| 2009 | Chandni Chowk to China | Nikhil Advani | ||
| 2010 | Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai | Milan Luthria | ||
| 2011 | The Dirty Picture | Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, Lyrics for a song | ||
| 2013 | Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! | Story, Screenplay, Dialogues | ||
| 2014 | Kick | Sajid Nadiadwala | ||
| 2015 | Gabbar Is Back | Krish | ||
| 2016 | Azhar | Tony D'Souza | ||
| 2017 | Baadshaho | Milan Luthria | ||
| 2019 | Captain Marvel (Hindi dubbed version) | Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | Hindi Script adaptation | |
| 2021 | Thalaivi | A. L. Vijay | Story, Screenplay, Dialogues (Hindi) | |
| Tadap | Milan Luthria | Story, Screenplay, Dialogues | ||
| 2022 | Heropanti 2 | Ahmed Khan | [2] |
In 2004, Arora was awarded 'Best Teleplay Writer' by the Indian Television Academy. He also has an entry at the Guinness Book of World Records for co-writing CID and getting the title of 'Longest Single Shot Episode'.
Arora has also been awarded the Hindi Seva Samman for his literary contribution towards Hindi Language.[3]
| Year | Movie | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai | Zee Cine Awards | Best Dialogues |
| Producers Guild Film Awards | Best Screenplay | ||
| Global Indian Film and Television Honours | Best Dialogues | ||
| 2012 | The Dirty Picture | Zee Cine Awards | Best Dialogues |
| Screen Awards | |||
| Producers Guild Film Awards | |||
| IIFA Awards | |||
| Global Indian Film and Television Honours | |||
| The Dirty Picture (Song: Ishq Sufiyana) | Mirchi Music Awards | Best Lyrics | |
| People's Choice Awards India | Favourite Lyrics |