Archive · 13 Jan 2026
Kamna Chandra on her iconic film collaborations
Kamna Chandra is a famous screenwriter who started working in the early 1980s when it was hard for women to get their scripts approved.
She worked with big directors like Raj Kapoor and Yash Chopra.
She wrote stories for movies like Prem Rog and Chandni.
Later, she co-wrote 1942: A Love Story with Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
She also worked on Kareeb with Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Her daughter Tanuja Chandra turned one of her radio plays into the movie Qarib Qarib Singlle.
Kamna talked about how she liked working with these directors and shared her thoughts on Bhansali's Devdas movie.
She said Devdas was too glamorous and different from the book.
She is happy with the six films she has made and hopes to make one more before she stops.
Kamna Chandra is a pioneering female screenwriter who started her career in the early 1980s.
She worked with legendary directors like Raj Kapoor on Prem Rog and Yash Chopra on Chandni.
She co-wrote 1942: A Love Story with Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who later became her son-in-law.
Kamna also collaborated with Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Kareeb and critiqued his adaptation of Devdas.
Her radio play was adapted into the movie Qarib Qarib Singlle by her daughter Tanuja Chandra.
- Who
- Kamna Chandra, a pioneering female screenwriter in Hindi cinema
- What
- Her experiences working with legendary filmmakers like Raj Kapoor, Yash Chopra, and Vidhu Vinod Chopra
- When
- Spanning her career from the early 1980s to the present
- Where
- Primarily in Mumbai, India
- Why
- To share her journey and insights into the film industry
- Kamna Chandra
- Pioneering female screenwriter in Hindi cinema
- Prem Rog
- Seminal film directed by Raj Kapoor
- Chandni
- Romantic film directed by Yash Chopra
- 1942: A Love Story
- Co-written with Vidhu Vinod Chopra
- Kareeb
- Film co-written with Sanjay Leela Bhansali
- Qarib Qarib Singlle
- Adapted from a radio play by Tanuja Chandra
- Devdas
- Critiqued Bhansali's adaptation of the novel