Sunayana Kachroo
Born
Kashmir, India
Occupations
  • Poet
  • film Writer
  • producer
  • lyricist
Notable workThe illegal, Half Widow
AwardsBest Lyricist Award for Ae Savere

Sunayana Kachroo is a Kashmir-born, US-based poet, film-writer, producer, lyricist and a columnist.[1] She has written for films featured at various film festivals, including Cannes,[2] MAMI and Austin Film Festival.[3]

Education

Sunayana was born and raised in Kashmir. She received her education in Kashmir, Jammu, and Pune, and earned a master’s in computer science from Pune University.[2] Her father, Chaman Kachroo, was also a poet known for his Urdu Nazm titled Charcha.[4]

Career

In 2000, Sunayana moved to the US and began working as an analyst in New York City.[1][2] Her first book, Waqt Se Pare- Beyond Time, was published in 2013.[2]

Sunayana entered into film writing and creative production with Half Widow, a 2017 Indian drama film.[1][5] She served as an associate producer for The Illegal, an American drama released in 2021, starring Suraj Sharma, Shweta Tripathi, and Adil Hussain.[6] The illegal was shortlisted for nominations for the Best Picture Category at the Academy Awards 2019.[7] Sunayana also wrote dialogues for short films like In Search of America, Inshallah,[3][8] and The Good News.[9][10] Additionally, she co-wrote the film Songs of Paradise featuring Saba Azad, Soni Razdan, and Lillete Dubey.[11]

She has also written lyrics for songs sung by artists like Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan,[12] Ali Sethi, Sunidhi Chauhan, Hariharan, Harshdeep Kaur, Rashmeet Kaur, Anuradha Palakurthi, Jasraj Joshi, Hrishikesh Ranade, and Archana Kamath.[1][3]

Sunayana developed an interest in poetry at the age of 15, trying different forms like Kavita, English Poems, Nazms, and Dohe.[3] She started as a featured poet at the South Asian Institute of Harvard in 2014 and later shared the stage with Punjabi poet Nirupama Dutt at the Bangalore Literature Festival.[13] Since 2015, she has been a featured poet at the annual South Asian Poetry reading at Harvard University hosted by the South Asian Institute.[14][15]

In 2022, she launched a new collection of poems called Sunny Side Up, which received reviews from Shashi Tharoor, Subhash Kak, and Lopa Banerjee,[3] and an NFT poem named Home and Homeless,[1] after which she was invited to the US Capitol Hill to recite her poems. Sunayana has participated in poetry shows globally and recited her poems at various venues, including Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre, Harvard University, NECA awards, Indian Consulate NYC, Lalded Ke lal-vakh, and Hindu Heritage Day in 2015. Notable events included her poetry showcase at the U.S Capitol hill.[1][16]

In 2023, she released the song Tum Kehte Ho, sung and produced by Sunidhi Chauhan.[17]

Work as lyricist

  • Tum Kehte Ho
  • Dil Khanjar
  • Kahan Hai Tu
  • Sonn Pann
  • Dilbaro
  • Ae Savere[18]
  • Baliye
  • Kuch Baqi Hai
  • Subha Dekh Li
  • Pehla Qadam[19]
  • Ekal Vidhayala Theme
  • Dhool Hatakar Dekha
  • Yumbarzaloo
  • Tu Zarra Hai

Filmography

As a dialogue writer

As a creative producer

As an associate producer

Books

  • Waqt Se Pare-Beyond Time (2013)
  • Sunny Side Up (2022)
  • Tere Jaane Key Baad

Accolades

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tagat, Anurag (2022-02-16). "Lyricist and Writer Sunayana Kachroo on Bringing the Essence of Kashmir Into Her Words". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Kashmiri poetess gets international fame". Tribune India.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Chandel, Anirudh (2022-04-18). "SUNAYANA KACHROO - Poet, Film Writer and Lyricist". GOGO Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  4. ↑ Tagat, Anurag (2023-12-16). "Writer Sunayana Kachroo on Working with Sunidhi Chauhan". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  5. ↑ "Tracing the life of a 'half widow': Muslim director, Kashmiri pandit writer join hands for a film". Hindustan Times. 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  6. ↑ Roy, Lachmi Deb (25 March 2021). "'I Am An Immigrant From Assam To Delhi, So I Can Relate To "The Illegal"': Adil Hussain". Outlook India. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  7. ↑ Ramanan, Manju (2021-03-21). "Oscar nominee 'The Illegal,' written and directed by Danish Renzu, to release on OTT". FilmFare. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  8. ↑ Bhat, Niyati (2017-08-27). "In Kashmiri film 'Half Widow', the journey from disappearance to death to hope". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  9. ↑ Ashiq, Peerzada (2022-05-13). "The Good News from Kashmir Valley to premiere at Tongues on Fire film festival in U.K." The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  10. ↑ "Director Danish Renzu: Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims are both affected by terrorism in the valley -Exclusive!". The Times of India. 2022-05-03. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  11. ↑ Bukhtiyar, Idrees. "'Kashmir needs to have its own regional cinema'". Greater Kashmir. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  12. ↑ "A mother-son bond in the song Ae Savere". Tribune India.
  13. ↑ "Mausiqui: The Story of Music" (PDF). The Indian Panorama.
  14. ↑ "Exploring identity through South Asian poetry". The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute Harvard University.
  15. ↑ "20th Annual India Poetry Reading at Harvard". mittalsouthasiainstitute.
  16. ↑ "Sunayana Kachroo In Conversation With Atul Kulkarni". Lokvani. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  17. ↑ "Sunidhi Chauhan's latest single, Tum Kehte Ho, is all about self-belief". indulgexpress.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  18. ↑ Tagat, Anurag (2021-08-11). "Kashmiri Filmmaker Danish Renzu Traces a Journey of Roots For 'Ae Savere' Music Video". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  19. ↑ "Watch: Singer Ali Sethi's soulful new song 'Pehla Qadam' is full of love and longing". Scroll.in. 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  20. ↑ "IIFFB21-Nominations – IIFFB". web.archive.org. 2021-11-24. Archived from the original on 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2023-12-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. ↑ "Sunayana Kachroo's 'The Illegal' Eligible For Oscars". Lokvani. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  22. ↑ "Harvard Square Poetry Stroll". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  23. ↑ "3rd Annual Harvard Square Poetry Stroll". Harvard Square. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
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