Kamna Chandra – The story writer of ‘Prem Rog’, ‘Chandni’ and ‘1942: A Love Story’

Kamna Chandra is an author of several radio plays. She also has written dialogues for several hit Hindi movies, apart from co-scripting them. Many of her radio plays have been adapted to silver screen in Bollywood. She co-scripted and wrote dialogues of 1942: A Love Story, Kareeb and Qarib Qarib Singlle. She is also credited as the story writer of these films, apart from Prem Rog. She also scripted the Doordarshan TV series of 1980s, Trishna. Noted writer Vikram Chandra, film critic Anupama Chopra and film director Tanuja Chandra of Dushman fame are her children. Famous film director Vidhu Vinod Chopra is married to her daughter, Anupama Chopra.

Kamna Chandra hails from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. She started writing during her school days. She lost her father during her younger days (he was only 42 and was her greatest influence) and completed graduation as desired by her mother. Her education was completed from Dehradun and Allahabad University. After studies she wrote plays for All India Radio and Doordarshan in the 1970s and 1980s before she got into films, writing the movie Prem Rog in 1982. Thus she had a magical entry in film industry when she got opportunity to work with Raj Kapoor, and the romantic-social drama was a major hit too. Known for her radio plays, she wrote a few scripts later.

Kamna Chandra – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. Chandra’s father was a teacher and mother, a homemaker. Her father was the first graduate from his village, and her parents always supported her to complete education, though received resistance from extended family.

2. In the early 1940s when she was only 10 she was sent from Meerut to Dehradun for her studies at Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala, and throughout the train journey she was crying hysterically.

3. She co-scripted Prem Rog which marked her film debut and the movie starred Shammi Kapoor in a pivot role. Years later she co-scripted Kareeb, in which Shammi Kapoor played a cameo role.

4. She wrote the story of Prem Rog based on a real-life incident she had heard from her mother. The movie was directed by Raj Kapoor. She was living in Hong Kong with her family when the movie was made.

5. She received a nomination at Filmfare Awards for Best Story for her debut work, Prem Rog.

6. Her radio play, Qarib Qarib Singlle was adapted to silver screen by her daughter Tanuja Chandra in 2017 and the film opened to rave reviews.

7. She graduated in English Literature from Allahabad University in 1953, and her BA results came out exactly on the same day of her marriage with business executive Navin Chandra.

8. When bridegroom reached her home with his family and relatives by train for the marriage, they were happy to know that the bride is BA Pass.

9. Started her association with Doordarshan and AIR during the creative phase of late 1970s and early 1980s, she wrote the stories of Doordarshan serials like Trishna (1985) and Kashish (1993).

10. Kamna Chandra mostly wrote the main story of films, and the story department and film director finished her works, and she never felt insecure over it. However her son-in-law Vidhu Vinod Chopra used to insist her to handle screenplay department as well.

11. She wrote radio stories and plays for Behano ka Program and Hawa Mahal since 1960s and turned a full-fledged writer in the 1970s.