Vekeana Dhillon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Delhi, India |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, series creator, playwright, actor, television and radio presenter |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives | Vikram Dhillon (brother) |
Vekeana Dhillon is a screenwriter, series creator, playwright, television presenter, radio presenter and actress.
She was born in New Delhi, India and later her family migrated to Toronto, Canada. Raised in Alberta, Canada and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
Uncovidable [1] is the latest series Vekeana Dhillon has created and written based on her humorous and semi biographical account of her experiences during the COVID-19 lock-down. Season One of 21 episodes in English voiced by Mahira Kakkar [2] released on 23 June 2020 on the Amazon's Audible platform worldwide. Upon its success, the Hindi version of the series voiced by Rasika Dugal [3] released on 24 September 2020 on Audible.in and Audible Suno. [4]
Vekeana Dhillon has written the Virat Kohli animation superhero series Super V (2019-2020) for Disney+ Hotstar, Marvel HQ, Star TV Network, and Baweja Movies. It was directed by Puneet Sira and Season 1 premiered in over 70 countries on 5 November 2019 and went on to become the highest rated show in the animation bracket in India.
As a Series Creator she is writing several premium content shows that have secured placements on several major OTT platforms.
Vekeana is the creator and writer of The Great Punjabi Luv Shuv Story (2017) a series for Ekta Kapoor's digital channel Alt Balaji produced by Eyeline Entertainment.
Vekeana Dhillon has written the high end musical play Balle Balle (2017-2018) for Wizcraft International Entertainment, Directed by Viraf Sarkari.
She has had five feature films produced and released internationally among them being I - Proud To Be An Indian [5] [6] (2004) Produced by Sohail Khan and Directed by Puneet Sira, Jai Veeru [7] [8] (2009) Produced by Siddi Vinayak Movies, and Kisaan [9] [10] [11] (2009) again Produced by Sohail Khan and Directed by Puneet Sira, and Pinky Moge Wali (2012) Directed by Vikram Dhillon.
Additional feature film scripts include Ji Karda (Eyeline Entertainment) Director Vikram Dhillon. The remake of Kurbani [12] [13] [14] (FK International) and Hoshiyar Havaldar [15] (Mirchi Movies). Her screenplay Foot It, [16] [17] [18] a family/dance feature film, with Corus Entertainment / Rugged Media and a horror feature film for Telefilm Canada.
Dhillon's association with the entertainment industry was initially as an actor. Snip [19] [20] (2000) was her first feature film in which she played the tenacious gossip driven Delnaz Readymoney, followed by shorts for MTV in leading roles in Love Ke Liye and One Tight Slap [21] which led to Bollywood Bound, [22] [23] [24] [25] a National Film Board of Canada documentary-feature following the lives of Vekeana Dhillon, Vikram Dhillon, Neeru Bajwa and Ruby Bhatia as transplanted Canadians in the world of Bollywood. Vekeana was hired by Rupert Murdoch's Channel [V] where she became the face and personality of several shows that she hosted including the channel's prime-time slotted [V] Dares U [26] with co-host Yudi Urs and [V] Challenge [27] [28] with brother Vikram Dhillon.
Vekeana parlayed her Bollywood experiences as a contributor and reporter for the BBC Asian Network (U.K.) where she did a two-year stint with her own weekly half-hour slot on the Nikki Bedi Show, [29] in addition to reporting for regional BBC stations in the UK. Vekeana shared her voice and news with the BBC World Service and BBC General News Service.
She is the daughter of Lyricist Harcharan Dhillon and retired Environmental Health Officer Dyal Singh Dhillon. She's worked extensively with her producer/director brother, Vikram Dhillon, and currently lives in India with her husband, noted director/producer Puneet Sira whom she married in 2010.
| Year | Title | Language | Genre | Designation | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Pride and Prejudice [30] | Hindi | Audio Series | Executive Producer | The Foundry / Audible Winner of "Best Audiobook Narration" Golden Mikes Radio & Audio Awards (2023). |
| 2022 | Sherlock Holmes Ki Romanchak Kahaniyan [30] | Hindi | Audio Series | Executive Producer | The Foundry / Audible Winner of "Best Audiobook Narration" Golden Mikes Radio & Audio Awards (2023). Winner of "The Best Narration based on a Book" e4m Play Streaming Media Awards (2023) |
| 2022 | Kama Sutra [30] | Hindi | Audiobook | Executive Producer | The Foundry / Audible Winner of "Audio Book of the Year" India Audio Summit & Awards (2022) |
| 2022 | Munshi Premchand's Karmabhoomi [30] | Hindi | Audiobook | Executive Producer | The Foundry / Audible |
| 2022 | Raat Hone Ko Hai | Hindi | Limited Animation Series | Created and Written by | The Foundry / Ishara TV |
| 2020 | Uncovidable - Hindi | Hindi | Original Audio Series (21 episodes) (Literature Fiction) | Created and Written by | Audible Suno |
| 2020 | Uncovidable | English | Original Audio Series (21 episodes) (Literature Fiction) | Created and Written by | Audible |
| 2019-2020 | Super V | Hindi/English | TV series (12 episodes) (Superhero Animation) | Screenplay and Dialogues | Disney+Hotstar, Marvel HQ, Star TV, Baweja Movies. |
| 2017-2018 | Balle Balle | English | Musical Play (Comedy) | Playwright | Wizcraft International Entertainment |
| 2018 | The Tape | Hindi | Feature Film (Horror) | Written by | Pentacles Cinevision Pvt. Ltd. |
| 2017 | The Great Punjabi Luv Shuv Story | Punjabi | Series (Comedy) (13 episodes) | Created and Written by | AltBalaji / Eyeline Entertainment |
| 2013 | Ji Karda | Punjabi | Feature Film (Drama) | Written by | Eyeline Entertainment (Commission Script) |
| 2012 | Pinky Moge Wali | Punjabi | Feature Film (Comedy) | Screenplay | Batra Showbiz Productions |
| 2011 | Foot It | English | Feature Film (Family/Dance) | Written by | Jericho Beach Entertainment (Commissioned Script) |
| 2009 | Kisaan [9] [10] [11] | Hindi | Feature Film (Drama) | Screenplay and Dialogues | Sohail Khan Productions |
| 2009 | Jai Veeru [7] [8] | Hindi | Feature Film (Action) | Screenplay | Siddhi Vinayak Movies |
| 2007 | Go! Miss India | Hindi | Feature Film (Rom-com) | Written by | Mirchi Movies Ltd (Times Group) (Commissioned Script) |
| 2006-2008 | Nikki Bedi Show | English | Radio (Weekly Bollywood Segment) | Host / Writer | BBC Asian Network (UK) |
| 2006 | Hoshiyar | Hindi | Feature Film (Comedy) | Written by | Mirchi Movies Ltd. (Times Group) (Commissioned Script) |
| 2006-2008 | BBC World Service | English | Radio (News Contributor) | Reporter | BBC Radio (UK) |
| 2006 | Kurbani [12] [13] [14] | Hindi | Feature Film (Action) | Screenplay | F.K. International Pvt. Ltd. (Commissioned Script) |
| 2006 | Mogaveera | English | Documentary Film | Narrator | Visual-Eyes Entertainment |
| 2005 | Hit | Hindi | Feature Film (Action Comedy) | Written by | UTV Motion Pictures / Prakash Jha Productions (Commissioned Script) |
| 2004 | Maidaan | Hindi | Feature Film (Drama) | Written by | Neha Arts (Commissioned Script) |
| 2004 | Havaldar Hans | Hindi | Feature Film (Action Comedy) | Written by | Miracle Movies (Commissioned Script) |
| 2004 | I - Proud To Be An Indian [5] [6] | Hindi | Feature Film (Drama) | Screenplay and Dialogues | Sohail Khan Productions |
| 2003 | Spiceboy | English | Feature Film (Comedy) | Screenplay | Miracle Movies (Commissioned Script) |
| 2003 | Great India | Hindi | Feature Film (Action) | Written by | M.D. Productions (Commissioned Script) |
| 2002 | Bollywood Bound | English | Feature Film (Documentary) | Herself | National Film Board of Canada Director: Nisha Pahuja |
| 2002 | One Tight Slap | English | Short Film | Diva | MTV India - Director: Cyrus Oshidhar |
| 2002 | Love Ke Liya | English | Short Film | Queen | MTV India - Director: Cyrus Oshidhar |
| 2000 | Snip! | English | Feature Film | Delnaz Readymoney | Mercury Films - Director: Sunil Sippy |
| 1999-2000 | [V] Dares U | English | TV series | Host / Writer | Channel [V] Star TV Network |
| 1999-2000 | [V] Challenge | English | TV series | Host / Writer | Channel [V] Star TV Network |
| 1999-2001 | Live [V] Requests | English | TV series | Host | Channel [V] Star TV Network |
| 1999-2000 | Style Police | English | TV series | Guest Host | Channel [V] Star TV Network |
| 1999-2000 | Tea With [V] | English | TV series | Guest Host | Channel [V] Star TV Network |
| 1998 | BPL Oye! | English | TV series | Guest Host | Channel [V] Star TV Network |
| 1998 | Red Alert | English | TV series | Guest Host | Channel [V] Star TV Network (Hong Kong) |
| 1998 | By Demand | English | TV series | Guest Host | MTV India |
| 1998 | Tata Coffee | English | TV Commercial | Lead (Actor) | Far Productions - Director: Kailash Sundernath |
| 1998 | Pepsi Cola | English | TV Commercial | Lead (Actor) | Genesis Film Production - Director: Prahlad Kakkar |
| 1997 | Holy River | English | Theatre | Maya (Actor) | Work In Progress Productions. Director: Etienne Coutinho |
| 1997 | Vasvadata | English | Theatre | Vasvadata (Actor) | The Creators - Director: Janak Thoprani |
Vikram Bhatt is an Indian director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the Raaz film series, an Indian horror series produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and for directing Ghulam (1998) starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherji, which was also produced by Mukesh Bhatt. For both of these films, he was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Poonam Dhillon is an Indian actress and politician. A former Eve’s Weekly Miss Young India 1978, she is best known for her 1979 film Noorie. Some of her well-known films include Red Rose (1980), Dard (1981), Romance (1983), Sohni Mahiwal (1984), Teri Meherbaniyan (1985) Samundar (1986), Saveraywali Gaadi (1986), Karma (1986), Naam (1986) and Maalamaal (1988).
Neha Kakkar Singh is an Indian playback singer. She is the younger sister of playback singers Tony Kakkar and Sonu Kakkar. She began performing at a very early age at religious events. In 2005, she participated in the second season of the singing reality show, Indian Idol. She made her Bollywood debut as a chorus singer in the film Meerabai Not Out. She rose to prominence with the release of the dance track "Second Hand Jawaani" from Cocktail (2012), which was followed by several popular party songs, including "Sunny Sunny" from Yaariyan and "London Thumakda" from the 2014 soundtrack album Queen. Apart from playback singing, Kakkar has appeared in several music videos and as a judge on several television reality shows, including "Indian Idol".
Vidya Malvade is an Indian actress.
Jab We Met is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Dhilin Mehta under his banner Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. The film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor with Tarun Arora, Saumya Tandon and Dara Singh in supporting roles.
Puneet Issar is an Indian actor, writer, director, producer and dialect coach best known for his works in Hindi films and television shows. Issar started his acting career as a villain in Manmohan Desai's 1983 film Coolie, but gained recognition with the portrayal of Duryodhana in B. R. Chopra's television series Mahabharat (1988–1990).
Mahira Hafeez Khan is a Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu films and television. Khan is the recipient of several accolades, including six Lux Style Awards, and six Hum Awards, and was honoured with Contribution to Film and Activism by the UK Asian Film Festival.
Dev.D is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film released on 6 February 2009. Written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, it is a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic Bengali novel Devdas, previously adapted for the screen by P.C. Barua and Bimal Roy and more recently by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Dev.D received positive critical reviews. The film is set in contemporary Punjab and Delhi, where familial ties are negotiated by the traditional system and marriages are a game of power and a matter of honour.
Jai Veeru is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Puneet Sira, starring Fardeen Khan, Kunal Khemu, Anjana Sukhani, Dia Mirza and Arbaaz Khan. It is based on the 1996 American film Bulletproof. The film was released on 13 March 2009. It was a major commercial failure.
Kisaan (transl. Farmer) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Puneet Sira, starring Sohail Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Jackie Shroff, Dia Mirza and Nauheed Cyrusi. Released on 28 August 2009 to praise for Sohail Khan's performance but criticism for the story and music, the film was a major commercial failure.
Ishqiya (transl. Passionate) is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language black comedy film starring Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Salman Shahid. It was directed by Abhishek Chaubey in his directorial debut, cinematography by Mohana Krishna, and was produced by Raman Maroo and Vishal Bhardwaj. The film was released on 29 January 2010.
Meera Vasudevan is an Indian actress, who has mainly appeared in films and TV soap's in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language. She received the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize in 2005 and the Kerala State Television Award for Best Actress in 2007. Currently she is playing a main lead role in the popular Malayalam soap opera Kudumbavilakku telecasting on Asianet.
Yamla Pagla Deewana is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Samir Karnik, featuring Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, and Bobby Deol in the lead roles. The film marks the second pair-up between the Deol family, after Apne (2007). The film's title is inspired by the song "Main Jat Yamla Pagla Deewana" from the 1975 film, Pratigya also starring Dharmendra. The theatrical trailer of the film unveiled on 5 November 2010, whilst the film released on 14 January 2011, and received good response upon release. It turned out to be a box office hit. It is the first installment of Yamla Pagla Deewana film series and the 11th highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2011.
Desi Boyz is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by debutant Rohit Dhawan, son of director David Dhawan. The film stars Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangada Singh while Sanjay Dutt features in an extended cameo.
Puneet Sira is a British and Bollywood feature film director and producer who formed The Foundry which is actively developing original IPs in house and producing feature films, television series, animation projects and its multi award winning podcasts.
Vikram Dhillon is an Indo-Canadian Feature Film Producer, Director, Actor and a former VJ for Channel V
David is a 2013 Indian Hindi-Tamil bilingual crime film directed by Bejoy Nambiar, starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vikram and Vinay Virmani in the title role, alongside Tabu, Monica Dogra, Lara Dutta and Isha Sharvani. In the Tamil version of the film actor Jiiva played the role of Vinay Virmani while Neil Nitin Mukesh's segment was excluded. The plot revolves around the lives of three different men named David, who are about to take a step which is going to change their lives forever. Both the Hindi and Tamil versions were released on 1 February 2013.
Jonita Gandhi is a Canadian singer of Indian descent. She has recorded songs predominantly in Hindi and Tamil languages with few in Punjabi, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Some of her most acclaimed songs include "The Breakup Song", "Mental Manadhil", "Chellama" and "Arabic Kuthu". She is also well known for her YouTube presence. Her singing debut started through Chennai Express in 2013.
Rasika Dugal is an Indian actress known for her roles in several Indian movies and television productions.
Hate Story 4 is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language revenge thriller film directed by Vishal Pandya and written by Sammeer Arora. The film features Urvashi Rautela, Karan Wahi and Vivan Bhatena in the lead roles. The film marks Bollywood debut of Punjabi film actress Ihana Dhillon. It is the fourth installment in the Hate Story film series and it received mostly negative reviews from critics. The film was declared "Average" at the box office.