Arunabh Kumar
Indian web series director (born 1982)
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Arunabh Kumar (born 26 November 1982) is an Indian entrepreneur, producer, director, screenwriter, and an actor. He is the founder of streaming platform, The Viral Fever (TVF). His shows are often characterized by parody, lightheartedness, youth oriented, and competitive exams in India.
- Entrepreneur
- producer
- screenwriter
- director
- actor
Arunabh Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 November 1982 Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Spouse |
Shruti Ranjan (m. 2022) |
| Children | 1 |
Early life and career
Arunabh Kumar was brought up in Muzaffarpur in Bihar.[1] After completing his B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur, he joined Shah Rukh Khan's production house Red Chillies Entertainment as an assistant's position under Farah Khan. He was the assistant director for the movie Om Shanti Om.[2]
MTV rejected his creation Engineer's Diary which led to the launching of The Viral Fever.[3][4]
Personal life
Arunabh Kumar was born on 26 November 1982 in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India. He completed a Bachelor of Technology degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.[5] In May 2022, Kumar married his long-time partner, Shruti Ranjan, following a relationship of approximately ten years.[6]
Kumar has been featured in business and media listings, including Fortune India's “40 Under 40” list in 2015 and 2016.[7]
In 2017, multiple allegations of sexual harassment were made against Kumar. A first information report (FIR) was filed in Mumbai, following which Kumar stepped down from his executive role at TVF and was later granted bail.[8][9] In December 2022, a Mumbai court acquitted Kumar of all charges, citing insufficient evidence and delay in the filing of the complaint.[10]
Sexual misconduct allegations
In March 2017, Kumar was accused of sexual harassment in a Medium post by someone using the pseudonym "Indian Fowler".[11] In the post titled "The Indian Uber — That is TVF", she wrote that she was propositioned and sexually harassed by Kumar on multiple occasions and that it had become "routine".[12][13][14] After the anonymous blog post, nine more women came forward and made allegations of sexual misconduct against Kumar.[15][16] After almost three days, there were varying claims of 6 or 50 additional women who accused him of sexual harassment.[17]
On 29 March 2017, Kumar was booked for molestation after a woman filed a police complaint in Mumbai.[18] Following day, a second FIR was filed against him on charges of sexual harassment.[19] The first complainant was a 26-year-old woman who worked for a production house and was also a writer. The incident, she alleged, took place at TVF's office in May 2016, when she interacted with Kumar over some project. TVF denied all the allegations and said that they would "leave no stone unturned to find the author of the article and bring them to severe justice for making such false allegations.".[20][21][22]
Following the allegations, Kumar was arrested on 22 April 2017 but was released on bail the same day after paying a bond of Rs. 10,000.[23][24] On 16 June 2017, Kumar who was accused in multiple sexual harassment cases, stepped down as TVF CEO and gave the charge to Dhawal Gusain.[25][26]
After a hiatus of 3 years, Kumar rejoined TVF (The Viral Fever) as a mentor.[27][28] On 28 December 2022, Mumbai court acquitted Kumar of all the charges. This was 5 years after he faced charges for sexual misconduct.[29][30][31][32] The court said that the case, which had been filed based on the blog post, was filed three years after the alleged incidents and this was an "unexplained and unreasonable" delay. The court determined that the case did not have "concrete evidence" and was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, due to the fact that it could have been filed due to a business rivalry since all witnesses worked in the same industry.[29]
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Om Shanti Om | Transgender auditioning for Shantipriya's role | Uncredited; also assistant director |
| 2020 | Such is Life | N/a | Producer only; Short film |
| 2022 | Chhath Mahaparv | N/a | |
| 2024 | Powder | N/a | Producer only; Kannada film |
Television
| Year | Title | Creator | Director | Writer | Producer | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-2023 | Permanent Roommates | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2015-2022 | TVF Pitchers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also portrayed Yogendra Kumar "Yogi" Pandey |
| 2015 | Barely Speaking with Arnub | Yes | ||||
| 2016 | F.A.T.H.E.R.S | Yes | ||||
| 2016-2023 | Humorously Yours | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2016-2022 | TVF Tripling | Yes | ||||
| 2016-present | The Aam Aadmi Family | Yes | ||||
| 2017-present | TSP's Rabish ki Report | Yes | ||||
| 2017 | Bisht, Please! | Yes | ||||
| Office v Office | Yes | |||||
| 2018-2022 | Girls Hostel | Yes | ||||
| 2018-2021 | Engineering Girls | Yes | ||||
| 2018-present | Flames | Yes | ||||
| 2018-2024 | Yeh Meri Family | Yes | ||||
| 2018-2023 | College Romance | Yes | ||||
| 2019-present | Cubicles | Yes | ||||
| ImMATURE | Yes | |||||
| Kota Factory | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Gullak | Yes | |||||
| 2019-2023 | Hostel Daze | Yes | ||||
| 2020 | CommitMental | Yes | Telugu language show | |||
| 2020-present | Panchayat | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2021-present | Aspirants | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2021 | The Interns | Yes | ||||
| 2022 | NCR Days | Yes | ||||
| Bade Chote Jasoos | Yes | |||||
| Sixerr | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Bachelors vs the World | Yes | |||||
| Sisters | Yes | |||||
| Sonu Beauty Parlour | Yes | |||||
| Baap Beta Aur Office | Yes | |||||
| Dadugiri | Yes | |||||
| Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt. Ltd. | Yes | Yes | ||||
| The Winning Secrets | Yes | |||||
| Who's your Gynac | Yes | |||||
| 2023 | Half CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Kaalkoot | Yes | Yes | ||||
| SK Sir ki Class | Yes | |||||
| Angrezi Mat Jhad | Yes | |||||
| Engga Hostel | Yes | Tamil language show | ||||
| Arranged Couple | Yes | |||||
| The Talent Manager | Yes | |||||
| Hostel Days | Yes | Telugu language show | ||||
| Sandeep Bhaiya | Yes | |||||
| Builders | Yes | |||||
| Sapne vs Everyone | Yes | |||||
| Mom @ Work | Yes | |||||
| 2024 | Very Parivarik | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sisterhood | Yes | |||||
| Industry | Yes | |||||
| 2025 | Gram Chikitsalay | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2026 | Space Gen: Chandrayaan | Yes |
Awards and achievements
He was included in the list of The Economic Times 40 under Forty list for 2016,[33] Fortune Top 40 under 40 list for 2015,[34] GQ's List of Most Influential Young Indians for 2015 and 2016,[35] "Entrepreneur" List of 10 Geniuses Redefining Creativity of 2016.[36] He was also awarded Man's World - Men of the Year in 2014,[37] and AFAQs- "Newsmaker of the Year" in 2014.[38]