Thanks to his talent for writing screenplays, Westerville resident and Otterbein College creative writing professor Abhijat Joshi recently acheived a title all his own.
Joshi is the screenwriter of the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, which collected $52 million worldwide in its first 10 days in theaters.
The film, 3 Idiots, was released on Christmas day in India and internationally to rave reviews and amazing audience response. It tells the story of three students at a prestigious and competitive Indian engineering college, who struggle to find themselves in a dehumanizing environment. Like Joshi’s previous hit film Lage Raho Munnabhai, 3 Idiots combines uproarious humor with a serious social and human message.
3 Idiots enjoyed the best opening weekend ever for an Indian film, grossing $21.4 million worldwide. It opened on 2,126 screens, including 366 internationally, grossing $4.45 million overseas. The film is currently playing in Columbus.
Based on a bestselling English-language novel by Chetan Bhagat, 3 Idiots makes some scathing indictments of the Indian education system, which Joshi experienced himself as a student in Guyarat, India. Joshi has taught screenwriting and playwriting at Otterbein College since 2003.
Joshi’s previous film, Munnabhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi, earned him several film awards, and was credited with inspiring a generation of Indian youth to learn more about Gandhi and his values. The film also inspired legislators of India’s ruling Congress party to bring Gandhi’s ideas to their policy-making considerations. Additionally, it was screened at the United Nations in New York City in 2006, making it the first full-length Indian film ever to be screened at the UN.
Joshi’s first full-length play, A Shaft of Sunlight, was a runner-up at the BBC World Service Playwriting Contest. His other Bollywood writing credits include Eklayva: The Royal Guard (2007) and Mission Kashmir (2000). A graduate of Gujarat University in India, Joshi earned his master’s of fine arts degree from the University of Texas, Austin.
For more information, visit www.otterbein.edu.