Lawyer · Writer · Story Consultant · Screenwriter

Fiction. Non-fiction. The line between them. My team works there.

Writing. Story research. Communication Consultancy. Film Production Companies. Corporates. Development Sector.

Explore My Work
Trusted By
Dharma Productions · Zoya Akhtar · Tiger Baby · Reema Kagti · Maddock Films · Alankrita Shrivastava · Excel · Avinash Arun · HBO · Karan Johar · Amazon Prime Video · Anu Singh Chaudhary · BBC · Shazia Iqbal · Adlabs · Dalberg · Bridgespan · Purpose · US-India Policy Institute
In Their Words
What happens when you go deep enough
From the team of Majid Majidi
Academy Award–nominated director

Mr. Majidi sends his regards to your wonderful team and says well done. He found your perspective, as reflected in the text, very beautiful. A location must be a character in itself and not merely a touristic backdrop. The location should actively contribute to the development of the story — and this is a perfect example of how much a location can enrich both the visuals and the narrative.

Dushyant Arora with Majid Majidi at BJIFF
Somen Mishra
Dharma Productions

Dushyant doesn’t just research — he builds worlds, finds meaning in the smallest details, and brings stories to life with depth and authenticity. His work is meticulous yet instinctive, adding layers that make a narrative feel lived-in and real.

Sumit Roy
Screenwriter — Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Gehraiyaan, Homebound (Cannes 2025)

Dushyant is thorough, detail oriented & (my fav quality in a researcher) obsessive. Wholly recommend his services.

Rukun Kaul
Partnerships & Strategic Communications

Dushyant has been a wonderful thought-partner and an opinion leader to have worked with on projects that range from Circular Economy to the Preservation of Biodiversity in the country. He navigated through the policy on the campaigns and assisted in the conceptualisation of their go-to-market strategy.

Surabhi Yadav
Sajhe Sapne · UC Berkeley · IIT Delhi

His efforts and initiative helped my nonprofit accomplish its fundraising goal in less than four days — a substantial shift from the original plan of raising the funds in 60 days. He is quick to act, well articulated, strategic.

On Screen
Criminal Justice: A Family Matter
JioHotstar

Criminal Justice

Season 4: A Family Matter

Research consultant. Forensic procedures, police investigation, court trials in cases of sexual violence and murder.

Pankaj Tripathi · Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub · Surveen Chawla
Love Storiyaan
Amazon Prime Video

Love Storiyaan

Dharmatic Entertainment

Research consultant. Docu-series on extraordinary love stories across India.

Karan Johar · 6 Episodes
Authentic Kahaniyan

50+ Projects

Military · Business · Political History · Biopics · Court Trials

My team handles research, rights acquisition, and creative consulting across genres. Learn more →

The Quint| Times of India| The Caravan| The Wire| Frontline| NDTV| New Indian Express| Books
AI can summarise a court case. It can’t sit in a courtroom at 3 AM the night before an execution and know what the corridor smells like. It can’t drink chai with a retired havaldar’s wife and hear the version of events that never made the FIR.
01

Legal Architecture

Almost two decades of legal practice means I read stories through the framework of evidence, procedure, and precedent. When I research a courtroom drama, I don’t just find the facts — I find the silences. The plea that was never filed. The argument that was conceded too quickly.

02

Field Presence

My team goes to the places we write about. Courtrooms. Protest sites. Border towns. Military cantonments. The research isn’t extracted from people — it’s built alongside them. The grandmother who corrects your Hindi. The constable who changes his story when the camera is off.

03

Writing Room Instinct

50+ projects have taught me what a writing room actually needs: not a Wikipedia dump but the detail that makes a scene breathe. The name of the form you fill at a thana. The colour of the walls in a Sessions Court. The specific way a military widow folds her husband’s uniform.

04

Rights Acquisition

Books, articles, life rights, true events — I handle the full chain from identifying source material to negotiating and closing rights deals. Two decades of legal practice means I read contracts the way most researchers read transcripts.

05

Strategy & Communication

From drafting sections of the Uniform Civil Code to raising ₹3 crore in four days for riot-hit communities — I know how to move from insight to action. Whether it’s a campaign, a curriculum, or a policy paper.

The full story

I started out as a Supreme Court lawyer. Then, somewhere along the way, I became the person production houses call when they need someone who understands both the legal system and the communities their stories are about.

I run Authentic Kahaniyan, a story research firm. My team has worked on over 50 projects across Bollywood, OTT, documentary, and branded content — for Dharma, Tiger Baby, Maddock, Excel, HBO, Amazon, and BBC. I’m a research consultant on Criminal Justice S4 (Hotstar) and Love Storiyaan (Amazon Prime Video). I’m currently writing my first screenplay.

I write columns for the Times of India and The Quint. I’ve published in The Caravan, The Wire, Frontline, NDTV. My newsletter, Our Daily Partition, has over 1,000 subscribers.

I drafted India’s Progressive Uniform Civil Code, submitted to the Law Commission in 2017, with signatories including TM Krishna, Bezwada Wilson, Mukul Kesavan, Nilanjana Roy, and Gul Panag, and endorsed by former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee. I was on the core organising team of the first Karwan-e-Mohabbat yatra, later shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize. I’ve raised crores for communities hit by communal violence.

I live in Mumbai with my partner and three dogs.

Dushyant Arora

Our Daily Partition

On communalism, democracy, cinema, and the stories India tells itself. Over 1,000 subscribers.

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