Summary
Arunabh Kumar (born 26 November 1982) is an Indian entrepreneur, producer, director, screenwriter and an actor. He is the founder of The Viral Fever.
Arunabh Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 November 1982 Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Spouse |
Shruti Ranjan (m. 2022) |
He was the CEO of The Viral Fever but later stepped down after being accused of sexual harassment by a former employee, and several other women.[1][2] He rejoined TVF after a hiatus of 3 years as a Mentor.[3][4]
Early life edit
Arunabh Kumar was brought up in Muzaffarpur in Bihar.[5] 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.[6]
MTV rejected his creation Engineer's Diary which led to the launching of The Viral Fever.[7][8]
Filmography edit
Television edit
| Year | Title | Creator | Director | Writer | Executive producer | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-2022 | TVF Pitchers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also portrayed Yogi |
| 2023- | Kaalkoot | Yes |
Controversies edit
Arunabh Kumar found himself amidst a controversy in March 2017. Over 50 women stepped up to accuse him of sexual harassment after an anonymous Medium post titled The Indian Uber- That is TVF.[9][10][11]
On March 29, 2017, he was booked for molestation after a woman filed a police complaint in Mumbai.[12] Following this, a second FIR was filed against him while his whereabouts were unknown.[13]
On 16 June 2017, Kumar, accused in multiple sexual harassment cases, stepped down as TVF CEO and gave the charge to Dhawal Gusain.[14]
On 28 December 2022, Mumbai Court acquitted Arunabh Kumar of all charges, years after he faced charges for sexual misconduct.[15]
Awards and achievements edit
- The Economic Times 40 under Forty list for 2016[16]
- Fortune Top 40 under 40 list for 2015[17]
- GQ's List of Most Influential Young Indians for 2015[18] & 2016
- "Entrepreneur" List of 10 Geniuses Redefining Creativity, 2016[19]
- Man's World - Men of the Year, 2014[20]
- AFAQs - "Newsmaker of the Year" in 2014.[21]
References edit
- ^ "TVF CEO Arunabh Kumar Steps Down: Read Full Text Of His Statement". NDTV.com. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ "Mumbai Film Festival Diary 2014: On day 5, comedians talk about social media's cool new generation of stars in Alia and Parineeti". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- ^ "Main Founding Members of 'TVF-The Viral Fever' Quit". India Forums. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Vijay Koshy makes a comeback to TVF as President". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Saxena, Aditi (6 February 2015). "This IIT Kharagpur alumnus is the brain behind The Viral Fever Media". The Economic Times. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ "Not Deepika Padukone, Ex-TVF CEO Arunabh Kumar Auditioning for Shah Rukh Khan's Heroine Role in Om Shanti Om is Memorable! | India.com". www.india.com. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "How MTV's rejection created Q-tiyapa". Hindustan Times. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ "EC – How an IITian sodomized by MTV created his own youth channel – The Viral Fever bluff". enoogle. Retrieved 21 March 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Tlolhe Indian Uber- That is TVF". 12 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
- ^ "Several people accuse TVF CEO of sexual harassment". The Times of India. 15 March 2017.
- ^ "An IIT Grad, A Viral Video Start-Up, Sex Harassment Allegations: 10 Facts". 15 March 2017.
- ^ "TVF molestation row: Founder-CEO Anurabh Kumar booked after a victim registers case in Mumbai". Indian Express. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ "Second FIR lodged against TVF CEO Arunabh Kumar on charges of sexual harassment". Hindustan Times. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- ^ "Arunabh Kumar steps down as TVF CEO". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Mumbai court acquits TVF founder Arunabh Kumar in 2017 sexual harassment case". Hindustan Times. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ Staff, ET (29 September 2015). "40 under Forty: Celebrating Young Leaders".
- ^ "40 Under 40". Fortune India.
- ^ "The 50 most influential young Indians". 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ "10 Geniuses Who Are Redefining the Future of Creativity". ENTREPRENEUR INDIA. 30 January 2016.
- ^ "Men of the Year 2014". 9 January 2015.
- ^ "People in the News". Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2016.