Sessions
Ram C/O Anandhi
Akhil Dharmajan with Rashmi Menon
ScreenLit Pitches
Jury: Akhil Dharmajan, Anand Neelakantan, Archana Vasudev, Rohit Vedprakash, Ranjani Krishnakumar
Bio
Akhil P. Dharmajan is a Malayalam novelist and scriptwriter who rose to prominence through self-publishing his work on social media. Born in Alappuzha, Kerala, he started his career as an automobile mechanic before pursuing diplomas in mechanical engineering and filmmaking. His first novel, Ouija Board, was serialised on his Facebook page and then self-published with funds from his readers. His breakthrough came with the youth bestseller Ram c/o Anandhi, a novel set in Chennai exploring themes of love, identity, and social acceptance, including a prominent transgender character. This novel earned him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2025, and more than 4 lac copies have been sold to date.
Akhil is also an established scriptwriter, having written the screenplay for the critically and commercially successful film 2018 – Everyone is a Hero, which was India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2023. His direct, cinematic, and relatable storytelling style has made him a leading voice in contemporary Malayalam popular fiction.