Prabhjyot Gujral Chauhan promoted to fiction head at Balaji Telefilms’ YouTube channel

MUMBAI: New title. New responsibility. Same love for Drrama. Prabhjyot Gujral Chauhan has been promoted to fiction head of The Indian K Drramas, the YouTube channel of Balaji Telefilms, and the timing could hardly be sweeter. The channel was born of a first-of-its-kind content creator collaboration between Ekta Kapoor and YouTube, and its fiction slate now sits in the hands of someone who has spent over 14 years in television turning ideas into screen experiences.

The promotion follows a stint as content director at Balaji Telefilms, a role held since September 2025. The new post, effective September 2026, widens the brief. As fiction head, Gujral Chauhan leads the overall fiction content strategy, slate planning and development of original shows for the channel. The job covers the complete creative lifecycle, from concept development, story and screenplay to casting, production and final delivery. It also means driving creative vision and storytelling quality in line with the channel’s content strategy and audience expectations, working with writers, creative teams, production partners and cross-functional stakeholders, finding new content opportunities, developing franchises and exploring formats suited to YouTube’s evolving audience. Content performance and audience insights will inform creative decisions and channel growth.

The channel is no overnight project. For over a year, Gujral Chauhan and the team have been writing, developing and building new shows for it, and the upcoming YouTube shows are the fruit of that effort. The wider record of the past year is formidable. It includes Naagin 7, which Gujral Chauhan worked on from development to the final episode, and a brief stint on Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2. The work continues on Kyunki Rishthon Ke Bhi Roop Badalte Hai. There is also an upcoming Star Plus show featuring Shraddha Arya and Gaurav Khanna, with the title to be announced soon.

Then there is Amazon’s Broken But Beautiful, season five of which is now being written. Gujral Chauhan recalls watching the show and wondering when it might be possible to work on something like it. The wish has come full circle. In the profile’s own words, some wishes find their way back when least expected. It is a neat reminder that in television, as in most creative businesses, appetite and persistence tend to beat luck.

The route here was built on range. At Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, Gujral Chauhan spent five years and five months, first as executive producer from April 2018 to April 2021 and then as senior manager, programming, fiction, from April 2021 to August 2023. In May 2023 came an offer to lead Kyunki Saas Maa Bahu Beti Hoti Hai from the channel side. Gujral Chauhan had already decided to move from the corporate side to life as a freelance show runner, with a hand in every aspect of a show from start to finish, but still saw the show through to the end of the Zee tenure. The journey of 201 episodes, as Gujral Chauhan describes it, was not easy but taught valuable lessons about the growth that follows stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Gujral Chauhan later worked on the show as creative producer at Guroudev Bhalla Productions Private Limited, from August 2023 to March 2024.

The freelance years were busy. As show runner at Story Square Productions, from March 2024 to September 2025, Gujral Chauhan developed a Punjabi remake for Zee Punjabi, worked on Jamuniya, which aired on Shemaroo Umang, and took on an upcoming web series for Hungama Originals and a vertical series for StoryTV. As creative director, Gujral Chauhan worked on Power of Paanch, the 50-episode series released on JioHotstar and produced by Salt Media and Balaji Telefilms, and shot 25 episodes of Magadh Samrat, a 50-episode, two-season web show yet to be released. Further freelance work included show runner assignments at Shoonya Square Production Private Limited and a creative supervisor stint at Sphere Origins Multivision Private Limited.

The earlier years show a steady climb. Gujral Chauhan was creative director at Playtime Creation, where Saat Phero Ki Hera Pherie was launched on Sab TV, worked on new show development for OTT and television at Endemol Shine India, and was creative director on Meri Saasu Maa at Mumtaz Saba Productions. At Shashi Sumeet Group, Gujral Chauhan was creative head, handling on-set creative for Diya Aur Baati Hum, and earlier associate creative director on Ek Rishta Aisa Bhi and the pre-production of Tum Hi Bandhu Sakha Tumhi. Before that came a spell as social media manager at Media Vantage, a stint as content writer for the online portal televisionworld.in, and an internship at ETV Rajasthan in 2012, working in the control room and on the desk and reporting on special crime, Bollywood and travel.

Gujral Chauhan has been generous in thanks, crediting Ekta Kapoor, Nitin Burman, Tanusri Dasgupta and the team at Balaji Telefilms for the trust placed in the new role. Feeling grateful, a little overwhelmed and very excited, Gujral Chauhan signs off with a toast to bigger dreams, new stories and a whole lot of Drrama. With a YouTube slate in development, a Star Plus show on the way and an Amazon franchise in the writers’ room, the drama has every sign of being worth the wait.