Kanika Dhillon was born in
Amritsar, and after completing her undergraduate education from
St. Stephen's College, Delhi, she pursued a master's degree at the
London School of Economics. Soon after graduating, she relocated to Mumbai and worked as a script supervisor for
Shah Rukh Khan's production company
Red Chillies Entertainment. She went on to serve as an assistant director for the company's 2007 film
Om Shanti Om. After working as a script supervisor for another one of the company's production, the comedy-drama
Billu (2009), Dhillon went on to write for two television series, the
NDTV Imagine sitcom
Ghar Ki Baat Hai (2009) and the
Disney India children's show
Ishaan: Sapno Ko Awaaz De (2010–2011). In 2011, Dhillon published her first novel, the satire
Bombay Duck is a Fish, about Neki Brar, a girl aspiring for a career in
Hindi films. The book was launched by Shah Rukh Khan. Reviewing the book for
Daily News and Analysis, Rupa Gulab found it to be "a racy and witty lowdown on peer politics, star egos, sleaze, love rats, spot boys, junior artistes, ‘gora’ extras, etc." Rashi Tiwari of
News18 commented that the book "is written with a light touch but nevertheless strikes a chord with not just Bollywood aspirants but also those looking for a fantastical getaway." Also that year, she served as a screenwriter for the superhero film
Ra.One, directed by
Anubhav Sinha and starring Khan. For her prime accomplishments,
Hindustan Times honoured Dhillon in 2012 at their annual youth summit "Top 30 Under 30". Following
Ra.One, Dhillon was keen to write a superhero novel aimed at teenagers. Inspired by the doomsday theories of 2012, she released her next book,
Shiva & The Rise of The Shadows in 2013. In 2015, she served as the writer for the
Telugu–
Tamil bilingual comedy
Size Zero, which starred
Anushka Shetty as an overweight woman who admits herself to a weight loss clinic. Initially written for Hindi film, it was eventually made in
South India after Dhillon's husband, the filmmaker
Prakash Kovelamudi, liked the script and directed it himself. In a review for
Hindustan Times, Khushboo Shukla labelled the book "gripping" and commended Dhillon for successfully exploring faith and culture of rural India. Deepa Suryanarayan of
Femina praised the complex character of Rajjo and wrote that despite the character's misdeeds, she had empathised with Rajjo. Dhillon has written the scripts for the 2018 Hindi films
Anurag Kashyap's drama
Manmarziyaan, starring
Abhishek Bachchan,
Taapsee Pannu, and
Vicky Kaushal; and
Abhishek Kapoor's romance
Kedarnath, starring
Sushant Singh Rajput and
Sara Ali Khan. She has also written the script of her husband's satire on mental illness,
Judgemental Hai Kya, starring
Kangana Ranaut and
Rajkummar Rao. During promotion of
Judgemental Hai Kya, director Prakash Kovelamudi and Kanika announced their separation and said they had already separated two years earlier. ==Controversy==