A journalist and author, Praful nurtured his love for writing while working in journalism and became a published author at the age of fifty-six.

Praful Ramniklal Shah is a Journalist, Columnist and Author.

Praful was born and raised in Gujarat and has been living in Mumbai for the past fifty-five years. He has worked at every level of journalism in the Gujarati media industry and has been writing novels for the past five to seven years. Till now, he has written thirty-five novels in more than five languages. He also did research for two movies for ZEE-5, ‘Barot House’ and ‘Posham Pa’. He is out of active journalism for the past two years but writes three columns for two newspapers.

Talking about his childhood, Praful says that it was a normal childhood, and he did not face much struggles then. His mother was an avid reader and Praful feels that his love for literature comes from there itself. In his family, everyone was inclined towards business, and he himself was a commerce graduate. Hence, his decision to work in the journalism field came as a shock to everyone.

Talking about his journey, Praful says that once while traveling in a train, he met a journalist of Janmabhoomi newspaper from whom Praful inquired how to become a journalist. He was suggested by the journalist to apply in the newspaper ‘Vyapar’ being a commerce graduate. After three-four months, he received a call for an interview at Janmbhoomi which he joined and worked there for fifteen years. Praful says that he worked for the oldest newspaper of Asia, Mumbai Samachar, and retired from the same. He also wrote a few episodes of the serial ‘Rajni’ and other TV dramas as well while working in journalism.

Praful says that one of his friends from Mumbai Samachar, Nilesh Dave, motivated him to write a novel. It was then that Praful wrote ‘Drishyam Adrishyam’ which became very popular and was translated into five languages.

When asked about his mistakes, Praful says that he worked as a deskman in his newspaper and used to review and compile news brought by other journalists. However, he feels that if he would have been a reporter from the beginning, it would have given him better opportunities to create contacts. He also feels that he did not actively pursue or struggle in the film line like other people and should have done that.

Talking about his achievements, Praful says that he wrote his first novel at the age of fifty-six and has written thirty-five books till now, which is an achievement. He has two OTT releases and has also been an advisor at Maharashtra Rajya Pathyapustak Mandal as well.

Speaking about his inspirations, Praful says that Harindra Dave, from his older newspaper, inspires him a lot. Praful says that he does not have one particular role model and tries to take inspiration from everyone around. He says that he tries to be like no one and tries to live his life comfortably.

When stressed, Praful likes to read and tries to divert his mind away from the stress. He feels that some things are not in our hands and hence we should try not to worry about everything much.

Advising the youth, Praful says that earlier writing was taken as a side activity and not something that could earn a living. However, now, there are many options and opportunities available in the field of writing as well and the internet has made this world small and accessible to all.

Praful says that his life mantra is to keep working and enjoying his work.