Arundhati Roy was born in Bengal in 1961. She studied architecture at the Delhi School of Architecture but quickly became known for her work as screenwriter. She wrote and starred in 'In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones', and wrote the screenplay Pradip Kishen's film 'Electric Moon'.

She gained further attention when she spoke in defense of Phoolan Devi, who she felt had been mistreated in the film "Bandit Queen" and went to work on her first book, "The God of Small Things" which won the prestigious British Booker prize for literature in 1997 (the first time an Indian woman was honored with the prize). Additionally, she is the author of several essays including "The End of Imagination" and "The Greater Common Good" and continues to use her fame to speak out about a variety of political causes including the anti-nuclear movement.