Researching Gotham Chopra

Gotham Chopra (born Gautama Chopra on February 23, 1975) is an American author, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Deepak Chopra. He attended Belmont Hill School and was an undergraduate student at Columbia University.

When Chopra began his career at Channel One News, he changed the spelling of his given name from "Gautama" to "Gotham." Chopra said that he changed the spelling because he was tired of "Gautama" being mispronounced in the United States. He is a partner in Chopra Media with his sister, Mallika Chopra. Together, they launched IntentBlog and Virgin Comics, which he collaborated on with Sir Richard Branson. In September 2008, Gotham and Virgin Comics co-founder Sharad Devarajan led a management buyout of Virgin Comics and renamed the company Liquid Comics. Subsequently, Liquid Comics refocused its business on the South Asian subcontinent, launching Graphic India which raised capital from American media baron Peter Chernin.

In 2012, Chopra directed and produced Decoding Deepak, a feature documentary on his father that premiered at the SXSW film festival. In 2015, Gotham directed and executive produced Kobe Bryant's Muse on NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. The film aired on Showtime Networks and was the highest performing sports documentary in the network's history. That same year, a documentary Gotham directed on Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar entitled The Little Master aired on ESPN as part of the network's award-winning 30 for 30 film series. Later in 2015, Gotham directed and produced I Am Giant, a feature documentary on New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz.

On July 3, 2009, Chopra gave an interview on CNN's Larry King Live at Neverland Ranch saying that he knew pop star Michael Jackson through his father for over two decades. He had also written about his friendship with Jackson on June 26, 2009 in the Huffington Post. He wrote about Jackson calling him at his dorm when he was a student at Columbia, asking him to help write lyrics for songs, and about working with Jackson at his hotel suite in Manhattan as an informal "lyrical advisor." He recalled how Jackson called him at night "in a panic" after he had just married Lisa Marie Presley and asked him if he had any marriage advice. He said he first met Jackson when he was 15 and spent days at the Neverland Ranch with his friends, sisters, and cousins. He recalled Jackson's visits to his parents' house and spending a summer with Jackson on the Dangerous Tour. He said their relationship continued after they both became fathers and recalled going to Jackson's house a few years ago with his wife Dr. Candice Chen, a physician, to help when Michael Jackson had an accidental fall. He said parenting was the focus of his last conversations with Jackson in the last few months before Jackson's death.

In 2015, Chopra created “Religion of Sports,” a six-part documentary series examining how sports can profoundly influence societies and cultures in a manner that extends beyond entertainment value.