https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Anil_C.S._RaoAnil C.S. Rao - Revision history2026-10-28T15:18:58ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anil_C.S._Rao&diff=486566&oldid=prevHGNJanell4801: Started initial bio and citations2026-01-23T12:29:49Z<p>Started initial bio and citations</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|American writer, artist, and comic book creator}}<br />
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{{Infobox writer<br />
| name = Anil C.S. Rao<br />
| image = <br />
| caption = <br />
| birth_place = United States<br />
| occupation = Writer, artist, comic book creator<br />
| language = English<br />
| education = MFA in Creative Writing, [[National University (California)|National University]] (2014)<br />
| notableworks = ''Bright Lights Big Buddha'', ''Vizag Blue'', ''Bharathi: Her Theory of Everything''<br />
}}<br />
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'''Anil C.S. Rao''' is an American writer, artist, and comic book creator. He is the author of several novels and a graphic novel, most notably ''Bright Lights Big Buddha'', which has appeared in multiple editions since 2014.<ref name="Rao 2023">{{cite book |last=Rao |first=Anil C.S. |title=Bright Lights Big Buddha: A Graphic Novel |year=2023 |publisher=Ind |isbn=9798389202382}}</ref> His work and artistic influences have been profiled in the ''Baltimore Post-Examiner'',<ref name="BaltimoreExaminer2023">{{cite web |title=Baltimore Bombay Baltimore: A Cineaste's Round Trip Journey |url=https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/baltimore-bombay-baltimore-a-cineastes-round-trip-journey/2023/01/27 |website=Baltimore Post-Examiner |date=January 27, 2023}}</ref> ''India Abroad'',<ref name="India Abroad profile">{{cite news |title=India Abroad profile |url=https://www.anilcsrao.com/ia.html}}</ref> ''The Hindu Metro Plus'',<ref>{{cite news |title=The Hindu Metro Plus article |url=https://www.anilcsrao.com/bonfire_vanities.html}}</ref> and the Telugu journal ''Visalandhra'',.<ref name="VisalandhraReview">{{cite news |title=Visalandhra review of Anil C.S. Rao's fiction |language=te |publisher=Visalandhra |date=2023 |url=https://www.anilcsrao.com/press.html}}</ref><br />
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== Biography ==<br />
Rao earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing from [[National University (California)|National University]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Creative Writing Student Alumni Success |url=https://assets.nu.edu/assets/resources/degreeResources/Creative-Writing-Student-Alumni-Success1.pdf |website=National University |year=2014}}</ref><br />
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He is also the grandson of Indian historian and writer C.V.H. Rao, author of ''Civil Disobedience Movements in India''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rao |first=C.V.H. |title=Civil Disobedience Movements in India |year=2006 |publisher=Kanishka Publishers |isbn=9788188811380 }}</ref><br />
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== Career ==<br />
Rao began his career in 1981 as an apprentice at BR Films in Mumbai, working on the production of the feature film ''Nikaah''.<ref>{{cite news |title=BR Films production history |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/nikaah/ |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |year=1981}}</ref><br />
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He later developed a body of fiction, graphic novels, and digital art. His novels and artwork have been noted in the press for their blending of South Asian cultural themes with contemporary Western settings.<ref name="India Abroad profile"/><ref name="VisalandhraReview" /><br />
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According to a 2023 article in the Baltimore Post-Examiner, Rao described how viewing Jean-Jacques Beineix’s ''Diva'' at the Charles Theater in Baltimore was a major influence in his artistic development.<ref name="BaltimoreExaminer2023" /><br />
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=== Published works ===<br />
* ''Bright Lights Big Buddha'' (graphic novel, multiple revised editions, 2014–2023). Independently published. ISBN 9798389202382.<ref name="Rao 2023"/><br />
* ''Vizag Blue'' (graphic novel). Independently published. ISBN 9798218109327.<ref name="VisalandhraReview" /> <br />
* ''Bharathi: Her Theory of Everything'' (novella and MFA thesis work). National University, 2014. [Unpublished thesis — circulated in excerpt form].<ref name="VisalandhraReview" /><br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Graphic novel]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Anil C.S.}}<br />
[[Category:American graphic novelists]]<br />
[[Category:American male novelists]]<br />
[[Category:American people of Indian descent]]<br />
[[Category:National University (California) alumni]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]</div>HGNJanell4801