About the Author

Sanjay Upadhyay is an acclaimed Director, writer, screenwriter, and storyteller whose work spans television, films, and long-form fiction over the last three decades. Considerable time of which has also been on the side of broadcasters as Programming Head.

Drawn to stories that explore the fault lines of society and the complexities of human relationships, he writes about ordinary people navigating extraordinary circumstances.

His narratives often blend emotional intimacy with political and social themes, examining questions of identity, loyalty, love, and belonging. Whether writing for the screen or the page, Sanjay believes that the most compelling stories are those that reveal the humanity hidden behind labels, borders, and beliefs.

ID is his second novel, following Of Crown & Conspiracies, a political thriller that explored power, ambition, and intrigue against the backdrop of royalty in contemporary India.

Sanjay lives and works in Mumbai, where he continues to create stories for both the screen and the written word.

About The Book

A Lie That Saved a Life.

A Truth That Could Shatter Everything.

When the Indian government scrambles to evacuate students stranded in a war-torn Ukraine, one name slips through the cracks, Usmaan Abbas. A Pakistani national mistaken for an injured Indian student, Jeet Khurana.

Grasping at survival, Usmaan assumes his best friend’s identity. But back in India, what starts as a desperate deception snowballs into a life of borrowed loyalties, fragile truths, and a love he never expected. As he is drawn deeper into the world of medicine, politics, and surveillance, Usmaan begins to question the very borders he once vowed to cross.

Even as Usmaan held in his hands the life of his friend Jeet Khurana, a stoic police officer smells a cover-up. A devoted girlfriend who refuses to believe the worst. And the agencies that saved Usmaan’s life may now be the ones to end it.

Taut with suspense, pulsing with emotion, and unafraid to ask questions that blur the line between patriotism and humanity, ID is a breathtaking espionage thriller and a powerful meditation on identity, redemption, and the invisible scars of displacement.