Biography

I am interested in studying sexuality and pornography in South Asia. Pornography is banned across most of South Asia and my interest lies in understanding how sexuality and pornography interact with social and cultural milieu in such landscapes. In my Mphil thesis The immortality of Haveli or, How I googled the glass Window from Jawaharlal Nehru University I attempted to study the changing representation of women’s body and sexuality within Havelis (colonial/precolonial mansions) in Bombay cinema. I also have a masters degree in History from University of Calcutta.

I have also worked as a journalist for The Indian Express, a national daily based in India and have been an assistant director for films, documentaries and reality series.

CONFERENCES

Animating Desire: Apocryphal Myth and Desire under India’s New Censorship. Paper  presented at the Annual South Asian Conference, Wisconsin Madison; Oct 17-20, 2019

Viral Toilets, Virtual Humor: Reading Gendered and Transgressive Bodies in Urban India. Paper presented at the 69th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Washington D.C; May 24-28, 2019

From Pornography to Paranoia: Re-Reading Emanuelle as a Body Horror Text. Paper presented at Mini Big 10 Conference, Urbana; April 12, 2019

Fantasy in a time of banned desire: Savita Bhabhi and animated porn in India. Paper presented at Common Grounds Conference, The Media School; March 29, 2019

From Pornography to Paranoia: Re-Reading Emanuelle as a Body Horror Text. French and Italian, 2019, GSO Conference, Indiana University; March 1, 2019

How the Fearless Girl Challenged a Bull and Got Away With It. Paper presented at 12^th Annual Indiana University Conference on Landscape, Space, and Place, Indiana University; March 2-3, 2018

Havelis in Bombay Cinema. Paper presented at Common Grounds Conference, The Media School; Feb, 2018

Havelis in Bombay Cinema: Re-selling the Past and its Desires. Paper presented at the sixth Biennial Conference of the Media Fields Editorial Collective, University of California, Santa Barbara; April 6-7, 2017

Havelis in Bombay Cinema: A brief overview from the 1960s till the present. Paper presented  at at Haveli: The Way Forward organized by Archade Foundation (Architecture Research, Conservation, Habitat and Design Foundation); New Delhi, October 10-11, 2015

Through the looking glass. Paper presented at the Humanitarian Disasters, Human Rights Violations and Social Media Journalism, organized by CRG and British Deputy High Commission; Kolkata, Dec 11-14, 2013

Classes Taught/ Teaching

Media Conspiracy (Graduate Assistant)- Fall 2019

Media 101 (Associate Instructor)- Spring 2019, Fall 2018

Writing Media Criticism (Graduate Assistant)- Spring 2018

Communications Law (Graduate Assistant)- Fall 2017

Guest Lecturer

How India/ Indians are stereotyped by American Media for MSCH-C214, Race, Prejudice, and the Media. 3/28/2019

University Service

Professional Development Chair (2019-2020) at Media School Graduate Association

Social Chair (2018-2019) at Media School Graduate Association