Balaji Vittal (1 Post)

Balaji has been a freelancer with The Metroplus and Young World (The Hindu) contributing articles around trends, events, fashion and celebrity interviews. He along with Anirudha Bhattacharjee authored the book RD Burman: The Man, The Music (published by Harper Collins) which won the President’s Swarn Kamal Award for the Best Book on Cinema at the National Film Awards for 2011. Balaji was selected as a Jury Member to judge the Best Book on Cinema at the 2013 National Film Awards. His recently released Gaata Rahe Mera Dil – 50 Classic Hindi films Songs co-authored with Anirudha Bhattacharjee (published by Harper Collins) has been at the top slot of the Bestseller List and has received very positive reviews by the media and readers alike. Balaji is currently working on multiple books, the subjects ranging from the music of S D Burman to the films of Basu Chatterjee.

Dheeraj Akolkar (0 Post)

Dheeraj Akolkar is the director of the much-acclaimed film Liv and Ingmar based on the romance and relation between two of world cinema’s greatest contributors – Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman. Dheeraj also worked extensively in the Indian film industry on various films such as Lagaan, Devdas, Charas - A Joint Effort, Sala Bandar and Black. As a writer, director, cinematographer and producer, his own work includes the short films Jyotirgamaya - Lead Me To The Light, Whatever! Sold my Soul and Asylum. He works between the UK, India and Scandinavia on a slate of five films under his London based production company Vardo Film.

Peeyush Sharma (52 Posts)

Consulting Editor Learning and Creativity and Silhouette Magazine. To talk of a few passions of Peeyush, one must start with music. He is known to be a collector of music and information pertaining to Indian cinema (majorly Hindi) spanning a period from early 1930s to 1980s. He has a large collection of Bengali and Punjabi music and material as well. He also boasts of a huge library of related material. Peeyush has delivered talks and lectures on music appreciation, contributed write ups in numerous news papers and magazines. He has co-authored a tribute publication on Anil Biswas. He has co-hosted radio talk shows on music and met and interviewed a number of personalities. Occasionally, he delivers talks even now. Peeyush has been the founder secretary of the prestigious, Vintage Hindi Music Lovers Association in Bangalore that honored Anil Biswas in 1985. He is known as a storehouse of old Hindi music and information regarding music and movies. Peeyush is well read in Vedic culture and literature and is invited in various centers to deliver enlightening lectures on Vedic values. His range spans from four Vedas to Upanishads and Darshans as well as Bhagvad Gita. He has delivered talks on Yog Darshan in Yoga schools and large gatherings. He currently lives in Oshawa, Ontario in Canada.

S Vishwanath (3 Posts)

S Vishwanath is a Senior Film Critic and journalist with over 30 years in the field and is a regular jury in several film festivals in India and abroad. A Post Graduate in English Literature & MS in Communication with Film Studies as Special Subject, he is associated with the Bengaluru International Film Festival as Deputy Artistic Director curating the World Cinema Section since its eight edition. He is also the curator for the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival and Rolling Frames Short, Animation & Documentary Film Festival. An active film society member, he extensively writes on the film sector covering various aspects of the film industry both at National and State level and covers South Indian films reviewing and critiquing — Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, as also Hindi (Bollywood) and English language cinema.

Vasanti Limaye (2 Posts)

Vasanti Limaye is a freelance content writer based in Pune. She had been a part of content team of Orient Infosolutions in 2006-2007 in Delhi. The author has a keen interest in Indian Classical Music and is a member of Music club for Senior Citizens at Bhusari Colony, Pune.

Vidyarthy Chatterjee (1 Post)

Vidyarthy Chatterjee is a veteran film critic. His book Calcutta Films: A Joshy Joseph Trilogy won the first Chidananda Dasgupta Memorial Award for the Best Writing on Cinema in 2021.

Vijay Kumar (15 Posts)

Born in 1950, Vijay Kumar’s ancestral roots were in Uttar Pradesh. He took early schooling in Ludhiana, Punjab; secondary school and college education in Kanpur; a post-graduate in Statistics, and much later, obtained a law degree from the Delhi University. A government job brought him to Delhi, where he had the opportunity to handle national policies on education and culture. His last professional engagement was in the Ministry of Tourism, where he was the Director, heading the division responsible for the promotion of education and skills specific to the tourism sector. Vijay Kumar is a recipient of the National Hospitality Education Award 2011-12, in recognition of his contribution towards skill development initiatives for the tourism and hospitality sector. His early childhood was shaped by a familial milieu that was quasi rural, with songs and music for every occasion. His mother had a good memory for Kabir and Tulsidas and she recited them. This music sensitization mutated into a love for the Hindi film music as he grew.