Pooja Pillai is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, working with the National Editorial and Opinion section. Her work frequently explores the intersection of society, culture and technology....Read More
Pooja Pillai is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, working with the National Editorial and Opinion section. Her work frequently explores the intersection of society, culture and technology.
Editorial Focus & Expertise
Pooja’s writing spans several key domains, often blending analytical commentary with cultural critique.
Art & Culture: She writes extensively on cinema, books, and the evolving landscape of arts and entertainment.
Technology & Society: Her work examines the human impact of the gig economy, the rise of AI in creative fields, and the cultural shifts driven by digital platforms.
Food & Lifestyle: She often uses food as a lens to explore history and politics, covering everything from the origins of pantry essentials to the impact of nutrition policy.
Politics: She closely tracks political developments in South and West India and provides commentary on international political transitions, including the shifting landscape of American politics.
Multimedia & Podcasting
Pooja is a prominent voice in the Indian Express’s digital ecosystem. She is the host of 'DeshKaal with Yogendra Yadav', weekly video podcast where she facilitates deep-dive conversations on Indian democracy, social movements, and current political affairs.
Notable Recent Works
Cinema & Identity: “SRK@60: Why Shah Rukh Khan is Bollywood's last, and only, superstar” – an analysis of stardom and the changing face of Indian identity
Global Politics: Commentary on the Trump administration’s misguided “war on woke culture” via typography and analysis of the visual semiotics of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attire during successive visits to the White House.
Art & AI: “An unequal music: AI is lowering barriers at the cost of music itself” – a critique of how technology is redefining artistic value.
Professional Presence
Pooja is active on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, where she shares her latest columns and editorial insights.
Her full archive and latest updates can be found on her Indian Express Author Profile.
May 25, 2018 00:29 IST
Filmmaker Nag Ashwin on the making of his critically-acclaimed film Mahanati and the lasting allure...
Fri, May 25, 2018
May 18, 2018 23:49 IST
More escapades in the great, big...
Fri, May 18, 2018
May 13, 2018 00:00 IST
How the incredibly tenacious visionary Jamshed J Bhabha moulded NCPA, Bombay’s iconic art...
Sun, May 13, 2018
May 08, 2018 00:07 IST
A Mumbai-based archive is collecting oral histories in an effort to facilitate a more nuanced,...
Tue, May 08, 2018
May 06, 2018 00:00 IST
How a son is taking his mother’s delectable Bohri dishes to Mumbai...
Sun, May 06, 2018
Apr 30, 2018 00:00 IST
In her new exhibition, artist Meera Devidayal examines the relationship between the sea and the...
Mon, Apr 30, 2018
Apr 29, 2018 07:41 IST
To anyone who has watched the two films directed by Dileesh Pothan — Maheshinte Prathikaaram and...
Sun, Apr 29, 2018
Apr 25, 2018 00:08 IST
In how many ways can an archive inform our understanding of art? CONA, an artists’ hub in...
Wed, Apr 25, 2018
Apr 16, 2018 00:25 IST
Artists Krishen Khanna, Manu Parekh, Prabhakar Kolte, Akbar Padamsee and Gulam Mohammed Sheikh...
Mon, Apr 16, 2018
Apr 11, 2018 01:13 IST
A theatre performance that delivers funny but sharp observations on everyday misogyny comes to...
Wed, Apr 11, 2018
Apr 08, 2018 00:00 IST
One of India’s leading abstract artists, the reclusive Prabhakar Kolte speaks on his first solo...
Sun, Apr 08, 2018
Apr 04, 2018 00:15 IST
Despite feeling discriminated against by the producers of Sudani from Nigeria, Nigerian actor...
Wed, Apr 04, 2018
Apr 01, 2018 00:02 IST
An architecture show has the...
Sun, Apr 01, 2018
Mar 31, 2018 00:05 IST
Of small town aspirations and the gap between expectations and...
Sat, Mar 31, 2018
Mar 25, 2018 00:05 IST
Malayalam writer Nalini Jameela on her new book and why her unconventional views about sexual...
Sun, Mar 25, 2018
Mar 24, 2018 02:10 IST
When the landmark exhibition “India and the World: A History in Nine Stories” opens at the...
Sat, Mar 24, 2018
Mar 17, 2018 00:32 IST
An exhibition examines different approaches that two artists employ to trick the viewer’s...
Sat, Mar 17, 2018
Mar 07, 2018 00:05 IST
A new books prize seeks to raise the profile of writers in India and privilege translations from...
Wed, Mar 07, 2018
Mar 02, 2018 00:00 IST
Model Gilu Joseph, who features on the Grihalakshmi cover, on why breastfeeding should be...
Sat, Mar 03, 2018
Mar 01, 2018 00:07 IST
Deepika Sorabjee, Head of arts and culture at Tata Trusts, on the way forward for the...
Thu, Mar 01, 2018
Feb 27, 2018 00:07 IST
An online project is documenting the colourful history and culture of the East Indians, the...
Tue, Feb 27, 2018
Feb 26, 2018 01:20 IST
Who was Sridevi? She was a goddess, a gamine, a goofball and a seductress all rolled into one. Here...
Wed, Feb 28, 2018
Feb 22, 2018 06:30 IST
The late bookseller, who had founded the iconic Mumbai bookstore in 1948, was proved...
Thu, Feb 22, 2018
Feb 18, 2018 00:00 IST
In business for 78 years, Madras Cafe was established in 1940 by Gopal Kamath, Devavrat's...
Sun, Feb 18, 2018
Feb 16, 2018 00:29 IST
An exhibition at Mumbai’s oldest museum tackles big questions about the nature of the...
Fri, Feb 16, 2018