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.
Mar 26, 2020 03:04 IST
Floyd Cardoz, who grew up in Bandra, Mumbai, is widely credited with bringing the diversity and...
Thu, Mar 26, 2020
Mar 25, 2020 22:22 IST
The Mumbai-born chef, who is credited with raising the profile of Indian food in the USA in the...
Wed, Mar 25, 2020
Mar 16, 2020 02:26 IST
In Delhi, the AAP govt succeeded in winning the imagination of the people around delivery of their...
Mon, Mar 16, 2020
Mar 09, 2020 00:14 IST
Nearly every family ends up forming its own food traditions. When Aditya Jha was growing up, the...
Tue, Mar 10, 2020
Mar 06, 2020 00:59 IST
Chef Kelvin Cheung on his influences and the menus of his two new ventures in...
Fri, Mar 06, 2020
Feb 28, 2020 00:36 IST
Popular restaurant Pan Asian returns as Yi Jing, with assertive spiciness from Sichuan and...
Fri, Feb 28, 2020
Feb 26, 2020 06:30 IST
What he wants, he says, is to keep the “DNA” — the flavour — of the food intact, even as he...
Wed, Feb 26, 2020
Feb 22, 2020 04:53 IST
The menu was to have included non-vegetarian dishes such as bati with dry fish, fish in turmeric...
Sat, Feb 22, 2020
Feb 21, 2020 00:41 IST
Fig at Museo has a hard time reconciling taste with the quest for...
Fri, Feb 21, 2020
Feb 20, 2020 20:27 IST
The menu at 'Historical Gastronomica' suggests that the food of the Indus Valley people would be...
Sat, Aug 13, 2022
Feb 19, 2020 00:20 IST
Making...
Tue, Feb 18, 2020
Feb 18, 2020 00:05 IST
Writer-columnist Anoothi Vishal, who, as a journalist, had documented the start of the so-called...
Tue, Feb 18, 2020
Feb 14, 2020 13:46 IST
The oldest and most ornamental of Central London’s royal parks, it had been opened to the public...
Fri, Feb 14, 2020
Feb 14, 2020 03:30 IST
Chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White on why generosity and honesty matter in food and how the...
Fri, Feb 14, 2020
Feb 07, 2020 12:30 IST
Disgust or shock at what other people eat is a failure of the imagination....
Sat, Feb 08, 2020
Feb 06, 2020 06:26 IST
The concept of a wine bistro in a city that is still coming to terms with the idea that some types...
Wed, Feb 05, 2020
Jan 31, 2020 01:55 IST
Padmanabham, in New Delhi, illustrates why even a classic South Indian tiffin menu demands...
Fri, Jan 31, 2020
Jan 29, 2020 00:15 IST
I’m particularly enjoying sea bass right now. What I like to do is fry it in a pan till it has a...
Tue, Jan 28, 2020
Jan 23, 2020 05:32 IST
Plant-based alternative “mock meats” made of soya, jackfruit, mushrooms etc., have been around...
Thu, Jan 23, 2020
Jan 10, 2020 06:10 IST
Swedish restaurateurs Jonas Karlsson and Ruth Osborne on the challenges and rewards of cooking with...
Thu, Jan 09, 2020
Dec 31, 2019 06:14 IST
Regional flavours found a foothold on restaurant menus this year, a trend that’s set to get...
Tue, Dec 31, 2019
Dec 25, 2019 15:20 IST
Relish the best of Christmas with these mouthwatering recipes....
Wed, Dec 25, 2019
Dec 16, 2019 02:30 IST
Prahlad Sukhtankar, along with chef and restaurateur Rahul Akerkar, has curated the culinary arts...
Mon, Dec 16, 2019
Dec 12, 2019 00:05 IST
How the dhabas, which put Murthal on the paratha map of India, are dealing with the crunch....
Thu, Dec 12, 2019
Nov 26, 2019 06:29 IST
And yet, the furore over Nichols’ tweet seems overblown, probably because South Asians —...
Tue, Nov 26, 2019