Our Writers

Kanika Bhatia graduated from Bard College, New York - a Liberal Arts school where she majored in Economics and Global & International Studies. After her return to India, she's been leading the content and social media team at Desimartini. She loves to spend her afternoons in theatres watching movies - hard at work, obviously! Outside work, you'll find Kanika (or not) galavanting across India with her favourite travel companion - her camera.

Nikhil Arora saw Jurassic Park in ’93 in a theater at the age of 5 and chose film as a way of life. He graduated from Delhi University and Whistling Woods International in Mumbai. He enjoys writing/ talking about movies when he's not watching them. Currently writes reviews and manages content and social media at Desimartini.

- BA (Hons) Journalism, LSR
- Work ex: 4.5 years
- Expertise: Bollywood
- Broke the story on Fredia Pinto was formally engaged to Rohan Antao with pictures of the function, first interview with Rohan Antao saying he didnt know when Freida dumped him. The story was picked up by Daily Mail, UK. First Interview with Chetan Bhagat in which he alleged that the makers of 3 Idiots had shortchanged him. First interview with Veena Malik in which she revealed Pakistani cricketer Mohd Asif\'s match fixing details and also spoke about how he beat her and physically abused her. First interview with Shiney Ahuja\'s wife after he got bail in the rape case. Exclusive pictures of Aishwarya Rai getting angry in Delhi after ex Vivek Oberoi landed up at the screening of Rann starring her father in law Amitabh Bachchan.
- Specialization: Loves doing interviews and getting stars to spill secrets they never would, particularly loves covering film shoots in Delhi, no matter what it takes to get the on-set pics. Hung on a wall all night with my photographer to get a snap of Ranbir Kapoor shooting Rockstar in Delhi. Loves Bollywood gossip. Always know who is going out with whom!
- Extra curricular: Reading, travelling, writing poetry, stay absolutely updated on matters relating to the army.

I eat, sleep and breathe bollywood

- PGDJ (Journalism)
- 5.5 years of experience; has worked for HT City, IANS & The Times of India
- Robin does a lot of mainstream Hollywood stuff; trends, interviews; broke the story of Julia Roberts travelling through India for eat, Pray & Love; broke the story of pop singer Shakira’s performance for a business tycoon in Udaipur, posing as a bartender! Even covered the Grammy’s in 2012 at LA
- Is fond of collecting stamps and coins

Author of bestseller and popular weekly column \'A Calmer You\', but quite un-calm in real life; Mildly funny, mostly confused, and oh, The Editor of HT City!

“Suo Tempore” everything will happen at its own time. And when my right time came, Desimartini.com happened in my life. Being a fan of Michael Jackson it feels good to be called MJ. I have been working in television for the past 15 years exploring the world of dubbing, production, promos and now writing. The big plan is to make movies. Have made 2 short films and written one feature script. Now I divide my time between watching movies, writing about movies and trying hard to earn my dal and chapati. In short I am a slave of Cinema & a student for life. In an ideal world I would only be travelling, listening to music, reading books, watching movies and making them.

Full time mother, most times entrepreneur and weekend movie watcher, I love dabbling in various things, most of them completely unrelated to the education I received at IIM,Bangalore. I am a workshop junkie and have tried everything from dandiya garba classes to poetry writing and from turning pottery wheels to turning circles in Sufi meditation. New experiences keep me alive. Watching the good bad and the ugly every Friday morning feeds my craving for the unknown and of course my popcorn addiction."

Enamored by the craft of Cinema, I am addicted to the motion picture and its myriad hues. The colours of my paintings speak a unique language of vibrancy and exuberance, something that also seeps into the characters I play on stage as a theater actor. A total foodie, I believe cinema and theater are the best diet for a healthy and thinking mind. A creative manager by profession and a traveler at heart, each day is a bright new beginning for me to make the most of it.

A film enthusiast by default, pursuing film scholarship is what I'm aiming for. Because movies are not just my entertainment, they define who i am.

Padma Priya truly believes Indian cinema and cricket have the power to unite the nation. Blessed, unfortunately, with very limited understanding of sport, MJ PP is trying to explore the healing power of cinema and has therefore dived into it after a hiatus of a decade. She is being very ably assisted by the movie buffs of the family (read that as almost the entire family). She endeavours to maintain an unbiased opinion.

He was your typical frustrated software-programmer-friend from Bangalore. And then he became the B-school student wanting to kick the guy who said, "MBA Karlo, bada scope hai!". Finally, he scraped together whatever little brains he was left with to start working as a Consultant somebody who cons people, insults them, and then has the guts to charge them too !.Watching him vent out personal frustrations on films is a delightful experience. With his twisted sensibilities and an affinity towards all things eccentric(Jiah Khan in particular), it is an exacting exercise getting a decent review from his keyboard !

YusuF Poonawala, Vice President with a leading Multinational Travel Company, is an independent writer, who authors The Y Factor , a blog where he reviews movies, English and Hindi. He also writes for Desi Martini and AVS, a Hindi Entertainment channel in New York. Explore his passion for movies with reviews and everything around them.

I hail from the town of Trichy, India. I have got an ageless quest for good films, be it in any language. But when it comes to reviewing, Tamil movies make my cup of tea, since I've grown with them and have an immense and intricate knowledge about the Tamil movie industry happenings who is making a debut, what's hot and what's not. My weekends go incomplete without a movie. Writing a review also helps me to vent out my views and helps me establishing a connect with people of similar stock. Happy reading!

I hail from the town of Kolhapur, India. I have been feeding on Hindi movies from quite a young age and have developed an undying passion for it. The topic of Hindi movies and music is such which never bores me and I can keep on blabbering about it for hours. Even though I have been in LA for the past 5 years I seldom miss a movie on a Friday night. Like every other movie lover I too have an opinion and writing as an MJ is my medium to share it with everyone.