Overview
Media generalist with an eclectic educational and professional background, global cross-cultural insights and leadership abilities. Keywords: Globalization, Media Convergence, Transmedia Storytelling, Participatory Culture, Community, Identity, Mobile, Online, Culture, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Branding, User-generated, Ethnography, Social Networking.
Education
Master of Science in Comparative Media Studies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA: 2005
q 100% Merit Scholarship. GPA 4.9/5.0.
q Member of the MIT Graduate Student Council.
q Presidential Search Advisory Committee Member.
q Recipient of MIT Public Service Center Community Connection Award 2004.
q MIT Arts Scholar.
Bachelor of Education
Bombay Teachers' Training College (University of Bombay, India): 2003
Postgraduate Diploma in Film and Television Production
Xavier's Institute of Communication, Bombay, India: 1997
Bachelor of Commerce
Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics (University of Bombay, India): 1996
Work Experience
Corporate
Head of Vision and Opportunities
Mahindra & Mahindra: December 2006 - date
Mahindra & Mahindra is one of India's largest business conglomerates, with a major presence in key sectors of the Indian economy, including automobiles, IT and infrastructure, and a presence on the Forbes 200 most reputed global companies list.
q I work on new media, venture capital and innovation for the group.
Assistant Vice President, Business Development
Sony Entertainment Television: February 2001 - February 2002
Sony Entertainment Television India (a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment International, Los Angeles) is one of India's major satellite television networks.
q Executed the strategic diversification of Sony's channel Max into the area of cricket.
q Negotiated and purchased cricket telecast rights from different national cricket associations.
q Conceptualized innovative cricket properties proprietary to the channel.
q Initialized preparation of the channel's successful multi-million-dollar bid for the telecast rights of the 2003 and 2006 cricket World Cup tournaments.
Chief Executive Officer
Freshlimesoda Interactive Private Limited: May 2000 - January 2001
Freshlimesoda Interactive India Pvt. Ltd. was the corporate entity created in order to facilitate the funding that my online magazine Freshlimesoda received for a brief period after its inception.
q Created a feasible business plan for an innovative Indian youth portal. Directed the incorporation of the corporate entity, staffing, administration, website strategy, corporate development and synergetic online/offline alliance building.
q Supervised content creation and design for the proposed relaunch of the website.
q Completed winding up of the company's operations on the untimely termination of funding, including final staff compensation packages and compliance with all related legal and statutory requirements.
Research
Research Manager, Convergence Culture Consortium
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA: November 2005-May 2006
q Managed research for the Convergence Culture Consortium - an MIT initiative focused on understanding and negotiating the complex world of media convergence.Organized the first annual C3 conference Convergence 2006: There is No Box.
Research Assistant, Comparative Media Studies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA: September 2003 - August 2005
q Analyzed the development of games literacy education in USA for The Education Arcade, a consortium of educators and business leaders working to promote the educational use of computer and video games. Helped conceptualize and manage c3@mit.
Creative/Editorial
Founder and Editor
Freshlimesoda was India's first online youth magazine and a niche global literary community with contributions and visitors from over 60 countries.
q Originated the website concept. Edited weekly updates.
q Organized events across the country to foster an online/offline community experience (Poetry readings, art exhibitions, heritage walks, music festivals, movie screenings, etc.)
q Generated media interest and coverage for the site and related activities in India (Times of India, Indian Express, Asian Age, India Today, Hindustan Times, Outlook, Rediff, Teens Today, Mid-Day, etc) and internationally (BBC World Service, MTV, Star TV, Channel V, Toronto Star, Salon)
Bombay Times: May 1999 - October 1999
Bombay Times is Bombay's leading daily newspaper and a part of the over 150-year-old Times of India group.
q Executed the branded relaunch of the newspaper's youth section as the Procter and Gamble Teen Times.
q Handled the fashion and lifestyle beat for the newspaper; wrote news articles on a wide range of subjects.
Assistant Film Director
Rockford was the sophomore effort of one of India's new wave of filmmakers - Nagesh Kukunoor, whose low-budget English feature films have a cult following among the country's urban youth.
q Conducted the casting for the principal characters in Bombay.
q Assisted in the production of the feature film in the south Indian locations of Hyderabad and Yercaud.
Elle is the world's largest selling fashion magazine. Its Indian edition was launched in 1997.
q Joined the Indian edition of the French fashion magazine in its first year of operations.
q Wrote features on cultural issues; styled several fashion, food and dˇcor photo-features.
q Conceptualized and executed the premier issue of Elle Man. (October 1997)
The now defunct Metropolis on Saturday was one of Bombay's leading weekend newspapers during the 1990s.
q Wrote city based news stories and entertainment features for the paper.
q Expanded the profile of the newspaper's youth section through new columns and contests. Started a youth club for the section's readers called Forum and organized events under its banner.
Teaching
Teacher Trainee
GD Somani Memorial High School, Bombay, India: July 2002 - January 2003
GD Somani is a school located in the Cuffe Parade area of South Bombay.
q Taught English and Economics to 8th and 9th grade students as part of the practical teaching requirements for the Bachelor of Education degree.
Guest Faculty (Communication)
HR College Of Commerce and Economics, Bombay, India: July 2001 - March 2002
HR College is one of India's leading commerce/management colleges. It is affiliated to the University of Bombay.
q Conducted weekly lectures for the college's Bachelor of Management Studies program.
q Invited several media experts to share their experiences with students on a regular basis.
Publications and Presentations
Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)Longing in Contemporary India. New Delhi, London, Los Angeles, Singapore: Sage Publications (April 2008)
“The Mirror Has Many Faces: Reading Identity/Representational Politics Underlying Two Seminal Indian Works on Male Same-sex Desire”, in Anandam Kavoori and Aswin Punathambekar (Eds.) Global Bollywood. New York: NYU Press (Forthcoming, 2008)
"Mobile India: Glimpses and Opportunities" in (working title) Mobile Nation Anthology – Proceedings of the Mobile Nation Conference, held at the Ontario College of Art & Design from 22-25th March, 2007. Toronto: Canadian Design Research Network and Riverside Architectural Press. (Forthcoming, 2008)
"My Brother Nikhil" (Panel Discussion Chair). 22nd Annual Boston Gay & Lesbian Film/Video Festival (Museum of Fine Arts), May 21, 2006.
"Politics of Sexuality in Contemporary India" (Panel Presenter). Program in Women's Studies (MIT), May 3, 2006.
"Queering South Asia". Fourth Buffalo Gender Week (University at Buffalo – The State University of New York), September 21, 2005.
Quest
for Home: Gay Bombay (Documentary, 86 minutes, 2006). Writer, Editor
and
Director. Screened at the 'Queer Literature
and Cinema – The Canadian and
Indian Experience' conference (University of Pune), February 20, 2007.
Triangulation (Music video, 5 minutes, 2005). Co-director. Screened at the 'Between the Lines: Negotiating South Asian LBGT Identity' festival at MIT, April 2, 2004.