Bhawana Somaaya has been a film critic for more than 40 years. She has contributed columns to all the leading publications. She is the former editor of Screen and has authored several books on cinema that includes biographies of Hema Malini and Amitabh Bachchan.

Her books are a point of reference for students studying cinema at the Whistling Woods, Manipal University and now JNU, Delhi

She has served on the Advisory Panel of CBFC India, and also the Governing Council FTII, Pune. She is Chairperson of Tiger Land India Film Festival, Madhya Pradesh. She anchors Podcast shows and is also a trained classical dancer.

Letters to Mother, English translation of the Prime Minister’s Saakshi Bhaav was published in 2020.

Farewell Karachi : A Partition Memoir releasing in April 2025 is her 20th book.

Somaaya was conferred with Padma Shri in 2017 and with an honorary doctorate for her extensive writing on cinema by the prestigious Jagran LakeCity University, Bhopal. READ MORE

Farewell Karachi: A Partition Memoir

Letters To Self

On Camera Off Camera—Pages from the Past

47
Years of Journalism
20
Author of Books
15
Years of Radio
9000
Columns

On Television

She does Friday review of films on radio and weekly columns for Janmabhoomi Pravasi, The Hans India & the Indian Express North America.

Critical of the unrealistic, stereotypical costumes of the Hindi film heroine, she had taken up a challenge from Shabana Azmi and turned designer. Bhawana Somaaya did five films for Shabana. MORE

On Radio

She is the only journalist today visible in all the mediums – Radio/ Web/ TV and Print. Her recent book Farewell Karachi is the author’s 20th book.

From 2009-2025 Somaaya was the entertainment editor witth Big Fm and hosted two weekly shows – Once upon A Time in Bollywood and Godmother of Reviews. MORE

Gallery

In 1981 joined Movie as Assistant Editor and in 1985 was promoted as Joint Editor. In 2000 joined as Editor Chief Screen, a film weekly of The Indian Express Group. In 2012 was appointed as Editor Chief Block Buster.READ MORE

International Medical Conference

Irfan khan and Karan Johar release Talking Cinema

With Zoya Akthar post Dil Dhadakne Do

Varun Dhavan at a Family Wedding

Catching up with Poet Gulzar

At Crossword with Faran Akthar

Interviewing Rekha

At FICCI frames with Abhishek Bachchan and Vijay Krishna Acharya, Director of Dhoom 3