About

Niyati Bhat is a Kashmiri writer, translator, film scholar and PhD candidate in Cinema Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her writing has appeared in anthologies including Reimagining South Asia and Shadows of Azadi. She was recently a writer-in-residence at Villa Gillet in Lyon. She is currently at work on an ancestral memoir tracing the lives of Kashmiri women across two centuries, supported by a fellowship from the French Institute in India (Villa Swagatam 2025) and the Charles Wallace India Trust (2024). Her research focuses on the cinematic imagination of South Asian conflict regions, with particular attention to Kashmir and historical conflict zones such as Sri Lanka. Situated at the intersection of film studies, cultural history, and political memory, her work examines how cinema, music, and visual culture narratives of remembrance, trauma, belonging and violence.

Her writing spans film criticism, cultural commentary, and long-form essays, and has appeared in leading Indian and international publications including India Today, The Hindu, Scroll.in, Asymptote, Critical Collective, and SummerHill Journal, among others. Across these platforms, she engages deeply with questions of representation, marginality, memory, and the politics of storytelling.

Niyati has presented her research on Kashmiri music, cinema, and Indian visual culture at several international academic and cultural forums. These include the Graduate Music Forum at Harvard University, Digital Politics in Millennial India hosted by Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the International Conference at Jamia Millia Islamia, and the Association for Asian Studies conference. Her work is marked by an interdisciplinary approach that brings together cinema studies, sound studies, political theory, and cultural analysis.

In 2014, she was awarded the Media Fellowship at the Metta Center for Nonviolence founded by Michael Nagler, where she explored media, ethics, and nonviolent communication within contemporary political discourse.

Alongside her academic work, Niyati continues to engage in editorial and consulting roles, collaborating with writers, researchers, and institutions on manuscript development, critical editing, and long-form storytelling. Her practice is grounded in close reading, contextual research, and a sustained commitment to thoughtful, responsible cultural criticism.

I welcome enquiries regarding:

• Commissions: Long-form essays, interviews, and book or film reviews.
• Consulting: Manuscript development and editorial guidance
• Workshops: Custom literary, archival, or research-based sessions

To discuss a project or commission, please get in touch via the email: info@niyatibhat.com