M K Raghavendra
“M. K. Raghavendra (b. 24 December 1954, Bengaluru) is a celebrated Indian film and literary scholar, critic, and writer with over eleven influential books on cinema, including Seduced by the Familiar, Bipolar Identity, The Politics of Hindi Cinema in the New Millennium, and Beyond Bollywood – The Cinemas of South India
Beginning his journey in science and the financial sector, he transitioned into film criticism in the late 1980s, co-founding the acclaimed journal Deep Focus. His fearless and incisive writing earned him the National Film Critics Award (Swarna Kamal, 1997)
Raghavendra’s essays appear widely—in Caravan, Frontline, The Hindu, EPW, Outlook, and The Wire—and have been anthologised by major publishers like Oxford, SAGE, Routledge, BFI, and Bloomsbury He has lectured at top institutions, including Hyderabad, JNU, Visva-Bharati, IITs, and IIMs, and served as Secretary of the Indian chapter of FIPRESCI
Known for probing cinema’s socio-political undercurrents rather than just its narrative, he brings a sharp analytical lens to both popular and regional Indian cinema
At BBLF 2025, M. K. Raghavendra brings his rich scholarship and deep insight into film, culture, and society—guiding us through the complex stories that play out on screen and in our lives.
