I’m a Kitchener-raised, Toronto-based writer/director/picture editor whose work encompasses both comedy and drama and often focuses on the inner struggles of anxious, immature South Asian women. My first film, at age 16, was a documentary featuring peacocks and monkeys in India. Years later, many first-generation Canadians personally connected with my short romantic dramedy The Pits, about a young woman who struggles with the pungent smell of Indian food. The film screened at 15 festivals worldwide and won three audience choice awards. My most recent short Fan Girl was funded by Canada Council for the Arts and is available to watch on CBC Gem.

My favourite stage of the filmmaking process is post-production. I spent 13 years working as a producer and an editor (mostly as an editor) in newsrooms, including The Canadian Press, HuffPost Canada and Entertainment Tonight Canada. I love scripted storytelling and I edit all of my own narrative work. I’ve collaborated as a picture editor with horror filmmaker Bronwyn Szabo, author/filmmaker Marlowe Granados, and writer/producer pair Rabiya Mansoor and Shreya Patel.

I hold a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film production from York University and a Master of Arts in journalism from Western. Currently, I produce, shoot and edit Smita’s Eats, an Indian vegetarian cooking YouTube series starring my mom. My non-film interests include reading and obsessing over pop divas.