Anjana K S is a Senior Research Fellow, working with Dr. Sarbani Banerjee in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Roorkee. Her thesis critically analyzes the intersectionality of disability, queer sexuality, and gender through the depictions of repressed sexuality of the disabled community in Indian cinema, namely Kaccha Limbu (2017), Peranbu (2018), Margarita with a Straw (2014), Moothon (2019), Ratchasan (2018), and Psycho (2020). Her work projects the methods in which cinematic narratives portray sexuality within the realms of ableism and the politics of touch embedded within them in their socio-cultural contexts. She also studies the accommodation of disability within multiple genres of film. She has published research articles in Chalachitra Sameeksha (Academic Journal of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy), Shodhkosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies and The Criterion: An International Journal in English. She is a recipient of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Fellowship in 2020. She is a teaching assistant in NPTEL courses on ‘Fiction: Epics, Novels and Poetry (2022-25)’, ‘Partition of India in Print Media and Cinema’ and ‘Performative Gender and Religion in South Asia’ .
Research Interests: Disability Studies, Film Studies, Dalit Studies, Queer Studies and Masculinity Studies
Professional Background:
PhD (pursuing), Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India, in Disability narratives and Film Studies
MA (2018-2020), Central University of Kerala, Kasargode, India, in English and Comparative Literature, Dissertation- Disability and Cinematic Discourses: A Diachronic Critical Analysis of Disability in Post 1990 Malayalam Cinema with the guidance of Dr. Vellikkeel Raghavan
BA (2015-2018), Government College for Women, Vazhuthacaud, Trivandrum, Kerala, India, in English Language and Literature
Languages: English, Malayalam (native), Tamil, Hindi
NPTEL (Teaching Assistant) – Partition Of India in Print Media and Cinema (2022-2025), Fiction: Epics, Novels and Poetry (2022-25), and Performative Gender and Religions in South Asia (2023), (2025).
Courses Taught - Soft Skills (Basic and Advanced), Performative Gender and Religions in South Asia and Phonetic Lab
Grants and Awards:
Recipient of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Fellowship (2020) for the study of disability depictions in Malayalam cinema from 1990-2020
Senior Research Fellowship -Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme (2020) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, India
Publications:
S, Anjana.K., Tradition and Individual Feminichiz: Demeaning of Gender in Malayalam Cinema. Chalachitra Sameeksha. Vol. 3. Issue 30, 2021, pp 74-79.
S, A. K., and Banerjee, S. (2024). Examining Ableist Narratives: Media Portrayals of Disability and Controversies in Malayalam Cinema. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 5(6), 260-270. doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i6.2024.1677
K. S. Anjana and Sarbani Banerjee. Exemplifying Inclusivity: Unravelling Ableism and Disabled Masculinities in Cinematic Narratives. International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies. 2025. Vol. 7(2):206-220. DOI: 10.13169/intecritdivestud.7.2.0003
K,S. Anjana, and Sarbani Banerjee. “Unveiling the ‘Maternal Care’ in Cinema: A Critical Analysis of Disability and Gender in Guzaarish and Salaam Venky.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 16, no. 6, 12 Jan. 2026, pp. 870–885. ISSN 0976-8165
Conferences, Seminars and Workshops:
Presented a paper titled, 'Love Across the Sea in Cinema: Queer Love and Cultural Constraints in Moothon' in International Conference on "Asia’s Maritime History and Identity at Cultural Crossroads" organized by the Department of English, Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru in collaboration with University ofAuckland, New Zealand on 23rd and 24th January 2025
Presented paper titled, 'AI Robots in Indian Cinema: Analyzing Acculturation, Emotional Narratives and Perspectives on Disability' in the International Conference on “The Role of AI Driven Technology in the realm of Humanities" organized by St. Joseph’s College for Women, Tirupur, Tamil Nadu on August 22 and 23, 2024.
Presented paper titled, 'Unveiling the Maternal Care in Cinema: A Critical Analysis of Disability and Gender' in the International Conference GSDP 2024 on "Gender Studies and Intersectionality: Understanding Gender and Class Dynamics with Policies" organized by Amity University on 26th and 27th of September 2024.
Presented a paper titled, 'War, Disability and Media: A Critical Analysis on the Media Coverage of the Russia- Ukraine war through an Ableist Lens' in the Pan NIT Humanities and Social Sciences Research Conclave HSSRC 2024, on "Humanities at the Crossroads: The convergence of Language, Literature and Technology" organized by NIT Warangal, Telegana on 28th- 30th May 2024.
Presented a paper titled, 'Dissecting Ableist Narratives: Media Representations of Disability and Controversies in Malayalam Cinema' in "ISMER 2024- International Symposium on Media Education and Research" organized by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi campus on 20th- 22nd March 2024.
Presented a paper titled, 'Decoding Disability Narratives: A ‘Special’ Eye on the Netflix collection ‘Celebrating Disability with Dimension' in the International Conference on "Intersections of Knowledge: Exploring Discourses and Beyond in Humanities and Social Sciences", organized by BITS Rajasthan, Pilani campus on 23rd and 24th of February 2024.
Attended Two-day National Conference on “Women, Narrative and Agency: Enhancing Women’s Empowerment in India by Probing Violence, Gender Discrimination and Recuperation & Voices Unheard: An Approach to Indigenous Indian Literature” organized by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Roorkee in association with Ministry of Women Empowerment & Child Development, Uttarakhand & Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi from12th to 13th April 2023
Presented a paper titled, 'Star in Dis-abled Body: Analyzing the ‘Male Superstardom’ and ‘Female-Superstardom' in the Two-Day International Conference on "Literary and Language Studies in New Millennium" organized by the Department of English, Loyola College, Chennai on 9-10 March 2023.
Presented a paper titled 'Body-Politics in Warfront: A Critical Reading on the Disabled/ Amputated Body in All Quiet on the Western Front' in Two Day Multidisciplinary Online National Conference on “Embodied Identities: The Body in Cultural Spaces” organized by Centre for Advanced Studies & Research in English Language and Literature, Farook College, Calicut on 21 & 22 February 2023.
Presented a paper titled, 'The Spectacle of Deformity in Disney: Critical Analysis on ‘Freak Animal’ and ‘Animalized Freaks’ in Dumbo' on the "1st World Disability Conference on Contemporary Interventions in Disability Discourse" organized by the Enabling Unit,Maitreyi College (University of Delhi) on 27-29 June 2022
Participated in One Day National Workshop on "Writing Research Funding Proposal and Patent Filing in English Language and Literature" by the School of Liberal Arts, Department of English, KPR College of Arts, Science, and Research, Coimbatore on 26th of February 2022
Participated in the International Seminar cum Workshop titled, “Multi-Disciplinary Research in Humanities and Social Sciences and Languages" organized by Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, India on 21st and 22nd February 2022
Presented a paper titled, 'Devi(l) or Deity: A Critical Eye on the Sacred Women in Bulbbul and Maadathy' in the Three days Online International Conference on “Voicing the Region: The Regional Turn in Cultural Studies” organized by the Post- Graduate and Research Department of English, Newman College, Thodupuzha, Kerala on 12th- 14th of January 2022.
Membership and Affiliations:
The Indian Disability Studies Collective