Mr. Lalit Rao is a bilingual Indian film critic, UGC-NET qualified, experienced French teacher, translator, interpreter and festival programmer based in Jaipur, India. He is widely recognized for his contributions to the promotion of world cinema in India and Indian cinema abroad. Writing articles, film reviews and film festival reports in English, French, and Hindi, he has published in prestigious publications such as Deep Focus, Sancho Does Asia, Objectif-Cinéma and Séquences. He also serves as the associate editor of Cinematography Art magazine, a quarterly magazine dedicated to Cinematographers in India.
As an active member of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics), Mr. Lalit Rao has served on juries at numerous international film festivals. In India, he has been a jury member at the International Film Festival of Kerala (2014) and the Bengaluru International Film Festival (2017). Internationally, his jury experience includes participation at festivals in Siena (Italy), as well as other global events, underlining his reputation as a critic with a deep knowledge of international cinema.
Lalit Rao’s recent engagements demonstrate his continuing relevance in the world of film festivals. In 2024, he has been a preview committee member of Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF 2024), contributing to the selection of Indian documentary films. In 2025, he served as a jury member at the 7th Bioscope Global Film Festival 2025, organized in collaboration with the National Law University of Odisha (NLUO).
Beyond jury work, Mr. Lalit Rao is also a passionate film historian. He has built a film database titled KINEMA, covering more than 25,000 films for world cinema enthusiasts, and has reviewed over 1,000 films on IMDb. His YouTube channels Cinema-poet and Indian Talkies 1913 further reflect his dedication to disseminating cinema culture.
With his unique ability to bridge Indian and global cinéphile communities, Lalit Rao continues to be one of India’s most internationally engaged film critics.
Chronological highlights of Film critic Mr.Lalit Rao's career as a film critic
Early 2000s
2004 (Feb 27–29): Presented a paper “A brief overview of Francophone cinema in Québec” at the 20th International Conference on Canadian Studies, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur.
2005–06: Paris correspondent for Deep Focus and Bangalore Film Society; studied Master 2 Cinema Studies at Université de Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle with ''Distribution of Indian cinema in France'' as research topic.
Late 2000s
2008- 2012 : Attended International Film Festival of Kerala as a film critic and documented the festival consistently through blog posts, film reviews and video interviews.
2010s
2014: FIPRESCI jury member at the 19th IFFK (Malayalam cinema category).
2008-2015 : Launched YouTube channels Cinema-poet (2008) and Indian Talkies 1913 (2013).
2016: Completed 1,000 IMDb reviews on world cinema films.
2017: Served as jury member (Kannada Cinema) at the 9th Bengaluru International Film Festival 2017 (BIFFES).
2020s
2021- 2022 : Advisory board member (World Cinema) at the Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF).
2022 : Jury member of 5th Bulli ed Eroi International Children's Film Festival, Siena, Italy
2024: Preview Committee Member at the 18th Mumbai International Film Festival 2024 (MIFF 2024). Published report on MIFF 2024 in Filmfestivals.com.
2025: Served as Jury Member at the 7th Bioscope Global Film Festival 2025, organized in collaboration with the National Law University of Odisha (NLUO). He has published reviews, interviews, and festival reports on Filmfestivals.com.
