Mind u ReadKartik Dayanand Boddapati
Hi, I’m Kartik. I write about popular culture, technology, politics, life, and anything else that ignites my mind. Mind u Read has been home to that writing since 2009.
Architect by qualification, digital strategist by profession, and once upon a time a VFX supervisor.
I started blogging back when blogs were where the internet did its thinking, and I’m one of the few from that era still at it. That makes Mind u Read something of an accidental archive. You’ll find posts written as Facebook and Twitter took over our lives, as Indian politics was reshaped by the anti-corruption movement and the rise of Modi, and as our films, and the society watching them, kept changing.
Along the way these posts have been shared widely, by regular readers as well as thought leaders, film stars, directors and politicians. A few of their kind words are below. My writing has also appeared on The Times of India blogs.
People often asked if this blog made me any money. What it really gave me was a career. Beyond the writing, running it taught me how the tech behind a website works and how to get each post in front of more readers. That learning made me a first-generation digital strategist at IIPM and the Planman group, at a time when most people were still figuring out what social media was, let alone how to use it for marketing and branding.
It later opened the door to Cognizant, where I’ve worked since 2014: first with their digital marketing services team, then leading marketing for the Learning and Development team, and now as part of the Global Communications team.
What you’ll find here
- Movies and popular cultureWhy films, stars and even ads work on us, from 3 Idiots and Raavan to K.G.F, RRR and Animal.
- TechnologyFrom the early days of Indian Twitter to artificial intelligence, and what it all does to us.
- Politics and societyWhat our politics and public debates reveal about how we think.
- LifeLessons from everyday moments, like the scarcity mindset, and anything else that ignites my mind.
What I’m building
Mind u Read began as this blog. In 2022 it grew into a publishing house, so that other writers could get their stories out too. We take a manuscript the last mile: edited, designed, printed in India and available worldwide on Amazon.- Movies Beyond StarsFor years I’ve written here about why films work on us. Movies Beyond Stars is the quick version, with no reviews to write: give a film your verdict on emotion, story, music, acting and visuals in a few seconds, and see how your taste compares with everyone else’s.
Kind words
“Fantastic!!! What insight. I am impressed”
“I am thrilled to read your piece. I want to meet you”
“A thought-provoking discussion on corruption going beyond the LokPal Bill”
“A wonderful piece written by one of our crew, check it out”
“This is great stuff, must read”
“A beautifully argued smoking gun. You REALLY need to read it if you’re interested in this space and in the future of free speech and the Internet itself”
“Intriguing for this non-Facebook user: @KartikDayanand on the real Enemy of the Internet”
“An extremely beautiful piece on ‘Manam’”
“Extremely smart writing”