Akshay Manwani is an NBA commentator, distinguished author, and freelance writer. He is known for his research work in film, television, and content-driven projects. His work reflects his twin passions for Indian cinema and basketball.
He has been hosting the National Basketball Association's Hindi commentary for Sony Pictures Network - Sports for many seasons. He has covered over 200 NBA regular seasons and playoff games in this duration. As a resident NBA expert, he also regularly appears in pre and post-game analysis programs like Around The Hoop and Saturday Morning Live.
He has written on Indian cinema and popular culture for several prominent publications such as The Caravan, The Indian Quarterly, Scroll.in, Mint, Business Standard, DailyO, Indian Express, Zee Classic, TheBigIndianPicture.com, Man's World, and Mumbai Mirror. In 2014, he won the RedInk Award for Best Lifestyle and Entertainment Story, given by the Press Club Mumbai, for his detailed feature on B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat television series.
His debut book, Sahir Ludhianvi: The People's Poet, was published in December 2013 by HarperCollins Publishers India. His second book – Music, Masti, Modernity: The Cinema of Nasir Husain was published by HarperCollins India in October 2016. The book won the Verve Storytellers Award for Best Book of 2016. He enjoys wildlife photography as well. In 2014, he worked on a coffee-table book that addressed 15 successful years of IIFA, a renowned film awards show organized and hosted by Wizkraft Entertainment. He has been invited as a panelist and interlocutor to various prestigious literature festivals such as the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, the Tata Lit Live Festival, the Hindu Lit Fest, and the Kumaon Literary Festival.
