Deepa Gahlot is a theater and film critic, book author, and scriptwriter. She has written several books on cinema, translated several plays (by Manav Kaul and Paresh Mokashi) into English and adapted Paulo Coelho's novel The Alchemist for the stage. Additionally, she has written-directed a few documentary films and radio shows, and has edited the journals of NFDC and WICA. In 2002, she served on the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) jury. She is the head of programming (theatre and film) at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA).