Dhruv founded autoX in 2006 with little clue of what lay ahead. Driven by a passion for anything on four wheels and a stubborn will to succeed, he moulded a team as pig-headed as him to create a medium that could adequately communicate the magnificence of the automobile to an unsuspecting audience. Today, AutoX stands for independence, candidness, and objectivity – but, most of all, for heart & soul.
The Managing Editor of autoX magazine, Ishan has great technical and practical knowledge, and his life-long love for cars has seen him devote some of the best years of his youth to perhaps wasteful, yet satisfying, pursuit of his obsession with automobiles. He has worked in the automotive media space for over 14 years and has been a part of the autoX team for over 11 years. Other than cars of most kinds, Ishan has almost obsessive interests in things he really likes - be it History, Watches, Music, Audio Systems, and, of course, Single Malts.
An engineer by qualification, Dhruv’s passion for cars drove him to pursue a career in motoring journalism starting in the digital space before making a switch to the mainstream. With Auto Today since 2018 handling print, TV and digital content and also contributing to India Today’s sister publications, besides reviewing and testing cars, you’re unlikely to find him at his desk as he prefers being on the road driving to the furthest corners of the country and even the world.
Completing a decade this year in the industry, Abhik Das joins the ICOTY jury after being part of the IMOTY jury in past years. Having worked with Auto Today since its inception, he is now the assistant editor there, looking into car road tests and features as his interests shift from two to four wheels.
As the editor, Aspi has been ably leading the editorial teams of both BIKE India as well as CAR India since 2007. Under his leadership the magazines have gone from strength to strength serving the two magazines’ readers with outstanding value through innovative content. Prior to assuming his current leadership role, Aspi had been the backbone of both the magazines as their Road Test Editor, in charge of conducting all vehicle tests that empowered readers with detailed and credible data that they could rely on. Aspi’s career in journalism began with Overdrive magazine as Road Test Editor where he established the basic tenets of vehicle testing – both for two as well as four wheelers. Before becoming a journalist, his career as a motorcycle racer had been both long and rewarding. Between 1977 and 2004, when he finally hung up his racing boots and leathers, Aspi tasted victory several times both in India and abroad. He is also the only Indian to have ever won a Bronze replica medal at the legendary Isle of Man TT, which he won in 1987. With his immense technical knowledge gleaned from a long racing career during which he built the motorcycles he raced on followed by his role as first Road Test Editor and then Editor, Aspi plays an invaluable role as a jury member of the prestigious World Engine of the Year, Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) and Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) panel.
Jim began his professional career in automotive journalism with Car India a decade ago, following a couple of years as a freelancer in the field of motoring and automotive technology. Over the years he has evolved from short test drives to proper road-tests and to the position of Deputy Editor. Cars, engines, food and music are his passions and his stories always tend to intersperse these aspects and weave them together.
Sirish started writing on cars, bikes and motorsport at Overdrive magazine straight out of engineering college in 2000. He took over as editor seven years later, the youngest automotive publication editor in India, and was responsible for the growth of the brand, most notably by conceptualizing and hosting the award winning Overdrive show on CNBC-TV18.
After 12 years he made a brief detour into the corporate world as head of press at Porsche India, but quickly returned to his calling, founding evo India magazine and ThrillOfDriving.com in 2013.
Aatish started his career at evo India and has grown through the ranks to Assistant Editor. He joined in 2015 and has always worked here save for a year-long stint at BBC TopGear India in 2018. Telling stories is his passion and he has travelled to the far corners of the country looking for great tales with cars and motorcycles at the heart of them all. Quite contrary to popular opinion, he believes that print is not dead and is committed to ensuring it doesn't just survive, but thrives.
Pablo Chaterji is a trained film maker who found himself in journalism almost by accident, in 2003, when he quit the world of advertising films. Since then, it has allowed him to drive cars, ride motorcycles, drink fine wine, partake of exotic cuisine, take photographs and travel the world for a living, something that causes friends and blood relatives alike to swear at him. His 17 years of experience in the field includes stints in both automotive as well as lifestyle journalism; he spent five years as Managing Editor at Man's World magazine.
There is nothing Kartik likes more than telling stories. And there are few stories better than that of the automobile. That is what this particular member of ICOTY lives by. Or at least tries to. Kartik has been trying to capture the world as seen from behind the wheel for the better part of a decade now, and continues to be amazed at the stories that come as standard equipment with all cars, old and new. He also likes examining the relationships between men (women, too) and machines, a bond that seems destined to be an immortal one. But mostly, he likes to keep it simple by keeping his mouth shut and listening to motors sing their stories. At their redlines, of course.
Bertrand D'souza is an automotive engineer by profession, a home chef by passion, and being an avid overland traveller is his addiction. Bertrand however, found his calling as an automotive journalist way back in the year 2000. For over 18 years he has been with Overdrive, India's leading automotive media, heading the magazine, digital and television teams as it's Editor In Chief since 2013. Bertrand's vast experience comes from having covered everything automotive, from 2-wheelers to cars, road tripping to motorsports and lots more in between. He was also responsible for leading the team to 3 consecutive National Film and Television awards in the automotive media genre. In between Bertrand also kick started his own self-drive experiential adventure travel company and an events company. He is now back in the top spot at Overdrive continuing to lead a stellar team through new challenges.
Bob Rupani belongs to the pioneering lot of Indian automotive journalists starting with the Indian Auto Journal in 1986. He is one of India’s most senior and respected auto journalists and over the years he has been the executive editor of magazines such as Car & Bike International, Auto Motor & Sport (India), BBC Top Gear (India) and Auto India. He is now consulting editor of Overdrive.
Bob is known for his car evaluation skills and eye for detail. He often discovers what many others overlook and thanks to his insightful road testing abilities, his views are valued by a large number of people, both in and out of the automotive industry. He has also successfully participated in several races and rallies and is a highly skilled off-road driver. Bob is very fond of historical cars and has driven in several international classic car rallies too. In 1988, he went to see the Safari Rally in Kenya an is possibly the first Indian journalist to have written a first hand report on a world championship motor sport event. He is a Founder Member of the ICOTY (Indian Car of the Year) award.
He was Chairman of the Jury in 2009, 2013 and also elected for the period 2015-2018. The ICOTY constitution and its rules and regulations have largely been drafted by Bob Rupani. The constitution was introduced in 2008 and has been followed ever since.
Murali is passionate about driving, cars and road safety. He’s been writing about the auto industry for the past 19 years, during which time he’s analysed the financial and product health of many automotive and auto component companies. For the past ten years, Murali has had a road test column in the Hindu Business Line. Currently, he anchors the special pages on tech and auto for the newspaper. Murali is proud to be part of the iCOTY jury – the most independent annual award in the country.
Abhay Verma has been an automotive journalist since 2007 and has evaluated pretty much every two-wheeler launched in the country in the past decade and half. The experience has helped him sharpen his evaluative skills, pen down exhaustive reviews and also establish himself as a senior motorcycling journalist. And besides the reviews, he is also known for his wheelie skills! He returns this year to the IMOTY jury this year, having founded TURBOCHARGED at the start of 2021, where he is Editor and Publisher.
With over a decade and a half of experience in automotive journalism, Ameya brings along a wealth of expertise in evaluating and reviewing cars. An automobile engineer by qualification, Ameya began his journey into the world of cars by getting his hands dirty, quite literally, as a mechanic. This, combined with his stints as a road tester in various mainline automotive media houses over the years, has helped him develop a deeper understanding of and connection with the vehicles he drives. Ameya now heads content for three of India's most popular automotive portals - ZigWheels, CarDekho and BikeDekho.
Girish Karkera started his journalism career in 1997 as a sports correspondent with the Indian Express. His journey in the world of automotive journalism began two years later when he joined the team setting up Autocar India. After a six-year stint there, he moved to BBC TopGear India as an Assistant Editor. Having helped set-up and tweak the quintessential brand for our audiences, he took over its reigns as Editor in 2009 - a position he held for a decade. He is currently the Editor of Times Auto, a weekly supplement of the Times of India newspaper. Girish has been an ICOTY member since 2010. He was also part of the jury for the World Car of The Year in 2018 and 2019.
Currently, Editor and Lead, Times Drive, Kranti has been reviewing cars and motorcycles for almost two decades now. The journey started with the Auto Show on Zee News called Wheelocity and then on NDTV where he hosted the show Raftaar for more than fifteen years.
Kushan Mitra is an automotive journalist with over two decades of expertise writing about the industry and reviewing four wheelers. He presently writes on cars for India’s most trusted news and opinion website, The Print.
