Neeru Khera

The Creative Gypsy

Founder CEO

India

Neeru Khera is an award‑winning filmmaker, visual storytelling practitioner, and artist‑researcher whose work bridges film, culture, health, and community engagement. As the founder of The Creative Gypsy, she uses cinema not only as a medium of communication but also as a tool for listening, reflection, and collective understanding. Her films explore themes such as mental health, displacement, LGBTQ+ advocacy, cochlear implants, cornea donation, and community‑led healthcare, bringing dignity and emotional truth to narratives that are often overlooked.

Her projects—including Displaced, Hold My Hand, Transform, and Anahata—demonstrate how storytelling can deepen empathy and amplify lived experiences, creating meaningful dialogue between communities, researchers, and policymakers. Her work has been showcased at international platforms such as the Cannes Short Film Corner, the World Congress of Psychiatry, Psychartica 2025, WASP 2026, and global health forums like the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, where she received the Audience Oscar Award. She has also been honored with recognitions including the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Foundation Award, WEAA Award, Lions International recognition, ASSOCHAM recognition, and the Makers & Shakers (UK) Maker of the Year Award.

Alongside filmmaking, Neeru collaborates with research institutions and global health networks including NIHR (UK), the University of Warwick, AIIMS, NDTV, and international partners. She integrates ethical visual storytelling and participatory narrative approaches into research practice, focusing particularly on Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI). Through workshops, advisory roles, and CEI learning programmes, she supports community‑centered research design and dialogue. With The Creative Gypsy, she continues to explore how film can act as both a mirror of lived experience and a bridge connecting worlds that rarely meet.