Ananya's research lies at the intersection of visual aesthetics, popular culture and authoritarianism, with a focus on India.

She has published in International Studies, South Asian Survey, Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), and in edited collections including the Oxford Handbook of International Studies Pedagogy and the Routledge Handbook of South Asia.

Beyond academia, her writing has appeared in The Indian Express, LSE South Asia Blog, South Asian Voices, RSIS Commentary, and The Interpreter.