Historically, the hypergeometric functions were studied through the lens of differential equations. When the parameters are rational numbers, Katz introduced Galois representations and developed a theory parallel to that in the classical setting. These Katz representations can be realized on cohomological groups of algebraic varieties, and hence they are expected to be automorphic according to Langlands' philosophy. In this talk we will showcase the interconnections among hypergeometric functions, Galois representations, and modular forms by exploring the analytic and algebraic aspects of hypergeometric functions. This is based on joint works with Bill Hoffman, Tong Liu, Ling Long and Fang-Ting Tu.