Brown People We Know

Sujata is a performer, writer, and director for TV & Film. You may know her from the Upright Citizen Brigade’s Asian AF show, from her involvement with Sundance as a Lab Fellow and a Film Festival influencer, or from her characters in film and TV. Those include Cece in The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl or Sarah in HBO's Insecure. More recently, she acted, wrote, and directed in her first independent full-length feature film, Definition Please. The movie, which has been touring the film festival circuit, discusses mental health and family relationships in the context of a Bengali family. And the protagonist is a washed up Spelling Bee champion… a story which may hit painfully close for those of us in the diaspora with a dusty third grade trophy somewhere in the house.

In this episode, Sujata talked about why she got an engineering degree despite knowing that she would be an actress from a young age, in addition to the hilarious stories behind her transition from consultant to actress. She shared the moment that got her moving on her dream project, and how she convinced actors that have been in Scrubs, The Jungle Book, and other major productions to take a chance on her independent film. Lastly, she talked about making a South Asian film where an identity crisis was not the central conflict and how she avoided stereotyping while still crafting a relatable story in Definition Please.

Madhavi is an interdisciplinary artist. She’s the producer on two documentaries: What’s Your Name and Through Fish Eyes. She’s done photography exhibits, Bharatanatyam and theater performances, and has even dabbled in podcasting. She’s also a PhD student at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, School of Media and Journalism, whose work focuses on identity and representation, particularly in entertainment media, art, and politics.

In this episode, Madhavi reflected on the current state of South Asian representation in media and how we got here. She explained what ethical or proper representation looks like and what we can do to create more of it, especially in film and TV. And she discussed the responsibility of creators to create ethical representation, using including such as Apu from the Simpsons and Indian Matchmaking.

Anish is a NYC Queens-raised Bengali that built a career in finance, working for Barclays and Goldman Sachs. While he still wears Ferragamo and advocates for crypto, he’s not your typical finance bro. Before leaving his job as a VP at Goldman, Anish started building a second career in standup comedy. He’s performed at Gotham Comedy Club, The Village Underground, and at many corporate gigs. He even ran a monthly show, called The Surprise Show, which featured some big names like Hasan Minaj, Jim Gaffigan, and Nikki Glaser. Today Anish has combined his two careers into IPO & Chill, a brand focused on putting out entertaining financial news and content. You’ve probably seen his TikToks about the best shoes to buy as an intern, or his IG stories about whether you should buy Bitcoin.

In this episode, Anish talked about the reasons why people pursue a career in investment banking. He talked about getting money for the first time and about how his attitude around money and his spending habits have evolved over time. He shared the funny story of how a coworker introduced him to stand-up comedy, and how that medium compares to making funny content for social media. Near the end, Anish shares his one tip for living a more intentional life and becoming a better dater.

Another exciting announcement for BPWK listeners! Check your podcast feed in the upcoming weeks for the launch of our two new segments.

South Asian University - an interview series where we bring in academics and discuss cultural or historical topics that affect the diaspora. SAU episodes will come out every five episodes in lieu of our regular interviews. The first one is with Madhavi Reddi, a PhD student studying ethical media representation with a focus on the South Asian diaspora. Releasing 7/20.

PWK - a feature series where we bring you episodes from other South Asian-created podcasts ranging in topic, style, etc. It could be a talk show, a show about South Asian history, anything is game. PWK episodes will come out biweekly on Thursdays, in addition to our regular episodes. The first one is with South Asian Stories, a show that is similar to BPWK. Listen as Sameer interviews Romen Borsellino, an Indian-Italian writer for celebs like Kal Penn and Lilly Singh. Releasing 7/29.

Episodes will be labeled SAU and PWK in the feed. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcast app to get notified when they come out!

Anushay is a feminist Op Ed Journalist that has appeared on CNN, PBS, Forbes, Huffington Post, and the iconic Bangladeshi newspaper - the Daily Ittefaq. She’s also the host of the Spilling Chai podcast and the author of The Pain Gap, her upcoming book on the state of Women’s Healthcare in America. As the granddaughter of one of Bangladesh’s founding fathers and the daughter of a famed Bangladeshi feminist, her interest in impact and politics is a natural fit.

In this episode, Anushay reflects on the influence of her mother on her own work and why you can’t be an “objective journalist” in today’s environment. She shares her thoughts on working in different mediums like blogging and podcasting, and about the life event that led to her writing her book. Lastly, we talk about marrying a Persian husband and how she’s trying to balance both cultures as she raises her children in America.

Shivani is a social media influencer that built her following when she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a Bollywood TV Host. She spent two years in Mumbai, where she hustled with no industry connections, to become an interviewer for the Asian Variety Show. In that role, Shivani went on to interview stars like Varun Dhawan, Ananya Panday, and Shah Rukh Khan. She vlogged this journey on YouTube and joined Instagram in 2014, so it’s no surprise that she’s made it big as an influencer today. Many people know her from her viral engagement video, which has about 7.5M views on YouTube.

In this episode, Shivani talks about how it felt to pursue an unstable career in a new country right out of college, and about the messy moments that led up to her success in Bollywood. She shared how her brand reflects herself and why she doesn’t feel limited to the South Asian content niche despite having a mostly South Asian audience. Lastly, she explains why she ultimately decided to leave Bollywood, come back to the US, and take the entrepreneurial route that she’s pursuing now with BFN Agency and Behind Every Dream. Through the latter, Shivani aims to celebrate the good and bad of our journeys by encouraging people to share their whole selves, not just their highlight reel, on social media.

Raj is a television executive with over 12 years of experience working for companies like Disney, Marvel, and A+E Networks. He’s currently living in Korea, working remotely to help the UK company Particle 6 expand to the US. We chat about getting to LA to start his career in the media industry, about being one of the only South Asian executives on the creative side of a media company, and about his career tips.

Raj also has a unique family, being in a same-sex interracial marriage and the father of two adopted children. Raj tells us why he moved to Korea and what the adjustment has been like for him and his family. He also reflects on his father’s unexpected reaction when Raj decided to come out as gay and the importance of South Asian gay representation in media and communities. Lastly, the episode sees a recurring theme: whether the pressures that we feel as children of immigrants are put on us by our parents or whether we put them on ourselves.

Surbhi Sahni is a chef with over two decades of professional culinary experience. She served as the Creative Director behind the Michelin-starred New York restaurants Devi and Tulsi. Today, she continues to work her magic at Saar Bistro in Midtown, New York. Surbhi is also the founder of Tagmo Treats, a small-batch South Asian food company, through which she creates delectable mithai confections like burfi in chocolate, pistachio, and rose flavors. Through Tagmo, she aims to make Indian mithai a mainstream dessert in America.

Aside from her culinary delights, Surbhi has used her work as Job Director at Sapna NYC and Founder at Tagmo to provide job training and employment in professional kitchens for immigrant women. In this episode, she shares her own story starting as a chef in an all-women kitchen in Delhi, before successfully immigrating to the USA despite a Visa mishap. She explains why we continue to see a gender disparity in professional kitchens and about her qualms with the coveted Michelin Star award. Lastly, she talks about the form of recognition that brings her the most joy, the real process behind how chefs draw inspiration for dishes, and about her cookbook recommendations.

Vikas is a groundbreaking tap dancer that has performed on So You Think You Can Dance, done commercials for J. Crew and Vogue, and is the first South Asian artist-in-residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation. Aside from performing, Vikas teaches at the Broadway Dance Center and is a guest lecturer at Columbia University. Most recently, he founded Project Convergence with Ramita Ravi, a dance company that blends Tap Dance with Bharatanatyam. Outside of dance, Vikas is an Ivy League engineer currently working on real-time data collection for guns.

In this episode, Vikas shares the perspective on risk that allowed him to pursue a career as a full-time dancer, and why the best projects for his resume have not always been the most interesting. He reflects on the importance of representation from the perspective of a South Asian gay male in the Western dance world. Lastly, Vikas explains why he decided to pick up an engineering job, it’s impact on his career as a dancer, and how his work has been affected by the recent focus on guns.

Ranjan is a retired engineer who earned her PhD in Chemistry in India during the 1980’s. At 62, she decided to come out of retirement by visiting Haridwar in India and training to become a priestess. Today, at 67, she goes by the moniker The New England Priest as she officiates weddings. It was interesting to hear about her motivation for becoming a priestess and how she has adapted her learnings from Haridwar for the unique weddings that she conducts in America. For example, interfaith weddings.

In this episode, Ranjan shared the story of her family leaving Tanzania during Idi Amin’s time and about earning the nickname “Rapid Ranjan” as she hiked Kilimanjaro years later. We talk about her decision to pursue higher education despite her father’s wishes, and the funny way that she convinced him to pay for it. And she reflected on parenting as a single mother of two and what she sees her role as a grandparent today.