This week on the show, I’m talking to Jassa Ahluwalia about his book and memoir, Both Not Half. Both Not Half is a poignant exploration of Jassa’s own heritage – Punjabi and English – and other forms of identity including faith, class, gender and sexuality. Jassa reminds us that we are never fractions of an identity, but always whole, in a myriad of beautiful, overlapping, confusing but empowering ways.

Jassa Ahluwalia is a British actor, writer, filmmaker, and trade unionist. Born in Coventry to a white English mom and a brown Punjabi dad in 1990, he attended school in Leicester and was raised in an extended family environment. He spoke English in the playground and Punjabi with his grandparents and spent various summer holidays in India. He came to prominence as Rocky in the hit BBC Three series Some Girls, followed by starring roles in Unforgotten, Ripper Street, and Peaky Blinders.

Jassa created the hashtag #BothNotHalf to explore mixed identity in light of his own British-Indian heritage. His TEDx talk on “How Language Shapes Identity” has clocked up over 170k views, and his BBC One documentary Am I English? won an Asian Media Award in 2022.

Both Not Half is publishing on 16th May 2024 in the UK. Get your copy here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5890/9781788708319

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