You’ve been a pioneering voice in UK Bollywood culture and entertainment. How do you maintain your mental wellbeing as someone often in the spotlight and navigating cultural expectations?
I’m quite regimented about my mental health. I need 15 minutes to be still, meditate, and then start my day with a fresh juice (beetroot and carrot with ginger). Then I try to go to the gym. I finish my day with a longer meditation session in the evening. This is my regimented schedule and it really helps with my mental wellbeing. Other than that I read a lot and listen to podcasts.
You’ve spoken about transforming your body and focusing on fitness. What motivated that shift for you personally, and how has looking after your physical health affected your mental strength?
When I was reading about meditation, spiritualism and consciousness, I kept coming across the fact that yoga went hand in hand with meditation, with just being still, with understanding your mind. I joined the gym after COVID and went three times a week, which turned into four times a week, which turned into six times a week. I found the more I was going to the gym, the better my meditation sessions were. I married the two together in my head. I found a good personal trainer who understands my physique, we’ve been training together for nearly two years and the results have been great. If I’ve had a really good session in the gym, when I get back in the evening, I look forward to my session in terms of doing my meditation. Nine times out of ten, it’s a completely different experience. I think it’s really important that if you’re looking after your mental health, you look after your physical health – because one feeds the other. This shift towards mental and physical health understanding came after I suffered the loss of a parental figure in my life and I struggled with grief – not sleeping, not eating and losing a sense of belonging. I now see the loss as strength. I can’t change what happened but understand it’s taken me down a path I may not have discovered.
As a British-Asian man working across media and culture, have you felt the pressure to “represent” or act as a role model? How has that responsibility shaped your sense of identity?
There is a sense of responsibility, as with everyone in the public eye. Representing culture was always about being honest about myself and my identity. My show is live, I try my utmost to be my real true self – my cultural roots, my personal identity, and how I relate to individuals. I’ve been doing radio for a very long time. The more I have contact with people, the more I realise that the best way to connect with people is to be the most honest version of yourself.
In your work you bring joy, music and celebration to so many, yet in your quieter moments, what helps you process the tougher days or moments of doubt?
I really cherish the quieter moments. As I’ve become more mature, I like my own company. There were many years where I was always going from one place to another, and constantly surrounded by a lot of people, most of those people I enjoyed. But now I do enjoy the quieter moments. And if it’s something tough that I need to navigate, again, meditation always helps, and writing really helps. It could just be a letter that you write to yourself, or it could end up in a play that I’m writing, or a script that I’m writing with a group of writers that I work with. But I find writing really, really does help. In moments of self-doubt I pick up the phone, talk to close friends and say, look, this is how I’m feeling. This is what I think. Can you give me a different perspective on it? Maybe I’ve got this totally wrong. If I’m really, really struggling, I find myself surrounding myself with people that really care about me and taking my mind off things.
You were part of a movement that helped define the UK Bollywood scene, from radio to events. Looking back, what was a turning point that made you realise you were part of something much bigger than yourself?
The turning point was when we, in our Bollywood nights, started seeing a lot more non-Asian faces, so to speak. There’d always been a few fans, but this was kind of getting bigger. Then we got involved with Selfridges doing Bollywood. There was Devdas – I remember when the reel came for Devdas, Selfridges actually had it in a safe. Also going to Cannes for Devdas, that’s when I felt like ‘this is getting big’. Then slowly, we started seeing a lot more international faces at our Bollywood nights. We knew that there was something groundbreaking going on, and we were just so grateful to be part of it. It was a lot of fun. I think that Bollywood now has it’s own standing culturally, and I still think it’s growing. Indian artists in general are no longer just in one corner – they are mainstream now. When I look back at it, we were always led by our heart. Nothing was planned on our part. I think that’s why we loved it even more, and love it now.
The British-Asian entertainment landscape has evolved massively since you started out. What changes in the industry, from representation to digital media, inspire you most today?
I think it’s a really exciting time. The landscape has changed internationally. There is such a different array of faces playing mainstream characters from all kinds of backgrounds. It gives writers the chance to express themselves through different development programmes and platforms. Digital media is something we have to embrace. If you know how to play to the strengths of digital media, you know it’s been great for representation.
When you’re curating or presenting content, what’s your guiding principle? What do you hope people take away from the energy you put out into the world?
My first answer immediately is to hope that they take a sense of calmness – and this is from somebody who spent most of his life always going from A to B, travelling and really just moving at such a fast pace. I’d like to think when I get involved or if I’m presenting content, hosting on the radio, that people feel like they can be open with me and talk to me about whatever, and that I can give them a genuine answer or perspective. With some of my latter interviews, I was really discovering a lot more about some of the celebs that I was interviewing. It became more than just about their latest release, as you get to know them personally as well, so you want to talk about other things in their life. Generally, I hope that people get a bit of positivity from when they hear me. The big thing to remember is calmness because nothing really is a big deal. It really, really isn’t.
Away from the mic and the stage, what parts of your life or identity are you most curious to explore next, whether that’s creative, personal, or community-driven?
The parts of my identity that I’m looking forward to exploring or am exploring is definitely writing. Like I said, I write a lot on my own. I also work with a writing partner on TV scripts, stage, film, and that’s actually a fun part of bringing in all the experience that I’ve had and new things that I’ve learned. I started in stage school, so acting, and I think with the radio and all the other experiences I’ve had, they have only helped me grow. In terms of my personal development, it’s definitely about having stronger relationships with my family members and spending a lot more time with my friends. I do things now that I would never have dreamt of doing before – like actually plan a holiday with my friends. Ten years ago, I couldn’t imagine doing that, because one, I didn’t have the time, and secondly, it would be the fear of missing out. I’d constantly be wanting to work.
Looking at the next five years, what are your biggest goals? Not only in your career but in your personal growth? Has your idea of “success” changed with experience?
My idea of success has definitely changed with experience. I think I had success when I was very young and now my idea of success is different from then. Now, in another five years’ time, I want to buy a massive house, maybe somewhere miles away, and just renovate it, write, read, throw dinner parties, and occasionally do the odd film, maybe some theatre, and write more books. I think the future’s exciting, and my friends and family are a big part of it. Travelling would possibly be right up there, but in terms of success, I think the more together you are, the more you wear your own elegance, wear your own charm and you are grounded success finds you and you find it in different ways. You can only do that if, mentally, you feel at peace with yourself, and have gratitude for what you have.
Finally, for younger South Asian men trying to find their voice in media, entertainment, or culture, what message would you share about resilience, self-belief, and mental health?
If you’re trying to find your voice within the media, entertainment or within the cultural sphere, I think you have to be really genuine. You’ve got to be genuine to yourself first, in order to be genuine to other people. So really try to understand yourself, go out of your way to self-discover. Self-discovery often happens when you make mistakes, but when you make them, really understand why you made these mistakes and learn from them. When you do achieve something, celebrate it, not in an arrogant way, in a way where you realise you deserve that because you worked really hard. There’s no substitute for hard work. Your self-belief will come from your hard work – when you see your hard work has given you positive achievements. Hard work gives you success. And in terms of mental health, give out what you want to get in return. You’ll find that mentally, you’ll be calmer and accepting. And genuinely, it will just keep you happier as an individual.
Creative Direction and Styling – Anisha Vasani (@anishavasanicreates)
Photographer – Mohammed Omer Janjua (@omjphotography)
Hair & Make Up – Fatin H – (@fatinhmakeup)
Asian Outfit – Bibi Man (@bibiman__)
Pablo Sat-Bhambra– (@pablosatbhambra)
