by Roopa Cheema 

I’m 36-years-old, I’m basically your auntie. You can call me your #OnlineAuntie. And I’m not happy with the hashtag #CurryScentedBitch. Grab a cup of cha’ and gather ’round so I can share my thoughts.

By now, we all know the awful things Azealia Banks said to Zayn Malik on Twitter: “dirty, Punjab, f****t,”p*ki,” and of course, “curry scented bitch.” Granted she’s apologized and Twitter has suspended her account, this discussion warrants further thought.

As a South Asian girl, with parents from Punjab growing up in the ’80s in a predominantly white town in Canada, these racial insults hit home.

I was called a “p*ki” and made fun of for how my house and clothes smelled. Azealia’s words hurt. Really badly. I cried reading the horrible things she said to Zayn. My hurt and anger – YOUR hurt and anger – is legitimate. Canadian YouTuber, Jus Reign, caught wind of the situation and decided to reclaim “curry scented bitch” and turned it into the hashtag we all now know.

[Read Related: An Open Letter to Punjabi-Canadian YouTuber Jus Reign for Criticizing Azealia Banks]

At first glance I thought the tag was great, seeing so many beautiful desi faces! I even contributed by posting a selfie (which I have since deleted). As I scrolled through the tag, I mostly young South Asian millennials posting selfies (many of which had Azealia’s Twitter handle in the post), but then I began to see some epic anti-black racism directed at Azealia.

Let’s face it, desis: our communities are very anti-black. Before you start trying to deny it in your minds as you read this, stop. You know what I’m saying is true. I saw young Desis saying misogynoiristic (the hatred of black women) comments like, “don’t forget where your weave comes from,” “clapping back,” “monkey,” “whore,” and “kuthi,” whilst plastering photos of light-skinned desis using African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) with words such as “slay” and “fleek,” and asking Azealia, “what’s good?”

There is a deep and long history of the hatred of black people’s hair. Black people get called “ratchet” and “ghetto” when using AAVE but brown people are going to steal their language to sound cool? Hmm…this sounds familiar, doesn’t it, desis? Like when white people wear henna and bindis to music festivals but when our mothers, aunts, and sisters wear it as a part of their daily garb, they are told to go back to their own countries.

South Asians get rightly upset when white people steal our things because they have more societal power than us; they get to have all our pretty stuff without the oppression. In the way racial hierarchy is designed, brown people have more societal power than black folks. Before you call me a liar via Twitter, please read the copious amounts of scholarship and other material on power dynamics and systemic oppression. You can start by watching Aamer Rahman’s “Fear of a Brown Planet” in which he perfectly explains why “reverse racism” doesn’t exist.

Black people cannot be racist toward us because of power dynamics (they don’t have the power to oppress us on a systemic level) but they can certainly be prejudiced and bigoted as illustrated by Azealia. #CurryScentedBitch was created to heal from the hurt and all our community did was hurl horrific anti-Blackness at Azealia. You have every right to be hurt and angered. Please don’t mistake my words for absolving her of her actions, however, I cannot sit by and watch my community spew racial hatred and dehumanize a black woman over whom we have societal power.

Azealia has talked about wanting to bleach her skin to be whiter. Does this sound like a familiar problem to you, desis?

Instead of knee-jerk racist reactions to what Azealia said to Zayn, I want for all of us to take a more nuanced look at this. Move past the valid emotion and interrogate the real culprit: white supremacy. Let’s decolonize our analysis of this whole situation. Also, it needs to be said: black people, particularly black women, ALWAYS show up for desis when we need them. And let’s not forget the black-desis who are experiencing erasure in all of this.

We share some of the same struggles and common histories of coloniality but please do not compare the plight of black folks with that of brown folks, even in a post-9/11 world.

When I started learning how white supremacy and anti-blackness operate, I vowed to take that knowledge to my community because that’s what good aunties do. Almost all the learning I’ve done has been from black and Indigenous people, mostly women, in the academy and online. We must work together to dismantle white supremacy and anti-blackness. Please challenge it at the dinner table, online, in schools, and communities; the revolution begins at home.

Roopa Cheema is a Toronto-based educator. She holds a Master of Education in Social Justice Education from the Univeristy of Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @RadRoopa. She wants all people of colour to add to #DecolonialSelfies.

By Brown Girl Magazine

Brown Girl Magazine was created by and for South Asian womxn who believe in the power of storytelling as a … Read more ›

Weddings, huh? Talk about a stress fest. And for the bride, it’s like a 24/7 walk on eggshells. However, add in a paranoid and overprotective sister, and you’ve got a recipe for a completely different degree of drama. In “Polite Society,” Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) and her gang of clumsy pals take the phrase “till death do us part” to a whole new level as they plot to “steal” the bride — aka Ria’s own sister, Lena (Ritu Arya), during her shaadi reception. But with a wedding hall packed with guests, a mother-in-law from hell, and a groom with more shades of fraud than a rainbow, this heist is anything but smooth sailing.

It goes without saying but “Polite Society” comes with a cast of wacky characters, gut-busting one-liners, and an action-packed heist sequence, making it a must-watch for anyone who loves a good comedy. I mean who hasn’t dealt with some serious wedding drama, am I right?

Lead actress Kansara agrees wholeheartedly. “I definitely have!” she chuckles, as I catch up with her at Soho Hotel in London. Despite the rubbish weather outside, Kansara is a ray of sunshine with her infectious enthusiasm.

The minute I read the script, I thought to myself…wow, playing Ria is going to be one wild ride!

[Read Related: Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History — A Review of Sundance’s ‘Polite Society’]

And wild is definitely the right word to describe her character. Ria is a British-Pakistani martial artist-in-training from London, determined to become a professional stuntwoman. Her sister, Lena, who dropped out of uni, often ends up being the guinea pig for filming Ria’s stunts for YouTube, including one lovingly dubbed “the fury.” She reveals

I’d never done martial arts before this film. The stunt training started from the day I got the role, and it was three to four times a week all the way until we finished filming. It was a seven-week period in total, and boy, was it physically demanding. Oh my God, I think I can add a whole new skills section to my CV! But on a serious note, it was so much fun and we had an amazing stunt team. They, including my stunt double, taught me so much. It was important to me to do my own stunts as much as possible, but also strike a healthy balance.

For South Asian women, who are often expected to be quiet and agreeable, all that punching and kicking on set must have been cathartic, right?

Honestly, it was like anger management at work! I got to kick and throw things around — it was the perfect balance.

 

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What sets Kansara apart from other actors starting out in the industry is her ability to draw from her own life experiences to bring authenticity to her characters on screen. Her career began with a degree from UCL and a communications job at a pharmaceutical company. But today, her versatile range and unwavering commitment to her craft have propelled her to the forefront of British comedy, portraying defiant South Asian women we’d love to see in real life.

From my own experience as a South Asian woman, I’ve always been told to do what’s ‘proper’ and think twice before speaking up. Playing a character like Ria and putting myself in her shoes, I felt like I was doing and saying things that I wish I had done at her age. It was almost like living through her and speaking my mind about things I never did.

Without a doubt, every South Asian woman on this planet wishes she cared more about herself and less about what other people think.

Ria totally inspired me. If only I had her mindset when I was younger, my career path would have taken off way sooner instead of worrying about other people’s opinions.

The chemistry between the cast members on and off-screen is so apparent, especially the sisterhood between Ria and Lena. The wild adventures of a bride, and her paranoid maid of honour navigating through family drama, are bound to create some unforgettable moments on set.

[Read Related: ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’: A Modern-day Exploration of Love Across Cultures]

We both confess our love and admiration for Nimra Bucha’s portrayal of Raheela, Lena’s evil mother-in-law and share a teenage fangirling moment:

I’m obsessed with that woman. There’s something terrifying yet ultra sexy about her character in “Polite Society” that’s mesmerising. I absolutely loved the dance sequence. As South Asians, we’ve all grown up watching Bollywood films and idolising Madhuri Dixit’s iconic dance moves. “Polite Society” gave me my Bollywood heroine moment, and it was a dream come true with the costumes and jewellery.

It’s definitely a unique experience for Kansara, considering her former career was worlds apart from entertainment. So, what advice does she have for aspiring actors who may secretly wish to pursue the same path, but are unsure of the next steps? Kansara advises, drawing from her character’s heist-planning skills.

I believe starting small and honing your craft is an underrated superpower. If you’re passionate about acting, make short-form videos, and build your portfolio. You never know who might be watching.

So, grab your popcorn and your sense of humour, and get ready for “Polite Society” — the film that proves that sometimes, the most polite thing to do is kick some butt and save the day. It released in cinemas on April 28th, and I highly recommend it.

Photo Courtesy: Universal Pictures

By Queenie Shaikh

Desk bound by day and travel bound all other times – Queenie thrives on her weekly dose of biryani and … Read more ›

Photo Courtesy of Varsha Panikar

“After so Long” is a poetry film created for Simha’s EP, which is streaming on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. The poem was collaboratively written by Simha, a U.S. native, and Jae, who is based in India, during the 2020 lockdown. “After so Long” was recited by Simha and their parents. In 2022, I directed and produced the film through my studio, Star Hopper. “After so Long” premiered on Nowness Asia in March 2022.

By Varsha Panikar

Varsha Panikar (they/he) is a filmmaker, writer and multi-disciplinary artist from India. They are the co-founder of Star Hopper, a … Read more ›

Award-winning commercial real estate and land consultant in Arizona, Anita Verma-Lallian, is venturing into the world of entertainment with her newfound production house, Camelback Productions, making her the first South Asian female in the state to do so. Verma-Lallian is a woman used to paving her own way, and now she’s committed to doing it for future generations.

[Read Related: Anita Verma-Lallian Launches Arizona’s First South Asian-owned Film Production and Entertainment Company ]

Through her production company, she aims to contribute towards greater South Asian representation in mainstream media with a focus on storytelling that’s relevant to the community. In a conversation with Brown Girl Magazine, the real estate maven spoke about what inspired her to shift from investing in land to investing in creative dreams.

Tell us more about Camelback Productions and what your hopes are for the company?

The intention is to help communities that are not being represented in the media. As you know, there are a lot more streamers looking for content so that presents an interesting opportunity for people to tell stories that are otherwise not being told.

For us it’s important to tell these stories that aren’t being told, and tell them in the way that we want them to be told. With South Asians, for instance, the roles typically given are stereotypical. There are only four or five roles we are playing repeatedly. I want to show the South Asian community and culture in a different way. 

You come from a business and investor background. I am curious to know what catapulted your interest towards establishing a production company?

Good question. There were a few things that inspired my interest. I was looking to diversify the different opportunities we offered our investors. We’ve done a lot of real estate, so we were overall looking for different investment opportunities.  And then, at the time when I started exploring this, the real estate market was in this wait-and-see for many people. 

Everyone was sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what happens next. There was a slowdown at the end of 2022 which is when I started looking into this more. Film seemed like it was kind of recession-proof and not really tied to what’s happening in the economy, which I thought was refreshing and exciting.

Also, overall, I observed what was happening in the industry with there being a push to see more South Asians in the media. The timing felt right, and I think we’re moving in the right direction.

 

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What kind of content are you looking to create?

Good stories and good quality scripts. We are looking at all types of content — movies, docu-series, comedy shows, and reality shows. We’re open to anything that has a good message. 

On a personal level, what hits home for you with this production company?

Growing up I always loved film and TV. We watched a lot of Bollywood movies because that’s what we related to and I always loved that. But I did feel there wasn’t a lot of representation of people that looked like me. Being able to change that — especially after having kids, and a daughter who wants to go into film — is important for. It’s a contribution for future generations. It’s important to me that as they grow up, they see people that look just like them.  

Is there a significance to the name Camelback?

Yes! Camelback Mountain is a very iconic mountain in Phoenix. It’s one of the most famous hikes we have here and a relatively challenging one.

The significance is being able to overcome challenges and barriers. I have a nice view of Camelback Mountain and it’s something I look at every day, when I’m stressed and overwhelmed. It has a very calming and grounding presence.

To me the mountains signify being grounded and not being able to be moved by external factors. That’s what I want this production company to be!

 

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What would you advise people interested in entering the entertainment industry?

The best advice I would give someone is to align yourself with people that you know are experts in the industry; that have a good track record. Learn from as many people as you can. I learn as much as I can, talk to as many people as I can, and I study different things to understand what was and wasn’t successful.

Photo Credit: Claudia Johnstone

By Rasha Goel

Rasha Goel is a 2X Emmy-nominated television host/producer and international correspondent. Her talent has led to opportunities such as giving … Read more ›