A QISSAA with Ishika

Welcome to the 41st episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is Avneet Kaur , Head of Characters & Technical Animation and Head of Workflow-Pipeline at Walt Disney Animation Studios! She has worked in animation for over 20 years. Since joining Disney in 2004, she has worked as Simulation Supervisor, Department Craft Leader, and Head of Characters and Technical Animation. Avneet has work...

Welcome to the 40th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is Reshma Gajjar , a first-generation American actress, interdisciplinary performing artist, and creative collaborator! She has acted on camera for visionary directors Spike Jonze, Sam Mendes, Kathryn Bigelow, and Damien Chazelle, recognized for opening the Oscar-winning film La La Land. As a member of the original cast of Life An...

Welcome to the 39th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is choreographer, performer, and arts educator Minila Shah! For over 25 years, Minila Shah has shaped the landscape of Indian dance. Her expertise spans Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Bollywood, Semi-Classical, Garba/Raas, and Bhangra, showcasing her versatility and deep-rooted knowledge of South Asian dance. Since founding Ajna Dance Com...

Welcome to the 38th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is dancer, choreographer, artistic director, educator, and iconoclast Ishita Mili ! Ishita is the founder of IMGE, a dance company that unravels cultural roots to thread together global stories with diverse artists. Featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair, IMGE’s transcultural vocabulary encompasses dynamic imagery, mudra storytelling,...

Welcome to the 37th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today, actress, dancer/figure skater, and storyteller Mayuri Bhandari ! Working within the Indian and American film industries, she has starred in film/television including Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), Dave (FX/Hulu), Rebel (ABC), and Dare2Dance/Just Dance (Star Plus). Her voice-over includes Spider-Man (Sony), Ms. Marvel (Disney), and nar...

Welcome to the 36th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is playwright and filmmaker Rehana Lew Mirza! With a BFA from NYU TISCH and an MFA from Columbia University, Rehana’s prolific career has seen her plays produced at venues across the US. Some play highlights include: Hatefuck (First Floor, Chicago; WP/Colt Coeur, NY); A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now (Primar...

Welcome to the 35th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is Ravjot Mehek Singh, an award-winning Sikh Indian American Film and TV Director and art activist. Many Indian and American media outlets refer to her as one of the youngest female directors in Bollywood and one of the first openly LGBTQ+ Sikh women directors in South Asia. By age 21, she had directed 3 television talk shows for...

Welcome to the 34th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika, Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists, funded by the California Art Council’s Individual Artist Fellow Grant. My guest is music director, composer, and arranger Sheela Ramesh! She was recently named a “Woman to Watch on Broadway” by the Broadway Women’s Fund. Professional highlights include Broadway (SIX, Almost Famous, Onc...

Welcome to the 33rd episode of A QISSAA with Ishika, Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists, funded by the California Art Council’s Individual Artist Fellow Grant. I am so excited to welcome my guest today, fresh off the UK and Asia tour of Life of Pi, actor Sonya Venugopal! A proud Californian, she has lived in New York for 8 years.! In 2023, she made her Broadway debut in Li...

Welcome to the 32nd episode of A QISSAA with Ishika: Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Stories! My guest today is theatermaker and director Zi Alikhan. Raised in California and based in New York, Zi is an alum of NYU TISCH and programs including TCG Rising Leaders of Color, Drama League Directors Project, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, Drama League Artist Residency Program, Manhat...

Welcome to the 31st episode of A QISSAA with Ishika: Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists! My guest today is Robin Sukhadia, a highly accomplished tabla player. With a World Music MFA from CalArts, Robin’s work spans many concert, film, and album productions. He has composed for and toured with Rupa & the April Fishes, J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science, PremaSoul, and Walter...

Welcome to the 30th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is director Reena Dutt. Reena is dedicated to new and reimagined texts that catapult polarizing conversations through unexpected stories with the bodies, voices and life experiences of the underheard. She just closed An Experiment with an Airpump that she directed for CalArts. Her Broadway debut was on The Collaboration at Manhatt...

Welcome to the 29th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is comedy writer and performer Romen Borsellino!  A member of the Writers Guild of America, Romen has been a writer for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show during Kal Penn’s weeks as guest host. Before that, he was a staff writer for Season 2 of NBC’s A Little Late with Lilly Singh as well as the sole writer for CTV’s Battle of the Ge...

Welcome to the 28th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is playwright and screenwriter Madhuri Shekar! She is the 2020 winner of the Lanford Wilson playwriting award, an alumnus of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at Juilliard, and a fellow at New Dramatists. Madhuri holds a masters in dramatic writing from USC, as well as degrees from London School of Economics an...

www.ishikamuchhal.com/a-qissaa-with-ishika Welcome to the 27th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest today is award-winning writer and director Arpita Mukherjee. She is the Co-founder and Artistic Director of Hypokrit Live Arts, a theatre company highlighting work by BIPOC artists. Film accolades include directing the short film Running with Danny Pudi, writing the Filmfare Award-winning scree...

Welcome to the 26th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika: Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists! My guest today is percussionist Vinay Sharma, known for his musical prowess on the tabla, dhol, and many other drums. Through training under Rupesh Kotecha and the late Pandit Ravi Bellare, Vinay honed his percussion skills, found the spirituality behind music in bhajans and kirtans, a...

Welcome to the 24th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika: Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists! My guest today is photographer Simrah Farrukh! Based between Los Angeles and San Francisco, her images are a reflection of the delicate, yet compelling ways in which she views the world. Her work explores how identity and community intersect with fashion and beauty to form a narrative....

Welcome to the 25th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika, Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists! My guest today is voice and screen actor and singer Zehra Fazal! A versatile actor, she has voiced many characters on series for Disney Television Animation, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Netflix and Cartoon Network. Her voice has likely entered your world through character...

Welcome to the 23rd episode of A QISSAA with Ishika, Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists. My guest today is director, author, filmmaker, producer, and entrepreneur Neha Lohia! Neha has created numerous films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials, recently creating the teaser for season 2 of Amazon Prime’s Made in Heaven. She currently has films in festivals around t...

Welcome to the 22nd episode of A QISSAA with Ishika, in conversation this week with director, screenwriter, and producer Nisha Ganatra! A Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee, she was ranked the #1 director globally by Cannes and won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Film Craft: Direction for her film #wombstories . She has directed, written, and produced movies including Late Night with Mindy Kalin...

Welcome to the 21st episode of A QISSAA with Ishika: Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists! My guest today is Rajiv Nema, an Actor, Standup Comedian & Youtuber based in silicon valley. His "Rajiv Nema Indori" video series has 400 videos with 20 Million views. You may have seen him in his recent feature films JAADUGAR with Jitendra Kumar & THAI MASSAGE with G...

Welcome to A QISSAA with Ishika: Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists! My guest today is actor, director, and playwright Priyanka Shetty! Priyanka is focused on making art that is a reflection of our times. Her critically acclaimed one-woman show The Elephant in the Room has been performed at numerous venues including the Kennedy Center and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, amo...

Welcome to the 19th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! Mu guest today is Aparna Kumar, a Bharatanatyam dancer and Creative Content Specialist at Netflix! With experience working in films and documentaries, she started her journey in marketing production at Syfy in new York, worked with agencies and clients including Sesame Street. In her current role with Netflix, she works in the AV Studio Creative...

Hello and welcome to the 18th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika, Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists, funded by the California Art Council’s Individual Artist Fellow Grant. My guest today is Shaan Sharma, a man of many talents within the entertainment industry! Shaan has worked as a commercial and theatrical SAG-AFTRA actor with over 40 TV and 30 commercial credits, currently...

Welcome to the 17th episode of A QISSAA with Ishika! My guest is Vinita Sud Belani, an actor, director, producer, and the Founding Artistic Director of EnActe Arts, a theatre company co-located in Houston and Silicon Valley. Enacte Arts centers South Asian stories in a global context, focusing on inclusive representation and talent development. Vinita’s recent directing credits include Go to your...