Spotlight with Sandalina

S2E06: Meet Chirag, a South Asian keynote speaker, brand consultant, and content creator. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Queens with a small business family, being a middle child and seeing attention as a currency, the privileges of being in America, a full-time career at Google, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT 🔥, recent feature in the History Channel docuseries, working with...

S2E05: Meet Gaurav Singh, a South Asian actor.  ⚠️TW: Gaurav is incredibly vulnerable during this episode, sharing his journey about running away, starvation, abuse, mental health battles, attempted suicide, the passing of his mother, and more. This episode covers a variety of other topics too including upbringing / family in India, acting as a calling, working for big Bollywood names like Salman...

S2E04: Meet Neha Dharma, a South Asian model, actress, influencer, and full-time data strategist. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in Dallas, parents, being an only child, relationship with money, career decisions as a woman, academic journey, path to entertainment, fueling creativity, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT 🔥, what it means to be a South Indian creator, performi...

S2E03: Meet Asmita, Lilly’s sister. Asmita is also a South Asian, Muslim influencer, full-time marketing professional, and mental health advocate. This episode is a special one, as we dive into Lilly’s story. Asmita opens about the passing of her sister Lilly, and bravely shares Lilly’s journey with mental health, drugs, recovery, and relapse… There are powerful themes embedded throughout the narr...

S2E02: Meet Aman (@a.magic.man), a South Asian actor, magician, model, and content creator.  This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in New York, path to magic tricks, content creativity at a young age, spiritual path, personal growth going from a shy young boy to a confident man, UCLA college journey, social media evolution / going viral, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT, starrin...

S2E01: Meet Sabeen Sadiq (@sabeencomedy), a Pakistani, Muslim Comedian, Actress, and Model This episode covers a variety of topics including Muslim upbringing in Chicago, Pakistani immigrant parents, family vs. creativity, siblings with mental health circumstances, journey with spirituality, academic journey, the creative process behind her album "Perfect Daughter", career highlights (working with...

Episode 13: Meet Sarah Anwer Khan, a South Asian and Muslim as NBC’s Social Host and 1497’s Social Media Coordinator. This episode covers a variety of topics including mentorship from Hasan Minhaj, being Jai Wolf’s PR, industry experiences with Dev Patel, immigrant parent upbringing in Texas, cultural issues in the Muslim community, running away from home to couch surf in LA and break into Enterta...

Episode 12: Meet Pardeep, a South Asian contestant from The Bachelor franchise (first Indian-American to get a rose), Diplomat, and Former Neuroscientist. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Brooklyn in the 90s, growing up on food stamps in a single-mother household, having an older brother who was on Indian Matchmaking, Indo-Guyanese roots with slavery, growing up poor...

Episode 11: Meet Ashish, a South Asian creator as an Executive Producer of The Third Place Agency, Former Popshift Producer, and Co-Founder of DDN Legends. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Orlando, early creative ventures as a child, parents, sibling, dreams as a kid, confidence in feeling like the “weird kid” in high school, going to UMiami for Pre-Med and switching...

Episode 10: Meet Slesha, a South Asian Model (Vogue, Cover Girl, GMA), Former Fashion Head, Master of Healthcare Admin (Johns Hopkins), and Former Med School Student. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Kansas, family history as refugees from Burma, immigrant parents, relationship with money, private school culture, being one of the only brown kids, leaving medical scho...

Episode 9: Meet Sabeen, a South Asian and Muslim influencer, podcast host, and ex-investment banking analyst. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Pakistan and Westchester NY, growing up in an Ivy League feeder neighborhood, Pakistani community, Muslim upbringing, high school social dynamics, spirituality, college at UMich Ross, nuances of the Muslim community, our paths...

Episode 8: Meet Sheel, a South Asian fashion designer for Svarini (as seen on the SANYFW 2023 runway and Vanity Fair), YouTuber, and former software engineer. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Houston, family (grandma/parents/older brother), relationship with clothing, freedom of choice as a woman in dress, importance of education, exposure to wealth, dreams as a kid,...

Episode 7: Meet Kalissa, a South Asian + Guyanese influencer and actress. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Queens NY, growing up in a single-parent household with a strong female presence, exposure to wealth, Guyanese roots, path to acting, performance arts education, normalizing rejection, auditioning for big roles like Sex Lives of College Girls and Never Have I Ev...

Episode 6: Meet Pankti Doshi, a South Asian influencer, co-founder of Masala Mixtape and And Aur, NYC event planner, and certified genetics counselor This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in the Bay Area, being an only child, exposure to wealth, intellectual curiosity as a kid, academic pursuits, double majoring in biomedical engineering and mathematics, the world o...

Episode 5: Meet Faaris (@faaris.mp3), a South Asian and Muslim rapper, full-time data engineer, and best of all… my cousin. This episode’s special, as you’ll see our off-camera banter and rivalry intertwined in our on-camera dynamic. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in Texas, phases in adolescence (the Bieber haircut, the Vine era, Rapchat), dynamics of growing...

Episode 4: Meet Alysha Hemani (@alyshakeyz), a South Asian and Muslim petite model, content creator and a full-time brand strategy project manager. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in the South, the dynamics of growing up in a Muslim community, experiences living in different parts of the US, spirituality, the modeling industry, breaking in as a petite and Sout...

Episode 3: Meet Khushi (@shetalksandeats), a South Asian influencer, the founder of Defeating Disorders, and a full-time marketing manager for the startup Tru. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in India, being a national athlete, impact of the modeling industry, body image / eating disorders, mental health, chasing your passions, opportunities from social media,...

Episode 2: Meet Omika Jikaria, a South Asian influencer as 1/3rd of the Jikaria Sisters, a yoga & meditation teacher, a holistic wellness coach, and a full-time management consultant This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family, relationship with money, career aspirations through different phases of academic life, insights from the beauty pageant world, living abroad i...

Welcome to the introductory episode of Spotlight with Sandalina! 📼 Together, we will go on a vulnerable deep dive into the journeys of South Asians / Muslims in the creator space 📍NYC 📅 Every Sunday 🎙️ Hosted by Sandalina Sattar, a 23-year-old Muslim, Pakistani woman living in NYC. Sandalina is a full-time finance professional, Tik Tok content creator, and founding event host of Wholesome Hango...