Unfiltered Chai with Alicia Vrajlal

You can’t watch ‘Project Hail Mary’ without noticing the talent of Priya Kansara.  Well known for her breakout performance in 2023 film ‘Polite Society’ after appearing in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2, Kansara has quickly become one of the most exciting British-Indian talents to watch. In ‘Project Hail Mary’, she voices Mary, the onboard artificial intelligence interacting directly with Ryan Gosling’s ch...

Today's episode features Kishwar Chowdhury. Well known for placing third in Masterchef Australia Season 13, Kishwar's gone on to forge an incredible culinary career that not only champions Bangladeshi cuisine and flavours, but advocacy for South Asian communities.  Alicia caught up with Kishwar a few weeks ago in March. From reflecting on the changing narrative around South Asian food, t...

Today's episode features Kashif Harrison, an advocate for queer visibility and a proud member of the South Asian LGBTQIA+ community. With years of experience in the world of radio presenting, acting, and content creation, his passion for amplifying queer voices has led to him hosting two podcasts of his own. Born in Dubai and migrating to Australia in 2012, Kashif often speaks about his perso...

Queensland-based sports reporter Ankita Karungalekar began filming for the 2026 season of Married At First Sight (MAFS), but her journey was cut short when some unrelated allegations about her MAFS groom, Micah Lomu, were made by others outside of the experiment.  With the new season of MAFS about to air, Alicia caught up with Ankita, where she spoke about the importance of Indian and wider South...

BONUS BITE-SIZED EPISODE: This may be a bite-sized episode, but the person I’m speaking to is a huge star! It’s Bollywood royalty, Abhishek Bachchan who was in Sydney this week to promote a new project as co-founder of the European T20 Premiere League (ETPL). While in Sydney, he announced the owners of its first three franchises, that include the likes of Aussie cricket legends Steve Waugh and Gle...

Whether you’re a big fan of the sport or not, there’s a high chance you’ve heard of Indian-born Australian cricket superstar Lisa Sthalekar.  The former captain of the Australia women's national cricket team retired from international cricket in 2013. Since then, she's continued being a trailblazing force in advocating for women's equality and diversity in sport.  Alicia caught up w...

Born in India and raised between Sydney and Melbourne, Saksham Sharma grew up with a love for entertaining people – but it wasn’t until his breakout appearance on Australia’s Got Talent that he truly landed on the showbiz map.  With more than 5 million subscribers on YouTube alone, Saksham is known for his magic tricks, content creation and acting! Speaking of which, Alicia caught up with Saksham...

When we got word that 'A Nice Indian Boy' was coming to Australia, Alicia just had to sit down with director Roshan Sethi for a chat. After all, it's the movie featuring  Jonathan Groff singing a DDLJ song – a scene that went viral when we posted it on TikTok, calling for the movie to be screened Down Under. The doctor turned filmmaker released his debut movie 7 Days in 2021, starri...

This episode is brought to you by Lipton. Alicia chats to Sneh Roy – a food and lifestyle photographer, cookbook author, stylist and writer. But wait… there’s more!  Sneh's following of more than 150k people on Instagram are hooked to her creative and passionate approach towards food. After speaking to her, we can definitely see why.  When Alicia caught up with Sneh, nothing was off limits –...

You may remember Audra Morrice from the 2012 season of ‘MasterChef Australia’. Since then, she’s been a judge on 'MasterChef Singapore', and was also on the judging panel of 'MasterChef Asia'.  In 2025, she returns for the all-stars season called ‘MasterChef: Back To Win’. When Alicia caught up with Audra, she discussed how geography can influence the style of South Asian food...

You may remember Depinder Chhibber from the 2020 season of ‘MasterChef Australia’ – where she was known for creating exquisite desserts and showcasing Indian flavours through her cooking.  In 2025, she returns for the all-stars season called ‘MasterChef: Back To Win’. When Alicia caught up with Depinder, she talked about everything from the inspiration behind her intimate supper club, her plans to...

Today we bring you a special bite-sized episode, where Alicia speaks to Geraldine Viswanathan about her new movie, Thunderbolts* – which just released in cinemas this month. With a father of Indian descent, and a mother from Switzerland, Geraldine grew up in Newcastle – a two-hour drive from Sydney. But she’s now one of the most successful Aussie exports in Hollywood, giving the likes of Margot Ro...

You may remember Darrsh Clarke from the 2024 season of ‘MasterChef Australia’ – where he was a huge hit with viewers thanks to his delicious desserts and charisma in the kitchen. In 2025, he returns for the all-stars season called ‘MasterChef: Back To Win’. When Alicia caught up with Darrsh, he talked about everything from career choices as a child of Sri Lankan immigrants, moving to Melbourne to...

You may remember Savindri Perera (better known as Sav) from the 2024 season of MasterChef Australia – where she won the heart of viewers with her delicious Sri Lankan dishes that paid tribute to her late mum.  In 2025, she returns to MasterChef for its ‘Back To Win’ season. When Alicia caught up with Sav, nothing was off limits – as she opened up about social media, body image, representation for...

Content warning: This episode discusses eating disorders and mental health. If you or anyone you know requires support, contact the Butterfly Foundation at 1800 33 4673 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Jameela Jamil is an actor and activist, well-known for roles in TV shows such as The Good Place and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.  Since launching ‘I Weigh’ in 2018 – which has since been reintroduced as ‘Move...