The Brown Film Folk
By Natasha Sequeira & Brahmikha Anchala
The Brown Film FolkMar 15, 2021
Two Worlds, One Family - On Art, Culture, History & Travel with Sabrina Saleha!
Sabrina Saleha is an actress, writer and full-time van lifer. She is Bangladeshi-American and Diné (Navajo). Her culture and identity shapes her perspective being both Indigenous to this land and daughter of an immigrant and shares her stories in artistry. She was recently interviewed in the American Portrait Special on PBS - https://youtu.be/cGEfXN043jc
Her recent work is a lead in thriller, Trap Door in the Sun that is about the horrors of colonization:
Trailer here: https://vimeo.com/496134298
Sabrina lived full-time in a vehicle for 4 years. First in a Jeep with a camper top now in a van travelling to National Parks! Through her travels, she hopes with You, Me and the Parks to share the Indigenous narrative in the storytelling of the Parks.
On Acting for Theatre vs Film with Ved Sapru!
Ved Sapru is a British trained actor of Indian nationality. Whilst his training at the renowned East15 Acting school, Ved went on to have his West End theatre debut with director Robert Hastie's Henry V at the Regents Park Theatre. Not long after that, he performed in the Russian theatre season at the Arcola Theatre, London, in The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky, directed by the award-winning Helena Kaut-Howson. All while still completing his training at Drama school.
His Feature Film debut comes with his role as Rahul Singh in India Sweets And Spices, produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Madison Wells Media. Directed by the winner of the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting award and the 2018 Academy Gold Fellowship for Women, Geeta Malik. Starring alongside Sophia Taylor Ali, Manisha Koirala, Adil Hussain and Rish Shah.
On Casting, Acting & Coaching with Nitin Goel!
Nitin Goel is known for his work on In the Shadows (2017), Four More Shots Please (2019) and Chor Chor Super Chor (2013).
As an actor, he believes his fundamental job is to communicate the situations and circumstances of the characters and their way of living through his body, mind & soul. And, it requires an understanding of self and interpretation of a writer’s work with the guidance and support of the director and entire cast and crew.
Working as an actor, over the years, he's observed that there are a few basic and extremely important qualities like listening, seeing, sensing & being in the moment, to make a good actor. Nitin believes that these qualities should be inculcated in every human being to make them alive, sensory and hence a good human being. And everything on this path starts with awareness of self and around.
As a coach, Nitin works with his students through workshops or classes and take a step further in order to understand ourselves as a group, society, conditions & circumstances we live in, collectively - hence becoming a better individual and growing as a sensitive person, which leads to becoming an artist.
On Acting & Studio Travel Management with Nargis Hansen!
Nargis was born in Bristol UK, to Indian Bangladeshi parents and raised in a multicultural household. In school, Nargis excelled academically with a talent and passion for theatre. However, Nargis wanted to be independent so she moved to London to pursue higher education in Aviation Management at Buckinghamshire University. Soon after graduating, she settled in London with a career in the corporate world.
In 2013, Nargis married the love of her life and moved to the USA. Despite her academic & career achievements, Nargis could never let go of her passion and with support from her husband, she pursued acting. She started out as a background actress in films and TV shows. She was asked to play Momma Arun in the "Bless yer heart" web series and landed a couple of independent short films, before deciding to resume auditioning for film and TV roles.
Nargis was represented by TTA and was a student of Nick Conti Professional Actors Studio. 3 years later decided to take a full job as Travel Manager for TV and film productions based out of Pinewood Atlanta Studio.
IMDb: Nargis Aniston
instra: nargis.usa
Behind the scenes with Sulochana Surapu!
Sulochana Surapu, an Atlanta native, has worked as a Co-director, Video Producer, Talent Manager, and Casting Agent in Tollywood for over 6 years.
Sulochana began working in Tollywood under director Sekhar Kammula in 2013 and worked with him 'Anaamika' and 'Fidaa'. In between the two films, she worked in casting, and AD'd for a couple of tv commercials. After Fidaa, she continued working in casting and in production Kala Mediaworks, which specializes in producing music videos and short films.
Upon leaving Kala Mediaworks, Sulochana worked for a Talent agency called KWAN in its Hyderbad chapter, where she worked as Rana Daggubati's Manager. Sulochana currently works in marketing for an IT company in Atlanta, and occasionally undertakes remote casting opportunities for Tollywood projects based in the U.S, as well as, Hyderabad.
On journalism & creative writing with Krishna Trilok!
Krishna Trilok is a writer from Chennai, India. He started writing at the age of 13, was a professional journalist at 19 and a published author at 23. His first book, the Indian high fantasy novel “Sharikrida” was released in 2016. His second work, “Notes of a Dream”, the official biography of two-time Oscar-winning Indian composer A.R. Rahman, was published in 2018. After completing these two bestsellers, as well as collaborating with multiple Indian governments and filmmakers on projects ranging from coffee table books to documentaries, Krishna decided to explore the world of visual story-telling. Currently, he is an MFA Dramatic Writing student at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, USA. “I see myself as a storyteller in every form of the word,” Krishna says of himself. “And the reason I tell them is that I’m always hoping that something I create may one day spark in someone out there the same love I felt ignited in me when I listened to or watched or read a good story. I do what I do to make people feel. And think. If I can do that for just one person, then ten years of work is entirely worth it.”
On art & creativity with Adit Dileep!
Adit Dileep was born in India, grew up in Singapore, and is currently living in New York City. While Adit holds a B.S. in Finance & Marketing from NYU, he's also an actor and performer! He is represented by his team at Artists & Representatives and Innovative Artists. He has been featured in commercials for American Express, Google Grammarly, and most recently for Coinmaster with Emily Ratajkowski.
Adit's previous credits include:
Theatre MLIMA's TALE (Westport Country Playhouse) DISGRACED (Guthrie Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center), ANIMALS OUT OF PAPER (Hudson Stage Company) and Kevin G for the Mean Girls Broadway Development Lab.
TV Appearances on BILLIONS (SHOWTIME), SUCCESSION (HBO), LAW & ORDER SVU (NBC)
Film THE SOUND OF SILENCE (Sundance 2019).
Adit Dileep will be seen next in a supporting role in the film Magic Hour starring Miriam Shor. Eager to hear about how this Desi juggles his roles? Tune in to The Brown Film Folk Podcast now and head over to learn more about him and his work at www.aditdileep.com!
Chat and Chai with Audie award-nominated actress and narrator, Deepti Gupta!
Deepti Gupta is an actress and Audie-Finalist, SOVAS and Earphones winning narrator based in Los Angeles. Fluent in English, Hindi and Urdu, her career spans across India, Singapore, Pakistan and the United States. Since her first TV appearance in 2005, Deepti has garnered international acclaim for the depth of emotion she displays in her work. Her powerhouse performance in the feature film, Walkaway was met with praise from fans and the media, including the New York Times. Her performance was also recognized in the Sundance Film Festival nominated sci-fi romantic thriller, Record/Play. Deepti switches between big and small screens with ease and grace. She can currently be seen in Disney+’s High School Musical The Musical, Netflix’s The Politician and Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere.
Check out her reel here! https://vimeo.com/dgupta and follow her @TheDeeptiGupta (FB, Twitter and IG)
Welcome to the Brown Film Folk Podcast!
Natasha and Brahmikha met on the sets of the multi-award winning short film “30 days”. Their creativity, passion for storytelling, and mutual ambition to connect South Asian Film Makers from across the world gave rise to the BFF, Brown Film Folks Podcast. In the midst of a global pandemic, connecting like-minded individuals via a podcast became the source of immense inspiration.
At the BFF podcast, we are here to showcase the culture, inspiration, and the journey of several filmmakers, with a mission to bridge the gap of South Asian Film Makers from all over the world and be a source of connection.