Voice It Out Podcast with Shyama & Amrita

In this bonus episode, Amrita catches up with director Rumana Molla who made her debut with the film Minimum, which opened the UK Asian Film Festival. She talks about the experience of making the film and acting in it, being joined by veteran actors for it, not accepting no for an answer from the film's now producer and also the sentiment of not accepting the bare minimum in life. Rumana also touches on the important topic of mental health and being in the film industry for the last decade as an actress before turning to direction.

After going through divorce, Nimrita Dadlani co-founded 'Pivot' - a digital platform set out to create a safe space for those going through separation & divorce and giving people the chance to gain the appropriate access to the advice they may require. In this candid conversation, Nimrita spoke to Shyama about the difficulties she faced to find the available options and support when she was going through a relationship breakdown. She also touches on what it was like transitioning to being a single parent, getting back on her feet and working out how to live a life that she never thought she'd be living. Coming from a very close-knit, British Asian family, Nimrita also expresses how the subject of a broken relationship is still seen as a taboo and how the support of her loved ones has allowed her to lead a life that she is proud of. With 'Pivot' on the cusp of launching, hear Nimrita speak passionately about how she aims to provide trained coaches to her clients so that they don't feel alone and unheard and instead feel confident in navigating the process of their divorce, no matter how daunting it may feel.

This week, Shyama and Amrita are joined by Indy Sira, whose work with Voices of Colour UK, seeks to give a voice to the women in the community who find themselves marginalised. She shares her experience working within the communities and highlighting the issues they have and the support they need through the correct channels where their concerns would be heard. Indy also speaks about her own mental health, why she is so passionate about working with people to create change and also how she herself arrived at this strand of work - all conceived and begun during the Covid-19 pandemic. She also talks about how her own background and upbringing had a huge part of play in the work she does now.

In this episode, Shyama & Amrita are joined by Manisha Morgan who qualified as a nutritionist and personal trainer in her 50s and why this was something she set out to do. She chats about the importance of women working on their healthy eating and fitness in the run upto menopause. She also shares her thoughts about keeping herself relevant and sharing valuable things on social media, her decision not to use filters and more.

She's the CEO & founder of Pavan Beauty, with a mission to bring the beauty of henna and the Asian culture to everybody, including offering services and products through the Pavan Beauty Henna Bar in Selfridges for the last 10 years. Pavan Ahluwalia-Dhanjal is a two-time Guinness World record holder for the fastest henna artist in the world and she's worked with many high-profile and well-known names and programmes, and now she's appearing on Dragon's Den to try and bag an investment to grow her business (this podcast was recorded before that episode was broadcast). In this episode, Pavan talks to Shyama & Amrita about her journey as an entrepreneur, revealing her persistence in reaching every goal she set out to and she expresses how she has instrumentally created a niche market for henna with the continued hope of reaching different communities and cultures. In this conversation, Pavan also speaks about how she handles the stereotypical questions she's often presented with by the British Asian community and how she keeps her mental health intact.

After the sad passing of his father, co-founder of the British Asian Entrepreneurs (BAE) HQ Amardeep Parmar wanted to drive his grief towards doing something positive. Creating a space for British Asian entrepreneurs to come together, work together and make the most of their respective similarities and differences was something Amardeep has done with BAE HQ. He joins Amrita in this episode and talks about his everyday journey with grief, the pressure of appearing to have it all together in today's age as a British Asian man and also his thoughts as an innovator and a driver in the business community.

Jignasha Ruparelia worked in credit in corporate banking for a significant number of years before the Covid pandemic changed everything. Having understood that it was not sustainable for her to successfully balance a family with work commitments during that time, she made the decision to change her career path into an area previously unknown to her (learning and development)... and that too when she was in her late 30s, with a strong set of skills and knowledge within credit and banking. In this episode, she reveals her thought process for this pivot and also about the lack of Asian female representation within the corporate world. She also talks about the importance of getting the right support from colleagues as well as loved ones.

In this episode, hosts Shyama and Amrita look-back at one year of podcasting and they take it both personal and professional; it's been quit a journey! Touching on some wonderful memories from some of the previous episodes, the duo talk about what 2023 has taught them, how they have felt about their first year as podcasters and what the next year may look like. You'll hear them talk candidly about their own mental health, how the year has shaped them and they also give an insight into their journeys throughout the last year working with one another.

If anyone looked at photographer Shivani Patel's social media pages, they would be in absolute awe at all the special moments she has captured for her clients. However, being a part of the small percentage of females working in the photography industry, Shivani speaks to Amrita about the challenges that come with this career, how she tackles the instilled stereotypes in certain situations and working with people where she is challenging expectations by just doing her job. Being a young British Asian who has determined a creative career as her profession, Shivani also talks about how she is perceived by the Asian community, her own views about marriage and relationships and how she is trying to break certain stigmas.