AwokenWord

#013: Ashwin Srinivasan - "The Airbender"

August 14th, 2019  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 56 mins

anoushka shankar, ar rahman, bansuri, film, flute, ghazal, humanity, imogen heap, india, indian classical, inspiration, london, mumbai, music, nitin sawhney, singer, story, travel

Live in Mumbai, Anuj Rastogi sits down with Ashwin Srinivasan, one of the most highly sought-after musicians in India. Ashwin is an acclaimed Indian Classical flautist and vocalist, and long-time collaborator with internationally renowned composer Nitin Sawhney, as well as core member of Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman's band. He has recorded, performed and collaborated with some of the most acclaimed global artists including AR Rahman, Nitin Sawhney, Anoushka Shankar, Hariharan, Javed Akhtar, Joss Stone, and Imogen Heap to name but a few. Ashwin's vocal and instrumental brilliance is well known, and in this conversation, Anuj and Ashwin explore the worlds of music, Ashwin's journey as an artist, and his unique approach to his art. Anuj and Ashwin also discuss the incredible beauty of India, and the experience of exploring the country and its people by road.

#009: Nicki Wells - "The World is Sound"

March 13th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 14 mins

andy serkis, dance, film, humanity, indian classical, inspiration, london, matrix, melody, mowgli, music, nicki wells, nitin sawhney, sapiens, singer, story, theatre, travel, turya

In this episode, Anuj connects with London-based singer, songwriter, composer, producer and multi-genre musical prodigy, Nicki Wells (aka TURYA). Nicki is an internationally acclaimed vocalist, and capable of astonishing fluency across Western classical, pop, and Indian Classical styles of music. A long-time collaborator with leading global artists, Nicki has worked with composer Nitin Sawhney, vocalists Tina Grace, and Joss Stone to name a few. Nicki has performed across many of the globe's most esteemed venues from Australia, the Middle East, South and East Asia, throughout Europe, Canada and the US. Nicki has also performed for, and composed original music for acclaimed film, theatre and dance productions, and he voice is found on soundtracks including the 2018 feature film "Mowgli" directed by Andy Serkis, and streaming on Netflix.

#008: Pardeep Nagra - "The Tiger"

February 20th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 4 mins

athetics, boxing, education, equity, film, history, hollywood, humanity, mickey rourke, pardeep nagra, sikh, tiger

In this episode of the AwokenWord podcast, Anuj Rastogi sits down in studio with Pardeep Singh Nagra, championship boxer, athlete, historian, educator, public speaker and human rights advocate. Pardeep is the Executive Director of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada, and a champion of equity within the public school system. In the 1990s Mr. Nagra was barred from competing in a Canadian boxing championship because of his beard, which is a mandatory article of his Sikh faith. These real-life events would go on to become the basis for the Hollywood movie "TIGER", about Pardeep's life, starring Mickey Rourke, Prem Singh, and Janel Parrish

#004: Roger Christian - "Star Wars & The Alchemy of Cinema"

November 2nd, 2018  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 36 mins

alien, film, george lucas, hollywood, humanity, light saber, love, oscar, science fiction, star wars

In this episode of the AwokenWord podcast, Anuj Rastogi speaks with legendary, Academy award-winning Art Director and Filmmaker, Roger Christian. Roger walks through his incredible life's journey from childhood in the UK, to learning the craft of set direction to the day he was hired personally by George Lucas to lead set design on "Star Wars: A New Hope". Roger explains the process he went through in inventing and designing the light-saber, R2D2, and the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, among many elements in the enduring look of the Star Wars universe.

Anuj and Roger discuss the evolution of cinema, Roger's inspirations and experiences with some of the greats of Hollywood, today's changing political and social landscape, what it means to be a man today, and the future of his newly resurrected feature film project, "Black Angel".