If you’ve followed my earlier work with the Improving South Asian American Experiences (ISAASE) initiative, you may recognize Be Inspired. It’s a project rooted in the belief that representation matters, and that seeing a wider range of stories can expand how young people imagine what’s possible for themselves.
This project was created to spotlight South Asian Americans whose lives and careers move beyond narrow expectations, including those working in creative and non-traditional spaces.
For this conversation, I spoke with Raj Rawal (@asaprajy), a social producer for Ovation TV, an art house cable network. You may also recognize Raj from the First Time I Saw Me campaign, where he spoke about the impact of seeing himself reflected in Aziz Ansari’s Master of None.
Below, read our conversation about representation, media, and what it means to build a creative career outside traditional paths.
There’s been a social norm, [starting with] Apu [Nahasapeemapetilon from The Simpsons].
Later, when Slumdog Millionaire was popular, it was just like 500 other Indian movies — but at least now, non-Indians are exposed to a side of Bollywood. It put Indians on the map as source material, and won an Oscar… but there are so many better songs than Jai Ho.
Now we see people like Aziz [Ansari], Mindy [Kaling], or even Russell Peters.
It’s because of Harold and Kumar in 2004 – just a standard buddy comedy where the guy happens to be Indian. That disrupted the social norm. I recently got to pre-screen Hari Kondabolu’s The Problem with Apu, and it’s amazing.
I was fortunate to have my parents’ support. My parents were kind of rebellious. They were very supportive of everything.
My parents came here in 1979. My mom danced, and my dad wanted to write. So they were like, “we’re not going to stop our kids from pursuing their interests.”
One time, an aunty said to my parents, “are you paying for him to watch Netflix and disappoint you?” I remember approaching her at a wedding and being like, “Yo, thank you—you are so future—for saying Netflix and thinking digital.”
My parents let us do whatever we want. A choreographer friend I grew up with in New Jersey, whose parents are like mine, says we shouldn’t play by the rules. He says, “If you’re not disrupting the conversation, then what are you even doing?”
Just start making your own stuff.
Spend your after-school time experimenting—filming things with friends, trying ideas out. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. Start creating.
And when it comes to telling your parents—present them with ideas. Take your time getting really good at something, then show them that this is what you can do for a living. They want you to be successful, but they want you to be happy too.
If you’re 13 or 14, the good thing now is that you have the tools to make whatever you want. You can work in high definition. You can be your own pre-production, post-production, and distribution arm.
Be consistent. Keep going, and going, and going. People are building careers by 19 or 20 now. That’s the beautiful thing about the internet—the sky’s the limit.
Interview originally published as part of the ISAASE Be Inspired series. Follow Raj on Instagram @asaprajy.
About Be Inspired
This interview is part of Be Inspired, a curated archive of conversations and profiles spotlighting South Asian Americans living bold, often un-stereotypically inspiring lives. Originally created through the Improving South Asian American Experiences (ISAASE) initiative, these stories are preserved here as part of an ongoing commitment to representation, storytelling, and expansive definitions of success.
