About: Kanwal

Sukhwinder Singh is an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He is famous internationally for singing “Jai Ho” from the film Slumdog Millionaire which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Sukhwinder Singh won the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award for songs “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from the movie Dil Se.. and for the song “Haule Haule” from the movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhwinder_Singh

This conversation, recorded many years back tracks his journey – Do listen in to this conversation, with Sukhwinder Singh – today, 22nd May, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Tanwi Mookherjee Prigge serves as the President, India Association of Minnesota. She started volunteering at a young age for Mother Teresa and Ram Krishna Mission. She has been a resident of Minnesota for the last 18 years. An IT professional, she believes in service to others through her profession and volunteer work. She enjoys working with children and women in various communities, through her volunteer work, drama/theater/music, and encourages folks to step out of their comfort zone and have fun. She is excited about working with the Indian community and the community at large.

Ramla Hasanali was born in India but raised in a small country in the Middle East, “Oman”. Her roots are in Gujarat and Bombay. She moved to the US in 1999 to pursue a degree in Computer Science and has called Minnesota home for the last 12 years. An active member of the Dawoodi Bohra Community that practices in Plymouth, MN, she helps run Public Relations and Outreach for her group. She has served on the Edina Race and Equity Task Force for years drove systemic change in the City of Edina and helped her build deep connections in the school and government system.

Today, on the show, we talk about an event on Mental Health Awareness being organized by India Association of Minnesota – to learn about the event, do tune-in today, 17th May, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00 AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM, and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM EST

Shweta Basu Prasad is an Indian actress, writer, and director. She started her acting career with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Makdee (2002) and won the national film award for this movie at age 12. Receiving the award from former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam.

This was followed by Iqbal (2005) The Tashkent Files (2019) Serious Men (Netflix 2020) Ray (Netflix 2021) Criminal Justice (produced by BBC Studios India, 2022) Jubilee (Amazon Prime 2023). Shweta studied mass media and journalism. She made a documentary film on Indian classical music after college which premiered at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and was then on Netflix for 3 years.

Shweta worked as a script consultant with Phantom Films under the mentorship of Vikramaditya Motwane and assisted Anurag Kashyap. Shweta is also a classical musician, she plays the Indian classical instrument sitar.

On the show today, we talk about her film, Retake, starring: Anupam Kher, Zarina Wahab, Danish Husain, being screened at the New York Indian Film Festival 2023. This episode is in partnership with NYIFF. So incase you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today, on 12th May, on our Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Harshad Nalawade is an Indian filmmaker from Belgaum, Karnataka. His debut feature film, Follower, is based on his own experiences of living as part of a linguistically marginalized community in the town. The film had its World Premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, in 2023. Follower was partially crowdfunded and was selected for the NFDC Work-in-Progress Lab, 2021.

A graduate of Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Harshad started his career in films by writing and directing short films while working as an Assistant Director.

Harshad’s first short film, A Return Gift was nominated for Best Short at the New York Indian Film Festival, in 2016.

On the show today, we talk about Harshad’s debut feature film, Follower, being screened at the New York Indian Film Festival 2023. So incase you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today, on 12th May, on our Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Geetika Narang Abbasi is an independent filmmaker based in Gurgaon, India. She has edited and directed several documentaries and created media content across a range of subjects. She has collaborated with organizations like the Centre for Science and Environment, Landesa, Gates’ Ventures, Microsoft, and Public Service Broadcasting Trust, among others. She currently works under the banner of Also Ran Films.

Yasir Abbasi is a postgraduate in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and has been working as an independent cinematographer since 2002. His work, which spans different forms, has been shown and awarded at film festivals worldwide. He’s also the author of the bestselling book Yeh Un Dinoñ Ki Baat Hai: Urdu Memoirs of Cinema Legends.

On the show today, we talk about their documentary, URF, being screened at the New York Indian Film Festival 2023. In case you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today, on 9th May, on our Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Amit Paul is an Indian singer. His career started by being runner up on Indian Idol season 3. He debuted in Luck by Chance with the soft, romantic number “Pyar ki Daastan”, with Mahalaxmi Iyer as his co-singer. The song was written by the legendary lyricist Javed Akhtar. Reviews of the track were positive, and the song did well in the charts.

Alongside music, Paul has his own business in various sectors and is a socialite in the Northeast of India. He is an active member of various social enterprises and supports causes such as children’s education, disabled children and women empowerment. He has done many charity shows to support the underprivileged at home and abroad. He has also been made the state brand ambassador for North Bengal by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amit_Paul

This conversation, recorded many years back tracks his journey – Do listen in to this conversation, with Amit Paul – today, 28th April, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Sushma Seth is an Indian stage, film and television actress. She started her career in the 1950s, and was a founder member of the Delhi-based theatre group Yatrik. In the 1970s, she founded and ran the Children’s Creative Theatre, an ensemble that put up plays and conducted workshops for children. Her first movie was Junoon in 1978.

Sushma Seth started her career on stage in the 1950s. With Joy Michael, Rati Bartholomew, Roshan Seth and others, she was one of the founders of the Delhi-based theatre group Yatrik in 1964. In addition to acting, she has directed many plays. She received a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in the 1985 B. R. Chopra film Tawaif. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushma_Seth

This conversation, recorded many years back tracks his journey – we talk about his films, about his many roles – Do listen in to this conversation, with Sushma Seth – today, 21st April, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Sameer Dharmadhikari is an Indian film and television actor and model. Popular for Playing the Role of Samrat Bindusara Maurya in Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat and as as King Gangadhar Rao Newalkar in the 2009 TV series Jhansi Ki Rani. He played the male lead in the Marathi film Nirop that won the National Award for the Best Marathi film.

He has worked as a hydraulic machine designer and did theatre in Pune. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sameer_Dharmadhikari

This conversation, recorded many years back tracks his journey – we talk about his films, about his many roles – Do listen in to this conversation, with Sameer Dharmadhikari – today, 15th April, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Neha Dhupia is an Indian actress and model.

Neha’s Bollywood debut was with the 2003 film Qayamat: City Under Threat. She rose to fame with her title role in Julie and then appeared in Sheesha (2005) in a dual role of twin sisters. She then starred in films such as Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005) and Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), which did well at the box office and featured in a segment of the anthology film Dus Kahaniyaan (2007).

In the following years, Dhupia appeared in supporting roles in multiple films including Chup Chup Ke (2006), Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007), Mithya (2008), Maharathi (2008), and Singh Is Kinng (2008) and Dasvidaniya (2008). In 2011, she played Eva Braun in the film Dear Friend Hitler about Mahatma Gandhi. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neha_Dhupia

Do listen in to this conversation, recorded many years back with Neha Dhupia – know about her journey in films and much more. Tune – in today, 10th April, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Kedarnath Bhattacharya, professionally known as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He is known as the King of Melody in Bollywood. He is famous for singing thousands of Bollywood Hindi songs.

Apart from Hindi, Kumar Sanu has also sung in other languages including Bengali, Marathi, Nepali, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Manipuri, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi, Odia, Chhattisgarhi, Urdu, Pali, English and his native language Bengali, both in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Kumar Sanu holds the record for winning five consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer from 1990 to 1994. For his contribution to Indian cinema and music, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 by the Government of India.  Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumar_Sanu

Do listen in to this conversation, recorded many years back with Kumar Sanu – know about his childhood, his journey, and much more. Tune – in today, 7th April, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Nitin Kakde is a volunteer, breathwork, and meditation expert from the Art of Living Foundation. He is a certified SKY breath and Sahaj Samadhi meditation teacher.

Associated with Foundation since 2006, Nitin has organized and taught Art of Living programs in Europe and America. He is a certified Yoga teacher and holds an RYT500 accreditation.

Nitin works in the IT field as a manager. He holds a PG diploma in Business transformation management and is a graduate of Amaravati University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is technology savvy, keen on sports and arts, and is a music enthusiast.

On the show, Nitin talks in detail about the event – World Culture Festival. Do join in the conversation for sure, today as well, 20th March, on our Show, today, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer. She made her career debut with the film Shastra (1996). During the year, she won the first singing reality show titled Meri Awaz Suno and rose to prominence after recording “Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi” from Mast (1999). It won her Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent and was nominated for the Best Female Playback Singer. She is known for her versatility as a vocalist.

Her second breakthrough was released in 2000, with the song “Mehboob Mere” from Fiza, for which she received another Filmfare nomination. Sunidhi received her third Filmfare nomination with the song “Dhoom Machale” from Dhoom (2004) followed by two more nominations during the next year for “Kaisi Paheli” and “Deedar De” from Parineeta and Dus (2005). Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunidhi_Chauhan

Do learn about her journey, her childhood, and much more about the very versatile Indian singer, Sunidhi Chauhan. The conversation was recorded many years back.Tune – in for sure, today, 19th March, on our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST