Shiva Raichandani

Shiva Raichandani (born 1993[1]) is a BAFTA-nominated non-binary[2] British-Indian film and TV director, producer, screenwriter, dancer, and actor. Their works exist at the intersections of creating positive gender-expansive representation in mainstream media, addressing mental health stigma (especially within the South Asian context), and using the performing arts to drive positive social change.

Shiva Raichandani
Born26 October 1993 (1993-10-26) (age 29)
Hong Kong
NationalityBritish
EducationThe University of Leeds
Alma materGood Shepherd International School
OccupationArtist
Known for
Websiteshivaraichandani.com

They were selected as a recipient of the 2023 BFI and BAFTA LGBTQIA+ Mentoring Scheme,[3] and identified by Attitude Magazine as one of 2023’s Top 10 trailblazers for Film, TV, and Music[4] in the United Kingdom.

Raichandani is known for having been a semi-finalist on Britain's Got Talent, and a contestant on India's Got Talent and France's Got Talent with the London School of Bollywood.[5][6][7]

Their debut film, Queer Parivaar (2022), won the BAFTA-qualifying Iris Prize 'Best British Short' award, making it available for broadcast and streaming on Channel 4.

In May 2021, Raichandani won the inaugural Netflix Documentary Talent Fund[8] to direct a film on Shane 'ShayShay' Konno and their Pan-Asian drag and cabaret collective, The Bitten Peach. As reported by Variety,[9] the documentary is titled 'Peach Paradise', and premiered on TikTok’s first-ever live film showcase.

Shiva’s latest BAFTA-nominated documentary called ‘Always, Asifa’[10] (commissioned by Together TV’s Diverse Film Fund) premiered at the BFI’s London Film Festival.

Raichandani also freelances as a speaker and consultant on inclusive LGBTQIA+ practices for corporate and non-profit organisations, and is a D&I Content Consultant at New Inclusion.[11]

Shiva has degrees in Psychology, Counselling, and Media Communication, and uses the combined knowledge from them with their lived experiences to tap into the discourses of intersectional identities. They use digital platforms to mobilise and create safe community spaces to champion diverse talent and drive topical conversations around societal issues.

Appearances
  • Strictly Come Dancing (2022) - Shiva made a brief appearance in the 20th season of the BBC show during a Bollywood-inspired routine choreographed by Prabhleen Oberoi of Sapnay Dance.
  • Queer Britain (2022) - Photographs of Shiva are displayed at the U.K.’s first museum exclusively showcasing LGBTQ+ art and history.
  • H&M (2022) - Shiva was featured in H&M’s Diwali Campaign.
  • Cannes Lions (2019) - Along with Asad Dhunna of The Unmistakables, Raichandani addressed the topic 'Why We Don't Need Another Diversity Talk' through a performance with a custom track "Hell No", a parody of the popular Slumdog Millionaire song 'Jai Ho'.[7][12]
  • Britain's Got Talent (2017) - Raichandani, along with the London School of Bollywood, challenged Bollywood's heteronormative narratives by bringing gender fluidity to the forefront and making it to the semi-finals.[13][14][15]
  • India's Got Talent (2018) - Raichandani competed with the London School of Bollywood[7] and performed with Karan Johar on the main stage. In a blog post Raichandani writes: "With a routine like this in which a non-binary gender fluid 'star' takes center stage instead of the quintessential 'hero' and 'heroine', we hoped to add to the discourse around gender fluidity and queerness that is too often ignored in the Bollywood industry."[16]
  • France's Got Talent (2018) - Raichandani competed with the London School of Bollywood performing their routine around gender fluidity.[7]
  • Netflix (2018) - Raichandani was featured in a video titled What I Wish You Knew: About Being Nonbinary, where they discussed gender identity with Jacob Tobia, Liv Hewson, and Lachlan Watson.[17]
  • TEDx London (2018) - Raichandani gave the introductory remarks of the event by touching upon non-binary representation in Bollywood.[18]
  • Google's 'I am Remarkable[19]' (2020) - Raichandani delivered the keynote discussing positive gender-diverse representation in Bollywood dance and storytelling.

Raichandani has also been featured on UK Black Pride,[20] Pride in London,[21] Instagram,[22] Bollyshake, and London Queer Fashion Show.[23]

Filmography
Shiva Raichandani's Filmography
Year Film/Series Company Distributor Role Notes Awards/Nominations
2021 Eternals Marvel Walt Disney Company Bollywood Dancer
2022 Queer Parivaar Raisilience Ltd. Channel 4 Director / Writer / Producer / Star Short film Iris Prize - Best British Short Film Award
2022 Peach Paradise Raisilience Ltd. Netflix Director / Writer / Producer Documentary
2022 Always, Asifa Raisilience Ltd. Together TV Director / Producer Documentary BAFTA TV Award Nomination - Short Form Programme

Raichandani produces films under their production company Raisilience Ltd.

References
  1. Raichandani, Shiva (4 November 2018). "I turned 25 a few days ago and I must say that it's been a wild quarter century, folks. I've learnt so much this past year since I moved to…". Instagram. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  2. Baggs, Michael (25 February 2019). "Lilly Singh: Why the YouTuber coming out as bisexual is 'worth celebrating'". BBC Newsbeat. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  3. Ntim, Zac (15 March 2023). "BFI And BAFTA Set 2023 Recipients Of LGBTQIA+ Mentoring Scheme That Backed Aleem Khan & Georgia Oakley". Deadline. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  4. Staff, Attitude; James, Alastair (10 February 2023). "Attitude 101 empowered by Bentley: Meet the LGBTQ trailblazers changing the world in 2023". Attitude. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. "Cultural Exchanges Festival presents: South Asian arts and the LGBTQ+ community". De Montfort University.
  6. Azhar, Mobeen (1 August 2018). "Errr Mum, I need to tell you something, I don't think I'm into girls that way..." BBC Radio Asian Network. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  7. "Diversity, Inclusivity & Accessibility 2019". Cannes Lions. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  8. "Netflix - Short documentary competition". www.netflixdocfund.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  9. Ramachandran, Naman (26 May 2021). "Netflix Reveals Winners of U.K. Documentary Talent Fund For Emerging Filmmakers". Variety. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  10. "BAFTA Television 2023: The Nominations". www.bafta.org. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  11. "New Inclusion – Intelligent and future focused inclusion". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  12. "Why We Don't Need Another Diversity Talk". Cannes Lions. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  13. Grewal, Jasleena (30 July 2017). "The London School of Bollywood Dance Team Is Subverting the Binary and Taking Names". Kajal Magazine.
  14. Lewis, Rebecca (1 May 2017). "Britain's Got Talent star admits 'Bollywood with a twist' performance would be impossible in home country". Metro. Archived from the original on 9 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  15. "Shiva plans to use power of dance". Daily Star. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  16. Raichandani, Shiva (28 November 2018). "India's Got Talent: Gender fluidity and Bollywood Dance". LinkedIn.
  17. Leighton-Dore, Samuel (14 November 2018). "'It's a continuing line': Non-binary 'Sabrina' star opens up about gender". SBS Australia. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  18. Raichandani, Shiva (1 July 2018). "Being non-binary in Bollywood | London School of Bollywood | TEDxLondon". YouTube.
  19. Shiva Raichandani | Diversifying Gender Representation in Bollywood & Beyond | Talks at Google, retrieved 2 January 2022
  20. UK Black Pride (11 June 2019). "UK Black Pride 2019". YouTube. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  21. Raichandani, Shiva (8 July 2019). "Billy Porter at Pride in London". Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021.
  22. "Nonbinary illustrator Wednesday (@hellomynameiswednesday) connects the LGBTQ+ community through their art — and encourages others to do the…". Instagram. 27 June 2019. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021.
  23. Raichandani, Shiva (22 September 2018). "Fashion ka hai ye jalwa 🔥 . Thank you so much to the entire team of @LondonQueerFashionShow for inviting me to perform and celebrate queer…". Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021.
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