Exclusive: The Salon South Asian Mentorship Program revealed its Class of 2022, led by Disney’s Reena Singh, Hillman Grad’s Rishi Rajani, WME agent Bash Naran, actor/writer Nik Dodani, and actor/producer Vinny Chhibber.
The Salon is a forum for South Asian artists and executives in entertainment to connect and collaborate, share resources, facilitate mentorship, drive public advocacy, and disburse grants. Its mission is to accelerate the creative development of South Asian American television and film through community organizing and empowerment.
This year’s writing mentees are Sabeeh Jameel and Jyotsna Suresh. The directing mentees are Aqsa Altaf and Kajal Patel. The executive leadership & production mentees are Satinder Chhokar, Shivani Doraiswami, Anisha Joshi, Priyanka Kapoor, Ashley Mathew, and Maansi Sunkara.
Their mentors include Nikki Menon, Anu Valia, Meera Menon, Ameet Shukla, Rishi Rajani, Bash Naran, Randeep Katari (Animation Executive), Sanjay Sharma, Rohit Kumar, and Munis Rashid.
The mentees will work closely with their respective mentors over the course of one year to identify areas of growth, discuss career strategy, access opportunities, and most importantly, build community. Mentees will also have exclusive access to panels with industry professionals and other educational programming curated by The Salon.
“Our first class of mentees reinforced our belief that building deep connections with one another is the key to our community’s success,” said The Salon’s co-founders Nik Dodani, Bash Naran, and Vinny Chhibber in a statement. “This is an industry based on relationships, and our goal with this program is to continue growing the pool of talent that the market can connect with.”
Many of last year’s participants have been making strides in their careers since the conclusion of the program, including Nardeep Khurmi, whose directorial debut Land of Gold premiered at this year’s TriBeCa Film Festival; Apoorva Guru Charan who produced Joyland, the winner of this year’s Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm; and writer/actor Kausar Mohammad, who was just cast as Fast Track in The Flash.
The Salon is a forum for South Asian artists and executives in entertainment to connect and collaborate, share resources, facilitate mentorship, drive public advocacy, and disburse grants. Its mission is to accelerate the creative development of South Asian American television and film through community organizing and empowerment.
This year’s writing mentees are Sabeeh Jameel and Jyotsna Suresh. The directing mentees are Aqsa Altaf and Kajal Patel. The executive leadership & production mentees are Satinder Chhokar, Shivani Doraiswami, Anisha Joshi, Priyanka Kapoor, Ashley Mathew, and Maansi Sunkara.
Their mentors include Nikki Menon, Anu Valia, Meera Menon, Ameet Shukla, Rishi Rajani, Bash Naran, Randeep Katari (Animation Executive), Sanjay Sharma, Rohit Kumar, and Munis Rashid.
The mentees will work closely with their respective mentors over the course of one year to identify areas of growth, discuss career strategy, access opportunities, and most importantly, build community. Mentees will also have exclusive access to panels with industry professionals and other educational programming curated by The Salon.
“Our first class of mentees reinforced our belief that building deep connections with one another is the key to our community’s success,” said The Salon’s co-founders Nik Dodani, Bash Naran, and Vinny Chhibber in a statement. “This is an industry based on relationships, and our goal with this program is to continue growing the pool of talent that the market can connect with.”
Many of last year’s participants have been making strides in their careers since the conclusion of the program, including Nardeep Khurmi, whose directorial debut Land of Gold premiered at this year’s TriBeCa Film Festival; Apoorva Guru Charan who produced Joyland, the winner of this year’s Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm; and writer/actor Kausar Mohammad, who was just cast as Fast Track in The Flash.
- 7/27/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
The diversity of late-night writers rooms is not a new topic of conversation.
For years, these shows have been accused of being too white and too male, and while that still might be the case, there has been improvement across the board both in terms of gender and ethnicity. Progress is being made, slowly, in the right direction.
So, it was nice to see, earlier this week, that the new team behind the scenes at NBC’s A Little Late with Lilly Singh was incredibly inclusive.
Chelsea Davison, taking over from Sean O’Connor, leads a gender-balanced and diverse writing team of Vannessa Jackson, a former writing apprentice on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; Sabeeh Jameel, who was a researcher on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper; Romen Borsellino, co-creator of Freeform’s Kal Penn Approves This Message; Nimesh Patel, a former writer for Saturday Night Live who was discovered by Chris Rock; Nelu Handa,...
For years, these shows have been accused of being too white and too male, and while that still might be the case, there has been improvement across the board both in terms of gender and ethnicity. Progress is being made, slowly, in the right direction.
So, it was nice to see, earlier this week, that the new team behind the scenes at NBC’s A Little Late with Lilly Singh was incredibly inclusive.
Chelsea Davison, taking over from Sean O’Connor, leads a gender-balanced and diverse writing team of Vannessa Jackson, a former writing apprentice on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; Sabeeh Jameel, who was a researcher on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper; Romen Borsellino, co-creator of Freeform’s Kal Penn Approves This Message; Nimesh Patel, a former writer for Saturday Night Live who was discovered by Chris Rock; Nelu Handa,...
- 12/4/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
A Little Late with Lilly Singh will look a little different when it returns in January with a new set and a whole team behind the scenes.
Neil Punsalan, who was recently showrunner of Comedy Central series Doing the Most with Phoebe Robinson, is taking over showrunning duties from Aliyah Silverstein. John Irwin, who was also an exec producer on Season 1, also has exited.
Chelsea Davison, who has written for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Lights Out with David Spade as well as the first season of A Little Late, becomes head writer, replacing Sean O’Connor.
She is the only remaining writer from Season 1, other than Singh herself, with a new writing staff including Vannessa Jackson, Sabeeh Jameel, Romen Borsellino, Nimesh Patel, Neuli Handa and Natasha Vaynblat.
Polly Auritt, who works with Singh at her production company Unicorn Island Productions, also will exec produce with Singh, and Davison is co-exec producer.
Neil Punsalan, who was recently showrunner of Comedy Central series Doing the Most with Phoebe Robinson, is taking over showrunning duties from Aliyah Silverstein. John Irwin, who was also an exec producer on Season 1, also has exited.
Chelsea Davison, who has written for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Lights Out with David Spade as well as the first season of A Little Late, becomes head writer, replacing Sean O’Connor.
She is the only remaining writer from Season 1, other than Singh herself, with a new writing staff including Vannessa Jackson, Sabeeh Jameel, Romen Borsellino, Nimesh Patel, Neuli Handa and Natasha Vaynblat.
Polly Auritt, who works with Singh at her production company Unicorn Island Productions, also will exec produce with Singh, and Davison is co-exec producer.
- 12/1/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
“A Little Late With Lilly Singh” will have a whole new look for Season 2 — and a new writing staff, including Chelsea Davison as head writer. She replaces Sean O’Connor.
Staff writers for Season 2 are Vannessa Jackson, Sabeeh Jameel, Romen Borsellino, Nimesh Patel, Neuli Handa and Natasha Vaynblat. Neil Punsalan is showrunner.
They’re all new — the only carryover writers from Season 1 to Season 2 are Singh and Davison.
The second season of the (very) late-night show will be relocated to “a Los Angeles-based house,” NBC said on Tuesday.
We checked — it’s not Lilly’s home.
“Swapping out a traditional stage for a Los Angeles-based house as the show’s location will give Lilly more space to break the rules and embrace imperfection,” the show’s press release reads.
In addition to sketches, interviews and Singh’s take on current events, Season 2 will also “go behind the scenes,” letting “audiences into...
Staff writers for Season 2 are Vannessa Jackson, Sabeeh Jameel, Romen Borsellino, Nimesh Patel, Neuli Handa and Natasha Vaynblat. Neil Punsalan is showrunner.
They’re all new — the only carryover writers from Season 1 to Season 2 are Singh and Davison.
The second season of the (very) late-night show will be relocated to “a Los Angeles-based house,” NBC said on Tuesday.
We checked — it’s not Lilly’s home.
“Swapping out a traditional stage for a Los Angeles-based house as the show’s location will give Lilly more space to break the rules and embrace imperfection,” the show’s press release reads.
In addition to sketches, interviews and Singh’s take on current events, Season 2 will also “go behind the scenes,” letting “audiences into...
- 12/1/2020
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.