Shiva Raichandani Explained

Shiva Raichandani (born 1993^[1]) is a British non-binary^[2] 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 diaspora context), and using the performing arts to drive positive social change.

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'.^[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' (2020) - Raichandani delivered the keynote discussing positive gender-diverse representation in Bollywood dance and storytelling.

Raichandani has also been featured on UK Black Pride,^[19] Pride in London,^[20] Instagram,^[21] Bollyshake, and London Queer Fashion Show.^[22]

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.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 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…. Raichandani. Shiva. 4 November 2018. Instagram. en. live. https://archive.today/20200220012018/https://www.instagram.com/shivaraichandani/p/BpwTVd4l-F8/. 20 February 2020. 2020-02-20.
2. News: Baggs. Michael. Lilly Singh: Why the YouTuber coming out as bisexual is 'worth celebrating'. 25 February 2019. BBC Newsbeat. 18 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190405231055/https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47362622. 5 April 2019. live.
3. Web site: Ntim . Zac . 2023-03-15 . BFI And BAFTA Set 2023 Recipients Of LGBTQIA+ Mentoring Scheme That Backed Aleem Khan & Georgia Oakley . 2023-04-06 . Deadline . en-US.
4. Web site: Staff . Attitude . James . Alastair . 2023-02-10 . Attitude 101 empowered by Bentley: Meet the LGBTQ trailblazers changing the world in 2023 . 2023-04-06 . Attitude . en-GB.
5. Web site: Cultural Exchanges Festival presents: South Asian arts and the LGBTQ+ community. De Montfort University.
6. News: Azhar . Mobeen . Errr Mum, I need to tell you something, I don't think I'm into girls that way... . 11 September 2019 . BBC Radio Asian Network . 1 August 2018.
7. Web site: Diversity, Inclusivity & Accessibility 2019 . Cannes Lions . 11 September 2019.
8. Web site: Netflix - Short documentary competition. 2021-06-25. www.netflixdocfund.co.uk.
9. Web site: Ramachandran. Naman. 2021-05-26. Netflix Reveals Winners of U.K. Documentary Talent Fund For Emerging Filmmakers. 2021-06-25. Variety. en-US.
10. Web site: 2023-03-16 . BAFTA Television 2023: The Nominations . 2023-04-06 . www.bafta.org . en.
11. Web site: New Inclusion – Intelligent and future focused inclusion . 2023-04-06 . en.
12. Web site: Why We Don't Need Another Diversity Talk. Cannes Lions. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190721153122/https://www.canneslions.com/attend/planner#/speakers/shiva-raichandani-s1-42993/why-we-dont-need-another-diversity-talk-e1-36016. 21 July 2019. 7 August 2019.
13. Web site: Grewal . Jasleena. The London School of Bollywood Dance Team Is Subverting the Binary and Taking Names. 30 July 2017. Kajal Magazine.
14. News: Lewis. Rebecca. Britain's Got Talent star admits 'Bollywood with a twist' performance would be impossible in home country. 1 May 2017. Metro. 18 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190309025012/https://metro.co.uk/2017/05/01/britains-got-talent-star-admits-bollywood-with-a-twist-performance-would-be-impossible-in-home-country-6608067/. 9 March 2019. live.
15. News: Shiva plans to use power of dance . 11 September 2019 . Daily Star . 30 April 2017.
16. Web site: India's Got Talent: Gender fluidity and Bollywood Dance. Raichandani. Shiva. November 28, 2018. LinkedIn.
17. News: Leighton-Dore. Samuel. 'It's a continuing line': Non-binary 'Sabrina' star opens up about gender. SBS Australia. 14 November 2018. 18 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190609123236/https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/fast-lane/article/2018/11/14/its-continuing-line-non-binary-sabrina-star-opens-about-gender. 9 June 2019. live.
18. Web site: Being non-binary in Bollywood London School of Bollywood TEDxLondon. Raichandani. Shiva. 1 July 2018. YouTube.
19. Web site: UK Black Pride 2019. UK Black Pride. 11 June 2019. YouTube. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190803231318/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCu7IQu4Mio. 3 August 2019. 7 August 2019.
20. Web site: Billy Porter at Pride in London. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/Bzp_NdVH_KV . 26 December 2021 . registration. Raichandani. Shiva. 8 July 2019. Instagram.
21. Web site: Nonbinary illustrator Wednesday (@hellomynameiswednesday) connects the LGBTQ+ community through their art — and encourages others to do the…. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BzOUe4ChkbM . 26 December 2021 . registration. 27 June 2019. Instagram.
22. Web site: Fashion ka hai ye jalwa . Thank you so much to the entire team of @LondonQueerFashionShow for inviting me to perform and celebrate queer…. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BoBi6ZPndqw . 26 December 2021 . registration. Raichandani. Shiva. 22 September 2018. Instagram.