South Asian representation in mainstream North American culture and industry is quite prevalent today. Gone are the days when seeing a brown face on television was an anomaly. We live in an era, now, where the millenials and Gen-Z have many role models to look up to. But that was not always the case.
Rewind to the end of the previous millenium when the only recognizable South Asians were people like motivational guru Deepak Chopra and news media personalities like Suhana Meharchand and Ian Hanomansing. No one “cool“ existed until the 90s, so the image of South Asians ranging from doctors to taxi drivers remained prevalent until one person stood up and unbeknowing, began a change in the trajectory in North America.
Monika Deol is a name synonymous to the emergence of South Asian pop culture in Canada. She single-handedly pioneered the change of a cliche perception of an entire immigrant identity by facing shows on City and MuchMusic, interchanging between western and eastern garb—something which is still rarely seen today.
When I came to Canada in the early 90s, I was obsessed with this larger-than-life personality who defied the status quo and played with unimaginable odds to stand strong as a serious journalist, a pop culture icon and a proud Indian.
Here is her story, told in the only way it can be in her own words, as this issue of ANOKHI magazine’s Open Chest Power Series personality. Read on . . .
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MONIKA DEOL
Raj Girn
Author
Raj Girn is an award-winning media personality, confidence coach, consultant and mentor. Bio: https://www.theopenchestconfidenceacademy.com/about/our-founder/ Testimonials: https://www.theopenchestconfidenceacademy.com/about/testimonials/