Meet Trisha Batra of South Asian Productions in Orange County – Irvine

Today we’d like to introduce you to Trisha Batra.

Trisha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up always having an interest in acting, dancing, and singing. I always knew I wanted to pursue a career with these in mind, but I never thought it was possible. I ended up majoring in business administration with a concentration in Information Systems and found my love for building communities/diversity and inclusion sectors in companies. The idea for my platform, South Asian Productions, started when I was having a late-night conversation with two of my closest friends during my senior year of college. Both had true talents for the arts, but as graduation started to approach, both decided that this would be their last year of pursuing their passions in dance and acting. They had mentioned that pursuing a career in the entertainment and arts industry was not only difficult for Asian Americans but was not culturally accepted as being a successful route. I went home that day with an unsettling feeling in my stomach.

I realized that it was not just my friends that thought this way, but much of the South Asian Community. I wanted to instill confidence in my friends so they could follow their dreams. I wanted to show the rest of my South Asian Community that a career in the entertainment/art industry could be fulfilling and a wonderful path for those that seek it. Like many first-generation minorities, we have grown up in a country where we never fully felt like we fit in. I wanted to be a part of the change to bring more South Asian Representation to mainstream media. I started conducting Coffee with Creatives virtual sessions that allowed South Asians from across the country to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and aspirations. I continued to make efforts to connect with influencers to use their own platforms to instill confidence and promote a positive mindset within our community.

The virtual sessions allowed me to network with like-minded individuals, which led to South Asian Productions expecting a radio show with Dash Radio/Rukusavenueradio, where I will be interviewing South Asian University Students who have special talents. In addition, South Asian Productions now has campus clubs across the United States and Canada where students can write articles on topics like identity, entertainment, and lifestyle as well as showcase their own work. I am excited to see this platform expand even further as it continues to grow and take shape.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It took a lot of late nights working with my art director (Zoe Harveen Kaur) on the website and marketing strategy. I traveled to multiple universities to give speeches about the movement and continued to do as much as I could in cultivating a community from home due to the ongoing SARS-COV 19 pandemic. I worked with several South Asian small businesses to figure out advertising strategies that would work for them on the platform. Understanding how their mission statement connects with South Asian Productions mission statement. Throughout this whole process, I found that South Asian university students wanted to be the most involved with this platform. By involving them, SAP was able to gain more traction in the last couple of months and now has a good operational process flow. Going forward, there will always be struggles in expanding, but I now have a huge network that is supporting me along the way.

Please tell us about South Asian Productions.
South Asian Productions is a digital online platform that provides resources and tools to South Asian University Students in pursuing careers in the entertainment and arts space. I am proud of the reach it has had on countless individuals seeking to follow their own passions. I am proud that this platform has helped countless of South Asian students who feel afraid of following their dreams or do not know where to start in pursuing a career in entertainment and art. I am proud that South Asian Productions has motivated us as a community to come together and am excited to see the platform expand further.

I have always wanted a platform like this growing up. An entertainment hub that would showcase South Asian Talent and inspire me to continue to work on my craft. I haven’t seen a platform like this that truly focuses on South Asian university students that mentors them in pursuing careers in entertainment/art – one of the main reasons for its existence in the first place.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The characteristic/quality that is the most important to my success is GRIT. Most people that I talk to believe that you need to go to an ivy league institution to make an impact in your local communities. Truly – you need perseverance, and PASSION to grow start a movement. When you have grit and passion there is nothing stopping you from succeeding.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southasianproductions/?hl=en

Image Credit:
1st photo – Photo of myself was taken by: wjenningsphoto; 4-8 images section – illustrations done by Zoe Harveen Kaur

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