Shiva Raichandani (born 1993) is a
BAFTA-nominated
non-binary
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
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 Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
n context), and using the performing arts to drive positive social change.
They were selected as a recipient of the 2023
BFI
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
and BAFTA LGBTQIA+ Mentoring Scheme, and identified by
Attitude Magazine
''Attitude'' (stylised in all lowercase) is a British gay lifestyle magazine owned by Stream Publishing Limited. It is sold worldwide as a physical magazine, and as a digital download for the iPad and iPhone via the App Store, and for Androi ...
as one of 2023’s Top 10 trailblazers for Film, TV, and Music in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Raichandani is known for having been a semi-finalist on
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...
, and a contestant on
India's Got Talent
India's Got Talent is a televised Indian Hindi language talent show series and is part of the '' Got Talent franchise''. The program is produced and distributed by Fremantle. The show aired on Colors TV till season 8; since season 9 the show is ...
and
France's Got Talent with the London School of Bollywood.
Their debut film,
Queer Parivaar (2022), won the BAFTA-qualifying
Iris Prize
The Iris Prize, established in by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBT film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex au ...
'Best British Short' award, making it available for broadcast and streaming on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
.
In May 2021, Raichandani won the inaugural
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
Documentary Talent Fund to direct a film on Shane 'ShayShay' Konno and their Pan-Asian drag and cabaret collective, The Bitten Peach. As reported by Variety, the documentary is titled 'Peach Paradise', and premiered on
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version o ...
’s first-ever live film showcase.
Shiva’s latest BAFTA-nominated documentary called ‘Always, Asifa’ (commissioned by
Together TV
Together TV (formerly The Community Channel) is a British free-to-air television channel owned by The Community Channel, a community benefit society. The channel targets a women's audience aged 40 to 60, with programming related to health an ...
’s Diverse Film Fund) premiered at the BFI’s
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...
.
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.
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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
show during a Bollywood-inspired routine choreographed by Prabhleen Oberoi of Sapnay Dance.
*
(2022) - Photographs of Shiva are displayed at the U.K.’s first museum exclusively showcasing LGBTQ+ art and history.
*
(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
'.
(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.
on the main stage. In
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."
*
(2018) - Raichandani competed with the London School of Bollywood performing their routine around gender fluidity.
(2018) - Raichandani was featured in a video titled ''What I Wish You Knew: About Being Nonbinary'', where they discussed gender identity with
(2018) - Raichandani gave the introductory remarks of the event by touching upon non-binary representation in Bollywood.
*
'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
, Bollyshake, and London Queer Fashion Show.