Draw Your Box

Four nights ago Netflix and Draw Your Box presented a special community screening of Vijay 69 at Sydney’s Event Cinemas on George Street, with more than 200 guests from the community, business and creative sectors coming together to celebrate this milestone moment for South Asians in Australia.  🎥 @jeslaverackfilms #vijay69onnetflix @anupampkher @netflix_in @netflixanz @yrf

Last night @drawyourbox won ‘Publication Of The Year’ at the 2024 Premier’s Multicultural Communications Award. I left working full-time in journalism just over a year ago because I’d had a vision for ‘Draw Your Box’ and making it an actual media company. It was a huge leap of faith but I believed the timing was right, and this recognition is a reminder that it was a risk worth taking. The growth and success in this early chapter of the business journey is not without the support of an incredible network around me – from my co-founder Haresh, to Missing Perspectives founder @phoebesaintilan , to my family, former editors/bosses-turned mentors, and a community of inspiring South Asian entrepreneurs and readers who’ve shown their support in various ways. Draw Your Box is proudly dedicated to providing insightful and diverse coverage of the experiences of and issues impacting South Asians in Australia and globally, particularly second-gen South Asian Australians who grapple with being caught between two cultures and underrepresented in Australian media. It strives to bridge the gap between traditional mainstream media, and community media that may be more so targeted towards the first generation of South Asians. There is indisputably a huge appetite for stories to be told by and about brown communities, and Draw Your Box is dedicated to delivering this through its diverse and informed approach to storytelling. Thank you Multicultural NSW, Premier Chris Minns and Minister of Multiculturalism, Steve Kamper for this incredible honour. @multiculturalnsw

The past week has seen several high-profile South Asians in Australia use their platform to shed light on their own experiences facing racism, in a bid to not only highlight how rampant the issue is, but the importance in calling out this discrimination. Head to the link in bio or drawyourbox.com to read more – including our chats with @tarangchawla , and Suji from @lightandglofragrances about what needs to happen next 👏🏾

An inspiring Christmas lunch celebrating South Asian women entrepreneurs and founders. My favourite part (which I forgot to mention in the video) was each of sharing a win and a setback while running our businesses in 2024. Thank you so much @brownbossbabesau for having me 🤎

“The holiday season is often portrayed as a time of joy and togetherness, yet for many women, it’s anything but,” writes @prabha_nandagopal. “Reports consistently show a spike in domestic violence incidents around Christmas, as financial stress, family pressures, and societal expectations create a combustible mix. For women in abusive relationships, the holiday season can be the most dangerous time of year, especially when the stigma around leaving can act as an invisible chain. For single mothers, particularly those from South Asian communities like mine, this stigma is deeply entrenched. Women contemplating escape often face not just fear for their safety, but also a barrage of cultural guilt. Single motherhood is viewed as failure, as if a woman’s worth hinges entirely on her marital status. I know this firsthand.” Read Prabha’s full piece at the link in stories and bio.

Our guests were dressed to impress at the ‘Vijay 69’ Diwali screening presented by Netflix and Draw Your Box ✨

With Xmas only a few sleeps away, we’ve teamed up with @thesuitcollective to give away a $200 voucher towards a custom-made suit at Sydney’s ‘The Suit Collective’. You may have noticed our Founder @leeshiev in this custom sari suit for the Netflix/Draw Your Box ‘Vijay 69’ Diwali premiere. Now, you have the chance to see the friendly team who specialises in tailoring men’s and women’s suits that reflect your style and personality. To win, simply tag a friend and make sure you’re following @drawyourbox and @thesuitcollective to enter. We’ll randomly select 1 winner at 2pm on Monday 23rd December, 2024. Please note the commenter is the entrant who will be eligible to win. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram.

Brown and proud at the NGV Gala 🤎

Our Founder @leeshiev commenting on the impact of Fox Sports commentator Isa Guha’s ‘most valuable primate’ remarks about Indian cricketer Jasprit Bumrah. “There is a history there of racism, and understandably a lot of people are quite upset by it and unsettled,” Alicia said on Channel 7 News, referring to other events that have occurred within cricket where terms such as ‘monkey’ have been used by others to describe players. Off air, Alicia adds that: “Isa, as someone with lived experience both as a professional cricket player and a South Asian woman, has made valuable contributions as a reporter and commentator in the Australian cricket and media landscape. Representation is important and her experiences resonate with many Indian Australian cricket fans. “On the other hand, we also know that many Indian fans and the wider cricket community are feeling unsettled by the comments that were made.” In her apology issued on air today, Isa said in part: “As someone who is also of South Asian heritage, I hope people would recognise there was no other intention or malice there. I hope this doesn’t overshadow what has been a great Test match so far and I look forward to seeing how it progresses. Once again, I am really, really sorry.”

Widely regarded as the greatest tabla player of this generation, Ustad Zakir Hussain has passed away at the age of 73. “Zakir Hussain, one of the world’s most transcendent musicians, passed away from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in San Francisco at the age of 73,” his family said in a statement. Throughout his career, #zakirhussain has composed for films, performed around the world, collaborated with artists including George Harrison, and made history earlier this year as the first Indian to win three Grammy awards in one night.

Three South Asian Aussies have founded @homegrown.people and I got to attend their intimate dinner party launch 🌸

Brown and proud! A huge congrats to these nominees repping South Asians in the 2025 AACTA Awards nominations. Best Miniseries: Four Years Later Best Direction In Nonfiction Television: Stuff The British Stole (Episode 5) - Marc Fennell Best Online Drama Or Comedy: Urvi Went To An All Girls School Best Factual Entertainment Program: Stuff The British Stole Best Entertainment Program - Presented By EMG/Gravity Media: Mastermind (hosted by Marc Fennell) Best Original Score In A Documentary: Brand Bollywood Downunder  The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards will be held on February 5 (industry awards), and February 7 (main awards ceremony).