Youtube sensation-author-TV and book club host, Lilly Singh has come a long way in her career. Recently, the Indian-Canadian star said that she wants to use her position in highlighting South Asian talent.
At a literary event Lilly said that Hollywood, although taking small steps towards representation, still “really struggles with diversity in true sense”. She further said, “I am definitely getting more into TV and films... So I am definitely going to write (in) longer form, I have over 1,000 scripted sketches on YouTube but that is short form I want to start producing more, directing, and more anything that is loud and destructive, and especially if it highlights South Asian people. I will be very open about my agenda. My agenda is to make sure South Asian people get the credit they deserve because I know so often they do not."
She also believes that the (Hollywood) entertainment industry is taking small steps towards inclusion and diversity, as she further said, “It is no secret that I work in an industry that, although taking small steps towards diversity, still really struggles with diversity in a true sense. There are only a handful of shows and movies in America that show South Asians on screen.”
Her aim, the content creator said, is to tell stories which have “nuanced and complex” portrayal of South Asians.
It's noted that in her book club, called Lilly's Library, Lilly selects a book about South Asian stories for everyone to read and enjoy. Talking about Lilly’s Library, she said, "This is a book club that celebrates South Asian stories that the world will enjoy. You don’t need to be a South Asian to enjoy these stories. I wanna show you that even though you and I haven’t had the same experience you will enjoy our stories because we have something to offer. I think so often the South Asian stories are not given that credit."
Lilly's debut book 'How to Be a Bawse' was published in 2017. Her next book 'Be a Triangle: How I Went from Being Lost to Getting My Life Into Shape' will be out in April this year. When asked what motivated her to turn author as she already holds such a significant presence on various social media platforms and television, Lilly said that writing gives her an opportunity to tap into a side of herself that she probably wouldn’t feel comfortable in showing someone.
“Mostly when I meet people they know everything about me, sometimes they know things about me that even I don’t know about me… but then what I have written in this book ('Be a Triangle') really requires that deep reflection that you don’t always get in the moment when you are talking with someone.
“There were moments when I wrote this book ('Be a Triangle').. and I would be typing and I would read what I wrote and I thought ‘you are lying to yourself, there is no one here why are you lying to yourself?’, and then I would erase it and would say ‘no get deeper, get honest’. And that was the big part of writing this book. It was even being honest with myself,” she said.
With inputs from PTI
