DIDIHOOD ~ Issue 45

Happy Diwali, Didis! Wishing you all a happy and safe Diwali with your friends and family.
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Last week, Live Tinted founder Deepica Mutyala posted a series of images on her Instagram page recognizing several South Asian women who were killing it in their industries. It was a good reminder to see how many people are go-getters in their spaces, but also how far they've come in their industries that aren't always inclusive. It also reminded us of the reason we started — to uplift and acknowledge all of the hardworking South Asian women in our communities and beyond. 

Meet the Didi: 
Manori Ravindran is International Editor for entertainment magazine Variety. Born in Sri Lanka and raised all over the world, she counts Vancouver as home, although she is currently based in London, England.

How did you get into the industry? 

When I was growing up in B.C., journalism was a pipe dream for me beyond writing angry “letters to the editor” of The Vancouver Sun. In university, I thought I wanted to be an academic, but two sociology degrees later, I realized I wanted to apply those ideas in a more mainstream arena and turned to media. I applied to journalism school without telling a soul, and when I got in, I took it as a sign that maybe this was what I was meant to do. Ryerson University in Toronto gave me an invaluable foundation in reporting, and after a fantastic arts internship at the National Post where I did everything from interviewing Guillermo del Toro about Federico Fellini to reviewing a Donny & Marie concert, I realized my heart was in writing about film and television.

Tell us about your current role at Variety:

Based in London, I oversee the international news team for Variety and also serve as a reporter, too. Our publication is 116 years old and, in the past, it’s been perceived as very American, but film and television is an increasingly global operation (just look at Squid Game), and my job is to expand our footprint overseas and grow the scope of our coverage. I used to read Variety constantly to bone up on my industry knowledge, so to be working among journalists I’ve looked up to my whole career still boggles the mind.

As a South Asian woman, did you face any barriers in your career?

Yes, absolutely. I’m Sri Lankan and, in our community growing up, if you weren’t studying science or business, you were made to feel directionless. The only thing I felt I could do was stop caring so much about what other people thought and focus more on what I found fulfilling. Also, to be honest, moving from Vancouver to Toronto for grad school, where there is simply more investment in the arts, made a tremendous difference.

Starting out in my career, I did encounter racism in a couple of internships, which was extremely hard and almost put me off journalism entirely. Moving to the U.K. just months after the Brexit vote, I definitely felt like an outsider. It felt like I needed to work twice as hard as a woman and three times as hard as a woman of colour. But those experiences have made me very conscious of what it’s like to feel like you don’t belong, and that informs the stories I like to pursue as a journalist.

You were recently named a 2021 Top Women in Media and the youngest high level editor at Variety. 
What does this all mean to you?

It means the world to me. I’m very grateful to be in this position, and it makes me want to really use this platform for good. It’s also made me think about everything I still want to accomplish, and how much I still have to learn. I think that’s crucial: always ensure you're working somewhere where you’re constantly learning and challenging yourself every single day.

As a BIPOC journalist, what changes have you seen in your specific industry and what else needs to be done?

I haven’t seen nearly enough change when it comes to journalists of colour entering the industry, and certainly nowhere near enough in the entertainment trade press. Thankfully, there’s more attention paid on elevating female film critics, which is absolutely essential for the film and TV industry, but I would love to see more women and BIPOC women coming into our world as reporters and editors, too. In terms of what needs to be done, I think more companies that are paying lip service to issues around diversity and representation need to look very carefully at the makeup of their newsrooms and then do the necessary work and training for themselves and their staff. Then, it’s critical that they examine hiring practices in addition to carving out money in their budgets for new types of roles or internships that can lead to part-time or full-time jobs.

What would be your advice for young Didis looking to get into entertainment journalism?

Watch everything. The best journalists I know make the time to watch all the shows and movies, from the classics to contemporary fare. And while you’re doing that, think about the bigger picture of how those movies or shows were made and financed, and the social, political and technological contexts in which they emerged from. This is all key to writing about the business of entertainment. I’d also say that doing things, changes things, and you’ve got to put in the time. But most importantly, don’t forget to be a human being and treat people nicely.

What we're reading:

Artist swaps out western influences for South Asian role models in recreation of her childhood bedroom by CBC News 

Bridgerton Series 2: 'Finally We See A South Asian Woman As Desirable' by Nabihah Parkar

How one Dalit Woman is Disrupting India’s age old Caste System by Amanda Khan

— Arti Patel

Issue 45
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