Gotham Chopra- Expansiveness

Mentors. Teachers. Gurus. Friends. Sponsors. What do all of these have in common? They are people who help us find the way. Whether its the way through a specific issue, as a sponsor does with substance abuse; or in a big way- how to walk though life as the most open and full version of ourselves. Sometimes they come to us and stay with us for long periods of time and sometimes they pop in for a moment of a time and then disappear. On this podcast, we have been fortunate to speak with several people who taught us something, who in some ways showed us the way. To share one of those interviews with you feels like the most appropriate way to start off this new journey as “American Desis.”  So today we are pleased to drop our interview with the wonderful Gotham Chopra. Gotham is a first generation Indian American who is now a filmmaker/story teller and while he may be well known as being Deepak Chopra’s son, in reality he is so much more. He had a big year in 2015, directing two documentaries about two legendary sports figures, Muse and the The Little Master. Muse is about the American cultural icon in Kobe Bryant, and The Little Master is about an Indian Diety Sachin Tendulkar. We start the interview at this point asking whether it was important to tell a story from both American and South Asian culture, and from there we dive right in to identity. We chart how these projects got started and learn why Gotham may need to be called the godfather of cricket in America. We explore the commonalities between these Kobe and Sachin, and how the exploration of “greatness” is the spine between both. 

  We then chart Gotham’s personal growth from a Journalist to a filmmaker, and how his Indian identity influenced those transitions. We discuss how he changed the spelling of his name to move further in his career, and yet as the founder of "Graphic India", feels a responsibility and passion to represent his heritage in a more grounded way. We speak on his transition from identifying as "South Asian" to "American", which leads to the hosts fascination with Gotham's ability to hold space for both identities without conflict, and how he manages to do so. Finally, the conversation moves to his son- the next generation- and how he goes about treating this next generation, as well as his responsibilities to it.   A discussion will drop in a few days. So please go to the website and comment in the forum. Also feel free to tweet us @AmericanDesis, or respond to our Facebook page at "American Desis Podcast". Also please rate, review, and subscribe to the episodes. And keep downloading!