Asha Gill
Encyclopedia
Asha Anand Gill is a Malaysia-based model
, television host, deejay
, veejay
, writer, producer
, film director
, and women's rights
activist. Her father is Indian and her mother is English
with some French
heritage.
, Kent, she spent much of her childhood in Seremban
, Negeri Sembilan
, Malaysia. She took her O-Levels and A-Levels in the UK, and continued on to do her Bachelors in Science in Quantity Surveying at Kingston Polytechnic
. A few credits shy of graduation, she decided that quantity surveying was not for her. She then decided to go into the media
line.
for various studios in London, before moving up as a screenwriter
and line producer
. In 1995 she moved back to Malaysia, where she hosted the RIM Chart Show, a Malaysian music chart show. She also went into modelling, and endorsed various products such as Sony
, L'Oréal
, and Lipton
Tea.
Gill played Asha Kapoor in the Malaysian TV drama City of the Rich from 1996 until 1997, and in 1998 she acted as Dr Anna in the Malaysian movie Mimpi Moon, directed by a Malaysian director. She was also in two music videos; Welcome to Tomorrow by SNAP and Bedroom Window by Nice Stupid Playground.
International, an Asia-Pacific music channel based in Hong Kong
, and she quickly became the face of the channel, becoming famous to people from Bangladesh to Bahrain. She wrote her own scripts, did her own research, and had a major role in Channel [V]'s production, such as directing, scriptwriting, and producing. She had her own flagship shows, including Asha Meets, an interview show, and By Demand, a live request show co-hosted with Adrian da Silva that introduced the innovative SMS-on-TV system. She was well known for her unique, thorough interview style, and through her various shows, she has interviewed the likes of the Bee Gees
, Darren Hayes
, Lenny Kravitz
, Britney Spears
(one of her first interviews), Moby
, Destiny's Child
, Travis
, and much more. She has also co-hosted special shows with Christina Aguilera
and Kelis
, among others.
In 2002 Channel [V] International was bought over by Malaysian media company Double Vision, and Gill's contract with the channel was ending. She moved on to Singapore
, where she hosted a season of their version of The Weakest Link
. Due to her role as host, she was quickly given a reputation of being acidic, sarcastic, and sometimes mean - a distinct contrast from her Channel [V] days, where she was seen as being fun, happy-go-lucky, and the 'girl next door
'. Singapore was one of the few Asian countries not to receive Channel [V].
In 2003 Gill, along with British photographer, deejay, and veejay Toby Amies
, started hosting Lonely Planet's Six Degrees, a people-centric travel show where the hosts meet up with one contact in a specific country that leads them to another contact, and so on (following the idea of six degrees of separation
). In the first season, Gill travelled to Mumbai
, India; Buenos Aires
, Argentina
; Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia; and Singapore
. Among her various adventures included dancing with Indian hijra
for good luck at a wedding, meeting an Argentine artist whose artwork consists of plaster casts of humans and animals, a ghost-hunter in Kuala Lumpur, and a food critic in Singapore.
In 2004 Asha joined MIX.FM, an adult contemporary radio station owned by Malaysian media company Astro, and co-hosted the Drivetime slot with Non. She also started writing her monthly column, Of Mutton + Lamb, for women's lifestyle magazine Vida!, where she talks about any issue of her interest - from women's rights to experiences of being a DJ. Her official website, AshaGill.Com, was also launched, where she keeps her writings, talks about various issues on her blog
, and introduces Malaysian talent through the Asha's Picks section. She was also selected as the ambassador for watch company Tag Heuer
, and she continued production on Lonely Planet's Six Degrees, this time travelling to Melbourne
, Australia; Auckland
, New Zealand; London, England; and Cape Town
, South Africa
. She won the award for Best Entertainment Awards at the Asian Television Awards
2004, held in Singapore.
In 2005 Asha was selected as Tag Heuer
's newest ambassador.
Currently Asha is still recording episodes of Six Degrees, and is involved in other media work.
, especially women's rights
, and has been part of women's rights movements ever since her university days. She talks about women's rights often on her radio shows, Vida!, and her website, and she has also participated and planned a number of events to raise awareness over women's rights. In 2002 she participated in the Malaysian production of The Vagina Monologues
, which stirred controversy
over its apparently provocative content. In 2004 she became a spokesperson for Amnesty International
's Stop Violence Against Women campaign, and she was instrumental in various events in Malaysia dealing with the campaign, such as the Report Launch, the International Women's Day
event A Girl's Day Out in MidValley Megamall in March, and the Mix.FM Massive Appeal in June, where she sold Banashas (bananas dipped in sweet sauces and toppings) to raise funds for Amnesty International and Women's Aid Organization. She also works behind the scenes for various human rights and relief organizations, as well as charities.
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, television host, deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
, veejay
Veejay
Veejay can mean:-*A VJ , someone who introduces music videos or similar.*A Veejay , software video instrument mixer and sampler for realtime performances*Another spelling for the Indian name Vijay....
, writer, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
activist. Her father is Indian and her mother is English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
with some French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
heritage.
Early life
Although born in Kent and schooled in Ramsgate, Kent (St Lawrence College, Ramsgate) as well as MaidstoneMaidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, Kent, she spent much of her childhood in Seremban
Seremban
Seremban is the capital of the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan, located within the district of Seremban, one of the seven districts of Negeri Sembilan. The town's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council or Majlis Perbandaran Seremban...
, Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....
, Malaysia. She took her O-Levels and A-Levels in the UK, and continued on to do her Bachelors in Science in Quantity Surveying at Kingston Polytechnic
Kingston University
Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
. A few credits shy of graduation, she decided that quantity surveying was not for her. She then decided to go into the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
line.
Pre-fame
She started off doing work as a production assistantProduction assistant
A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production...
for various studios in London, before moving up as a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and line producer
Line producer
A line producer is the key manager during the daily operations of a motion picture production.The line producer supports the vision given by the director but does not have direct influence on the creative expression or narrative of the film....
. In 1995 she moved back to Malaysia, where she hosted the RIM Chart Show, a Malaysian music chart show. She also went into modelling, and endorsed various products such as Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, L'Oréal
L'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...
, and Lipton
Lipton
Lipton is a brand of tea currently owned by Unilever.-History of Lipton Tea:Lipton was created at the end of the 19th century by a grocer, Sir Thomas Lipton, in Glasgow, Scotland. In 1893, he established the Thomas J. Lipton Co., a tea packing company with its headquarters and factory in Hobo ken,...
Tea.
Gill played Asha Kapoor in the Malaysian TV drama City of the Rich from 1996 until 1997, and in 1998 she acted as Dr Anna in the Malaysian movie Mimpi Moon, directed by a Malaysian director. She was also in two music videos; Welcome to Tomorrow by SNAP and Bedroom Window by Nice Stupid Playground.
Heyday
In 1999 Asha was selected as one of the veejays for Channel VChannel V
Channel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...
International, an Asia-Pacific music channel based in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and she quickly became the face of the channel, becoming famous to people from Bangladesh to Bahrain. She wrote her own scripts, did her own research, and had a major role in Channel [V]'s production, such as directing, scriptwriting, and producing. She had her own flagship shows, including Asha Meets, an interview show, and By Demand, a live request show co-hosted with Adrian da Silva that introduced the innovative SMS-on-TV system. She was well known for her unique, thorough interview style, and through her various shows, she has interviewed the likes of the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, Darren Hayes
Darren Hayes
Darren Stanley Hayes is a UK-based Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the front man and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States...
, Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
(one of her first interviews), Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
, Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, and much more. She has also co-hosted special shows with Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
and Kelis
Kelis
Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
, among others.
In 2002 Channel [V] International was bought over by Malaysian media company Double Vision, and Gill's contract with the channel was ending. She moved on to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, where she hosted a season of their version of The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
. Due to her role as host, she was quickly given a reputation of being acidic, sarcastic, and sometimes mean - a distinct contrast from her Channel [V] days, where she was seen as being fun, happy-go-lucky, and the 'girl next door
Girl next door
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...
'. Singapore was one of the few Asian countries not to receive Channel [V].
In 2003 Gill, along with British photographer, deejay, and veejay Toby Amies
Toby Amies
Toby Amies is a broadcaster, filmmaker and photographer, best known for his work on Radio4, MTV UK's Alternative Nation, FilmFour, Lonely Planet Six Degrees and The Rough Guides. Toby specialises in making programmes about art, music and travel, with a special emphasis on fringe culture and...
, started hosting Lonely Planet's Six Degrees, a people-centric travel show where the hosts meet up with one contact in a specific country that leads them to another contact, and so on (following the idea of six degrees of separation
Six degrees of separation
Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer...
). In the first season, Gill travelled to Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India; Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
; Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia; and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Among her various adventures included dancing with Indian hijra
Hijra (South Asia)
In the culture of South Asia, hijras or chakka in Kannada, khusra in Punjabi and kojja in Telugu are physiological males who have feminine gender identity, women's clothing and other feminine gender roles. Hijras have a long recorded history in the Indian subcontinent, from the antiquity, as...
for good luck at a wedding, meeting an Argentine artist whose artwork consists of plaster casts of humans and animals, a ghost-hunter in Kuala Lumpur, and a food critic in Singapore.
In 2004 Asha joined MIX.FM, an adult contemporary radio station owned by Malaysian media company Astro, and co-hosted the Drivetime slot with Non. She also started writing her monthly column, Of Mutton + Lamb, for women's lifestyle magazine Vida!, where she talks about any issue of her interest - from women's rights to experiences of being a DJ. Her official website, AshaGill.Com, was also launched, where she keeps her writings, talks about various issues on her blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, and introduces Malaysian talent through the Asha's Picks section. She was also selected as the ambassador for watch company Tag Heuer
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer is a Swiss luxury watchmaker known for its sports watches and chronographs. It is a division of luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. The company motto is "Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860"...
, and she continued production on Lonely Planet's Six Degrees, this time travelling to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia; Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand; London, England; and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. She won the award for Best Entertainment Awards at the Asian Television Awards
Asian Television Awards
The Asian Television Awards is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, the Awards draws about 1,400 entries each year from a wide range of broadcasters, including free-to-air TV stations and pay-TV...
2004, held in Singapore.
In 2005 Asha was selected as Tag Heuer
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer is a Swiss luxury watchmaker known for its sports watches and chronographs. It is a division of luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. The company motto is "Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860"...
's newest ambassador.
Currently Asha is still recording episodes of Six Degrees, and is involved in other media work.
Political views
Gill is passionate about human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, especially women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, and has been part of women's rights movements ever since her university days. She talks about women's rights often on her radio shows, Vida!, and her website, and she has also participated and planned a number of events to raise awareness over women's rights. In 2002 she participated in the Malaysian production of The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
, which stirred controversy
Controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
over its apparently provocative content. In 2004 she became a spokesperson for Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's Stop Violence Against Women campaign, and she was instrumental in various events in Malaysia dealing with the campaign, such as the Report Launch, the International Women's Day
International Women's Day
International Women's Day , originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and...
event A Girl's Day Out in MidValley Megamall in March, and the Mix.FM Massive Appeal in June, where she sold Banashas (bananas dipped in sweet sauces and toppings) to raise funds for Amnesty International and Women's Aid Organization. She also works behind the scenes for various human rights and relief organizations, as well as charities.
External links
- AshaGill.Com Asha Gill's official website