9 Words Podcasts: Identity
Dawinder in front of Bollywood poster wall - photograph by Dee Patel
IDENTITY – Dawinder Bansal
In this podcast we talk to Artist, Producer and Creator of Jambo Cinema Dawinder Bansal.
“I opened up my late father's briefcase and I looked inside, and I saw: paperwork; I saw a little card for the Indian Workers Association and I saw, I suppose, all of his dreams and aspirations in a bunch of paperwork, that doesn't really mean anything to anyone else but me.”
Dawinder Bansal Living Room Jambo Cinema - Dee Patel
Dawinder Bansal Bansal Electrical Services Jambo Cinema - Dee Patel
Extracts from the podcast
“I’d been working in the industry as an immersive theatre producer for a while and I…felt that the stories being told from the lived experience were missing… When they were told in particular ways, they were diluted and changed.”
“This is about an Asian family living in Britain and so we can't really get away from the fact that we've got cultures merging. I mean Elvis was a big hit in our household, so we've got a picture of Elvis. We’ve got the Wombles and we’ve got the Nat West pigs.”
“It was like having a freeness, like you could just be free to be there. You weren't being controlled at school, you weren't being controlled at home, you were just with your friends, and you were just dancing and having a good time.”
“It's also about a story of a working-class family in Wolverhampton, an immigrant family who had these dreams and ambitions and we’re just trying to make it here in the UK and this is how we did it. And how Asian families came together to basically enjoy themselves and have some escapism through Bollywood films.”
“I went to my friend's house and her parents are Punjabi, I started speaking and asking my friend’s Dad for an iron and I called it a pasi. “Uncle can I have a pasi please?” And he was like “what the hell is a Pasi?” And I said, “the iron,” and he said, “your parents aren’t teaching you the right Punjabi.” Then I went home, and I said to mum this was what uncle just said to me and she said “oh, because pasi is the Swahili word, that's why.”
“I want people to see this who, who don’t go and see work in galleries because galleries do not always feel welcoming to everyone.”
“I suppose in many ways by being very vocal and honest and open and transparent about things that I did and about my own life, it gives people the permission to be open and honest about theirs. …it has allowed some space for this world of intimacy, if you like, of real conversation.”
“I’ve had younger people come in here and they talk about the fact that they feel like the world is too busy and they want it to slow down because they can't catch their own thoughts.”
“I feel that this particular place, Jambo Cinema in the way that I've created it, is deliberately designed for people to come in and get curious and be curious about similarities between us as well as the differences and ask questions… I think that's very important to be able to allow people into other worlds, other intimate worlds that they might not ever encounter.”
“It's very evocative of the flock red wallpaper, the red carpet, the patterns and the textiles, the sewing machine, the old vintage set and the sideboard which is wooden teak. The Kenyan Indian influence, the copper clock, the wooden ornaments of animals, the stereo system, the television, all of the items that relate back to a time and a place that does not exist anymore.”
Download the transcript of the podcast here.
Identity Credits
Artist Dawinder Bansal
Presented and produced by Bobby Tiwana
Sound design, engineering and editing by Duncan Grimley
Commissioned by Creative Black Country
Funded by Arts Council England
Supported by Wolverhampton Arts & Culture and Paycare.
Want to learn more about Dawinder’s project?
You can read an interview with Dawinder here.
Dawinder Bansal & Bobby Tiwana