Filmmaker Shruti Ganguly Has a Message for Anti-Trump, Pro-Modi Diaspora Indians

Ganguly, a filmmaker based between NYC and Oslo, joins Raghav Bahl on this episode of the VIGILANT podcast.

Shruti Ganguly, a filmmaker and writer based between New York City and Oslo, joins Raghav Bahl on this episode of the VIGILANT podcast.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

“There are some people in the [Indian] diaspora who can be critical of Trump but then they don’t mind Modi,” says filmmaker Shruti Ganguly. Speaking to The Quint’s editor-in-chief Raghav Bahl on a new episode of the VIGILANT podcast, she adds, “I am often confronting why people should think that they are different, that they operate differently.”

Ganguly, a filmmaker and writer based between New York City and Oslo, says that she thinks that “historically, as a group of colonized people, some folks think that their means of survival is positioning themselves with power.” She continues, “In the US, that power is white supremacy, which is a very similar thread to Hindutva as well. It's a very similar philosophy that is also deeply tied to religion, a certain type of ethnostate.”

Ganguly is a co-executive producer on the Oscar-nominated feature documentary ‘To Kill A Tiger’ and co-producer on ‘Baksho Bondi’ (‘Shadowbox’) which premiered at Berlinale. She has produced several feature films, including Spirit Award winner ‘H.’ and the Nora Ephron Prize-winner ‘Initials SG’, that have been showcased at the Sundance, Venice, Tribeca, Telluride, and Berlin film festivals.

In this hour-long candid conversation with Bahl, Ganguly shares stories from her childhood in India and Oman, and early adult life in the United States, looks back on working for a White House committee during the final year of the Obama administration, discusses the power of films and popular culture on political discourse, and explains why she feels inspired by the youth, from the emergence of the Cockroach Janta Party in India to the rise of Zohran Mamdani to the mayoralty of New York City.

The podcast is a part of VIGIL, an offering on The Quint that discusses and champions themes of pluralism and inclusivity in the Indian diaspora. VIGIL stands for Voice of India: Global, Inclusive, Liberal.

Watch the full conversation between Ganguly and Bahl, and follow VIGIL by The Quint on social media for the latest articles, interviews and podcasts from VIGIL.

Here's where to follow VIGIL on Instagram, LinkedIn, X.

Have an idea for a guest we should speak to on the podcast, or a topic we should discuss? Write to us at [e-mail] and let us know!