New York City's South Asian Cultural Guide

Bollywood.NYC

We don't list everything. That's the point.

Issue No. 016 · June 18, 2026

Editor's Note

Billie Holiday and Mehdi Hasan never shared a stage. Thursday night in Brooklyn, they finally do.

Fifteen issues in, this city has not once run out of things worth your time. This week is no exception.

Tomorrow evening: Guru Shishya Parampara Concert Series at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan — sarod in two halves, 7:30pm. Camila Celin (Colombian-American, Indian classical trained) performs first, then Sougata Roy Choudhury (trained under Dhyanesh Khan, son of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan). The tradition passes through both of them.

Saturday: Zarna Garg at NJPAC in Newark, 7pm. Former lawyer, mother of three, NYT bestselling author, Variety's "10 Comics to Watch." June 20. If you have been waiting to go, this is the last week.

Thursday June 25: The Jazz Ghazal Project at Barzakh Café. Kaushik on baritone and Sharik Hasan on piano. Songs made famous by Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra placed alongside Urdu ghazals interpreted by Mehdi Hasan, Farida Khanum, and Begum Akhtar. Not fusion. A deliberate exchange. One room in Brooklyn. The Words section below says why this matters. Read it before you book.

June 26 is a problem in the best possible sense — four South Asian events on one Friday. The full picture is in Coming Soon.

— The Editors, Bollywood.NYC

This Week

Tomorrow, June 19: Guru Shishya Parampara at BVB — Camila Celin & Sougata Roy Choudhury, 7:30pm. Saturday, June 20: Zarna Garg at NJPAC, 7pm. Also: An Evening of Indian Classical Music at Olio Lighthouse, Brooklyn, 7pm. South Asian Theatre Festival Weekend 2, New Brunswick. Thursday, June 25: Jazz Ghazal Project at Barzakh Café, 7pm. June 26: Four South Asian events. See Coming Soon.

The Edit
01
Editor's Pick Music

The Jazz Ghazal Project — Barzakh Café

Thursday, June 25 · 7–8 PM · Barzakh Café, 147 Utica Ave, Brooklyn

Kaushik brings a commanding baritone shaped by the lineage of Johnny Hartman and Mel Tormé. Sharik Hasan, professor at Berklee College of Music and touring member of Postmodern Jukebox, anchors the project at the piano. Together they place songs made famous by Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra alongside Urdu ghazals interpreted by Mehdi Hasan, Farida Khanum, and Begum Akhtar.

Two musical traditions. Two continents. Two centuries. Both arrived at love, loss, distance, and longing by different roads. Thursday night at Barzakh, they are in the same room.

This is not fusion for its own sake. It is a deliberate exchange — where melody, lyric, and improvisation illuminate shared histories of heartbreak and hope. One hour. Barzakh Café, Brooklyn. Thursday June 25.

Tickets — Viewcy
02
Stand-Up This Saturday

Zarna Garg: Million Dollar Excuses — NJPAC, Newark

Saturday, June 20 · 7 PM · Prudential Hall, NJPAC, Newark

Zarna Garg is a former lawyer, mother of three, NYT bestselling author, and the most visible South Asian female comedian working right now. She started stand-up in 2019. She opened for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for two years. She has specials on Amazon Prime and Hulu. June 20, Saturday, 7pm, Prudential Hall. If you have been meaning to go, this is the week.

Worth the Trip from Manhattan: 30 minutes on NJ Transit from Penn Station.

Tickets — Ticketmaster
03
Classical Tomorrow

Guru Shishya Parampara: Camila Celin & Sougata Roy Choudhury — BVB

Tomorrow, June 19 · 7:30–10 PM · Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan USA, 305 7th Ave, 17th Floor

A sarod concert in two halves. Camila Celin is Colombian-American and studied Indian classical music in the Guru Shishya tradition. Sougata Roy Choudhury trained under Dhyanesh Khan, son of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Tabla: Ehren Hanson. Curated by Sunny Thakkar, presented by Sneh Arts Foundation and BVB USA. Tomorrow, 7:30pm.

Tickets — Viewcy
Coming Soon — Worth a Look
Sat, Jun 20

An Evening of Indian Classical Music — Olio Lighthouse, Brooklyn

Vinay Desai and Anubrata Chatterjee perform at Olio Lighthouse, 603 Bergen St, Brooklyn. Saturday June 20, 7–8pm. Same evening as Zarna Garg at NJPAC — different register entirely. Presented by Think Olio. No refunds.

Tickets — Viewcy
Jun 26 — Four Events, One Night

June 26 is an excellent problem

Four simultaneous South Asian events on Pride Friday, June 26. Choose deliberately.

GHAR/BA Pride Edition — Lower Manhattan, 6:30–8:30pm. Queer Garba meets house, techno, and disco. Venue disclosed to ticketholders. Eventbrite.

When the Sun Rises — Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, 8pm. Baila Society x Navatman. Bharatanatyam, kathak, and salsa. Original nine-musician score. Thundertix.

Main Ghazal Hoon — Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan USA, 7:30pm. Shivani Joshi (vocals/harmonium), Manav Khurana (tabla), Pratyush Goberdhan (sarangi). Viewcy.

Vishal Mishra: Pagalpan Tour — Hard Rock Live, Atlantic City, 8:30pm. "Kaise Hua," "Pehla Pyaar," "Nai Lagda." Worth the Trip. Ticketmaster.

Fri, Jul 10 — Worth the Trip

Dr. Satinder Sartaaj: Heritage Tour — NJPAC, Newark

PhD in Sufi singing. Poet. Royal Albert Hall 2014. The Black Prince 2017. NJPAC, Friday July 10, 8pm. 30 minutes NJ Transit from Penn Station.

Tickets — NJPAC
Sat, Jul 18 — Free

DJ Rekha's Basement Bhangra Beyond — Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

DJ Rekha's annual outdoor bhangra festival returns to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park — Saturday July 18, 5pm (confirm time). Free. Lineup: Jaz Dhami, Mitika Kanwar, Babbulicious, and DJ Rekha. Presented in association with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. The biggest free South Asian outdoor event of the summer.

Details — cityparksfoundation.org

Words

"At its core is a shared emotional vocabulary: love, loss, distance, and longing."

The Jazz Ghazal Project — Kaushik and Sharik Hasan, 2026

Billie Holiday sang about heartbreak in 1940s New York. Mehdi Hasan sang about heartbreak in 1970s Lahore. Neither knew the other's language. Both knew the same thing. The Jazz Ghazal Project is the argument that they were always in conversation — that the ghazal and the American standard arrived at the same place by different roads, and that a room in Brooklyn is the right place to find out what they have to say to each other now. Thursday, June 25. One hour. The quote is not a description of fusion. It is a description of recognition.

Know someone who should be reading this? The list grows one good recommendation at a time.

Forward this issue →

ICYMI — The City Around You

The summer builds. DJ Rekha's Basement Bhangra Beyond at Flushing Meadows July 18 — free, with Jaz Dhami, Mitika Kanwar, and Babbulicious. Nawazuddin Siddiqui performs Naqaab at Adams Playhouse, Hofstra, July 19. India Day Parade on Madison Avenue August 16, free. Ammy Virk at Nassau Coliseum August 8 — his first-ever New York show. Carnegie Hall inaugural Indian music festival: May 21–23, 2027. Artist announcements coming this summer. The list is paying attention.

Be Part of It

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Bollywood.NYC proudly supports South Asian comedians and women-run businesses. These are not afterthoughts — they are priorities. If you're a comic building an audience, a founder running something with purpose, or an organizer putting on something this community needs to know about, write to us at contact@bollywood.nyc. We read every one.

We're especially looking for:

  • Comedy shows and stand-up showcases
  • Women-led businesses, brands, and events
  • Cultural performances and live music
  • Panels, professional mixers, and community gatherings
  • Anything that feels intentional, not just loud

We don't feature everything. But when we do, we mean it — and so does our audience.