Arvind Krishnan
WCAS Class of 2012, Biology
Hometown: Fort Myers, FL
Indian Roots: Madras, Tamil Nadu
Hobbies / Interests: listening to rap music, playing tennis, ESPN, fruit snacks, wasting time
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Lagaan
- Actor: Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan
- Playback singer: Udit Narayan
Favorite American:
- Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
- Actor: Sasha Baron Cohen
- Singer: Chris Martin of Coldplay
Favorite Indian dessert: Mysore Pak
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Jiya Jale
Beau Garrett
McCormick Class of 2012, Environmental Engineering
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Hobbies / Interests: tennis, singing, video games, sleeping, traveling
Favorite:
- Movies: Crash, Gladiator
- Actor: Don Cheadle, Russell Crowe
- Singer: Brandon Boyd of Incubus
Favorite Indian dessert: kheer
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Every song!
Cristina Thomas
WCAS Class of 2011, Biological Sciences
Hometown: Freeport, IL
Indian Roots: Malayalee
Hobbies / Interests: Soccer and eating
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Umm N/A?
- Actor: N/A
- Playback singer: N/A
Favorite American:
- Movie: Bend It Like Beckham
- Actor: Masi Oka
- Singer: Lauryn Hill
Favorite Indian dessert: Gulab Jamun
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Be Without You
Dov Shalman - Musical Director
WCAS Class of 2009, Bio/Psych Premed
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Indian roots: N/A
Hobbies / Interests: Tennis, Music, Movies
Favorite American:
- Movie: V for Vendetta
- Actor: Dustin Hoffman
- Band: Counting Crows
Favorite Indian dessert: Gulab Jamun
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Be Without You
Manjari Ranganathan
WCAS Class of 2009, Economics and International Studies
Hometown: Naperville, IL
Indian Roots: Kerala
Hobbies: Traveling, Reading, Singing
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Dil Chahta Hai
- Actor: Kajol
- Playback singer: Unni Krishnan
Favorite American:
- Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
- Actor: Robin Williams
- Singer: Alicia Keys
Favorite Indian dessert: Mysore Pak
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Barso Re
Mannie Kumar - Exec Board
WCAS Class of 2011, Economics
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Indian Roots: Amritsar, Punjab (I'm 100% Indian, I promise)
Hobbies / Interests: trance music, Bollywood, singing, wearing pajamas, 24, SaReGaMaPa, BSug lowe
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movies: Devdas & Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- Actor: Aishwarya Rai
- Playback singer: Shreya Ghoshal
Favorite American:
- Movie: I don't watch American movies
- Actor: see above
- Musician: I don't listen to American music
Favorite Indian dessert: Rasmalai... and jalebi!
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Barso Re
Mohini Kundu - Creative Coordinator
Medill Class of 2012, Journalism
Hometown: Pleasanton, CA
Indian Roots: Kolkata
Hobbies / Interests: Singing, smiling, dancing, eating, writing, reading, laughing, learning languages, telling bad jokes, Japan, watching cartoons, CANDY
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- Actor: Aamir Khan, but Shah Rukh is still the King
Favorite American:
- Movie: Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
- Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio
- Band: Muse
Favorite Indian dessert: Rasmalai
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Be Without You
Padma Sampath - Business Manager
School of Communication Class of 2010, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Cerritos, CA
Indian Roots: Tamil (yeppadi irrukai?)
Hobbies / Interests: ashtanga yoga, singing, sleep, eating ridiculous amounts of fruit, Spanish telenovelas, walking quietly
Favorite Indian:
- Movie: Thenali (Tamil)
- Actor: Hrithik is beautiful. (Tamil actress: Revathi)
- Playback singer: Kavita Krishnamurthy, Unni Menon
Favorite American:
- Movie: Sound of Music
- Actor: Edward Norton
- Singer: ahhhh, quien sabe? Imogen Heap?
Favorite Indian dessert: Gulab Jamun or Baadushaa
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Apologize / Chupke Se
Nishant Nagpal
WCAS Class of 2010, Economics
Hometown: Bombay, India
From where in India: Goa
Hobbies / Interests: Golf, Guitar, and Traveling!
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie - Rang De Basanti (of the three movies I have seen!)
- Actor - Priyanka Chopra
- Playback singer - Atif Aslam
Favorite American:
- Movie - American Gangster
- Actor - Denzel Washington
- Singer - Stephen Jenkins of Third Eye Blind
Favorite Indian dessert: Rasgullas! :-)
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Seasons of Love
Praneet Korrapati
WCAS Class of 2009, Biology
Hometown: Dix Hills, India
Indian Roots: Andhra Pradesh
Hobbies / Interests: Basketball, Football, Singing
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Dil Chahta Hai
- Actress: Rani Mukherjee
- Playback singer: Sonu Nigam
Favorite American:
- Movie: American History X, Batman Begins, Primal Fear
- Actor: Edward Norton
- Singer: Trey Songz
Favorite Indian dessert: Gulab Jamun
Favorite Brown Sugar song: So far, Kya Mujhe Pyar. But likely to change.
Priya Suresh - President
School of Education and Social Policy Class of 2011, Learning and Organizational Change
Hometown: Lexington, MA
Indian roots: Tamil
Hobbies / Interests: singing, politics, reading books
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movies: Lagaan, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
- Actor: Aamir Khan
- Playback singer: Shreya Ghoshal
Favorite American:
- Movie: The Sixth Sense
- Actor: Johnny Depp, Actress: Julia Stiles
- Bands: Maroon 5, The Killers
Favorite Indian dessert: Gulab Jamun
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Barso Re
Rajni Chandrasekhar
WCAS Class of 2009, Junior, Political Science/International Studies
Hometown: Columbia, MO
Indian roots: Bangalore... so I guess that would make me a Kannadiga
Hobbies / Interests: fiction, volunteering, coffee, sarcasm, traveling, sameer
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Lagaan (I have only seen two bollywood movies. lagaan and another one i cant remember...)
- Actor: um...
- Playback singer: Lata?
Favorite American:
- Movie: Sabrina
- Actor: Edward Norton
- Singer: Jamie Cullum (even though he's actually British..)
Favorite Indian dessert: carrot halwa
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Seasons of Love...jk..Kya/Fafa
Sameer Kapadia
School of Communication, Class of 2009, Theatre, Premed, Global Health
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Indian roots: Half- Gujurati, Half- Pakistani
Hobbies / Interests: Singing, Acting, and just being sameer uncle
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Devdas, Karan-Arjun
- Actor: Shah Rukh Khan is my god (read this on a review for Om Shanti Om, couldn't agree more)
- Playback singer: KK, Adnan Sami
Favorite American:
- Movie: Man on Fire, Gladiator
- Actor: Denzel Washington, Natalie Portman
- Singer: John Legend and... boy band music
Favorite Indian dessert: Gajar ka Halwa
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Barso Re
Sue Banerjee
Medill Class of 2009, Journalism/International Studies
Hometown: Houston, TX
Indian roots: Bengali
Hobbies: singing, reading, politics, watching bball, cricket
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: DDLJ
- Actors: Kajol and SRK
- Playback singer: Kumar Sanu, Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu
Favorite American:
- Movie; Blood Diamond
- Actor: Denzel Washington, Renee Zellwegger
- Singer: Usher, RHCP
Favorite Indian dessert: gulab jamun
Favorite BSug song: Aao Na
Tara Patel - Treasurer
WCAS Class of 2012, terribly undecided
Hometown: Sylvania, OH
Hobbies / Interests: playing pictionary, eating ethnic foods and desserts, round robin ping-pong, reading, LOTR, exploring!, peppermint mochas with extra, extra whipped cream, and anything associated with beaches and large bodies of water.
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Lagaan
- Actor: Aamir Khan, Kajol
Favorite American:
- Movie: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Gods must be Crazy, My Fair Lady
- Singer: Whitney Houston, Alanis Morissette, Joan Baez
Favorite Indian dessert: Rasmalai! YUM!
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Khuda Jaane, Taking Over Me
Tejas Shastry - Musical Director
McCormick Class of 2011, Material Science
Hometown: Peoria, IL
Indian roots: Karnataka
Hobbies / Interests: Singing, Playing Bass, Soccer, Reading
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
- Actor: Salman Khan
- Playback singer: no clue
Favorite American:
- Movie: Training Day
- Actor: Denzel Washington
- Singer: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Favorite Indian dessert: Gulab Jamun
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Kya Mujhe Pyaar
Priyanka Krishnan
Medill Class of 2008, Journalism/History
Hometown: Cleveland, Bahrain, Fairfax...
Indian roots: Tamilian! Yay South India!
Hobbies / Interests: Singing. Dancing. Writing. Books! Hopefully writing a book. This is becoming too much like facebook!
Favorite Bollywood:
- Movie: Dil Chatha Hai
- Actor: Tough. For acting ability, Aamir Khan. For looks...John Abraham. Or Arjun Rampal!
- Playback singer: Sonu Nigam
Favorite American:
- Movie: Top three: Lord of the Rings. Roman Holiday. Aladdin.
- Actor: For acting ability...Johnny Depp. For looks...Orlando Bloom.
- Singer: JT. And Gwen Stefani because she turns the biggest nonsense into hits. And No Doubt was awesome.
Favorite Indian dessert: Rasmalai
Favorite Brown Sugar song: Dilbara