Unfiltered Chai with Alicia Vrajlal

Unfiltered with Alicia Vrajlal... and Kishwar Chowdhury

Today's episode features Kishwar Chowdhury. Well known for placing third in Masterchef Australia Season 13, Kishwar's gone on to forge an incredible culinary career that not only champions Bangladeshi cuisine and flavours, but advocacy for South Asian communities.  Alicia caught up with Kishwar a few weeks ago in March. From reflecting on the changing narrative around South Asian food, to her upcoming cook book  (Smoke, Rice, Water: Recipes and Stories from a Bengali Home), and her advocacy work with World Vision in Bangladesh, nothing was off limits. Enjoy this episode, and if you'd like to learn more about Kishwar's campaign with World Vision that supports vulnerable children in Bangladesh, you can head to this page: https://worldvision.com.au/kishwar [https://worldvision.com.au/kishwar] Host: Alicia Vrajlal Producer: Haresh Nair  Follow Draw Your Box on social media:  https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox [https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox] https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox [https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox] Read our coverage on our news website:  https://drawyourbox.com/ [https://drawyourbox.com/] Subscribe to our newsletter: https://drawyourbox.substack.com/ [https://drawyourbox.substack.com/]

Unfiltered with Alicia Vrajlal... and Kashif Harrison

Today's episode features Kashif Harrison, an advocate for queer visibility and a proud member of the South Asian LGBTQIA+ community. With years of experience in the world of radio presenting, acting, and content creation, his passion for amplifying queer voices has led to him hosting two podcasts of his own. Born in Dubai and migrating to Australia in 2012, Kashif often speaks about his personal journey as a gay man  – navigating identity, community, and love in the context of his Pakistani heritage and South Asian culture.  Alicia caught up with Kashif a few weeks ago in mid-February. From his experience of moving out of home as an adult and coming out to his family, balancing advocacy with self care, and sharing his 2026 Mardi Gras plans, nothing was off limits. Enjoy this episode and while you’re at it, I’d recommend adding Kashif’s podcasts called ‘Under the Brown Rainbow’ and ‘The Creator’s Chat’ to your listening list as well.  Host: Alicia Vrajlal Producer: Haresh Nair  Follow Draw Your Box on social media:  https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox [https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox] https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox [https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox] Read our coverage on our news website:  https://drawyourbox.com/ [https://drawyourbox.com/] Subscribe to our newsletter: https://drawyourbox.substack.com/ [https://drawyourbox.substack.com/]

Unfiltered Chai with Alicia Vrajlal... and Ankita Karungalekar

Queensland-based sports reporter Ankita Karungalekar began filming for the 2026 season of Married At First Sight (MAFS), but her journey was cut short when some unrelated allegations about her MAFS groom, Micah Lomu, were made by others outside of the experiment.  With the new season of MAFS about to air, Alicia caught up with Ankita, where she spoke about the importance of Indian and wider South Asian representation on MAFS. She also spills the chai on which brides and grooms to look out for, her reality TV and career plans, family and travel, code-switching as an international student, and wait for it… a new romance!  Just a heads up. For legal reasons, we can’t say much more about the allegations about Micah, which he has reportedly denied. When Unfiltered Chai and Draw Your Box contacted Channel 9, the network declined to comment about Ankita’s involvement on MAFS. We also asked what sort of mental health support is provided to contestants during and after filming. They provided this statement: “Nine and Endemol Shine take their obligations in respect to the health and wellbeing of the participants of this program extremely seriously. All participants have access to the show psychologist and welfare resources during filming, during broadcast and once the program has ended. Nine also have an additional service for participants should they like or need further individual and confidential psychological support. This service gives participants access to clinicians to support those involved in the program in relation to their experiences. This service is available to all participants for as long as they need it, it does not end.” Enjoy this episode and for the MAFS fans out there, you can catch Married At First Sight when it premieres on the February 2 on Channel 9 and 9Now. Host: Alicia Vrajlal Producer: Haresh Nair  Follow Draw Your Box on social media:  https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox [https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox] https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox [https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox] Read our coverage on our news website:  https://drawyourbox.com/ [https://drawyourbox.com/] Subscribe to our newsletter: https://drawyourbox.substack.com/ [https://drawyourbox.substack.com/]

Unfiltered Chai with Alicia Vrajlal... and Abhishek Bachchan

BONUS BITE-SIZED EPISODE: This may be a bite-sized episode, but the person I’m speaking to is a huge star! It’s Bollywood royalty, Abhishek Bachchan who was in Sydney this week to promote a new project as co-founder of the European T20 Premiere League (ETPL). While in Sydney, he announced the owners of its first three franchises, that include the likes of Aussie cricket legends Steve Waugh and Glenn Maxwell, well-known Indian Australian figure Tim Thomas, and lots more.  When Alicia caught up with Abhishek for a harbourside chat, he spoke to her about this exciting venture, his cricket movie 'Ghoomer', and visiting Australia just weeks before his 50th birthday. Enjoy this episode!  Host: Alicia Vrajlal Producer: Haresh Nair  Follow Draw Your Box on social media:  https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox [https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox] https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox [https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox] Read our coverage on our news website:  https://drawyourbox.com/ [https://drawyourbox.com/]

Unfiltered Chai with Alicia Vrajlal... and Lisa Sthalekar

Whether you’re a big fan of the sport or not, there’s a high chance you’ve heard of Indian-born Australian cricket superstar Lisa Sthalekar.  The former captain of the Australia women's national cricket team retired from international cricket in 2013. Since then, she's continued being a trailblazing force in advocating for women's equality and diversity in sport.  Alicia caught up with Lisa just before Christmas, and it’s now the perfect time to release this episode. At the end of 2025, India won their first ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, and now, they’re coming Down Under in February to play against the Aussie women’s team.  In this chat, Lisa talks about everything from her own career journey, to starting a cricket and travel business called Around The Wickets, how cricket culture is different in Australia and India, and of course, why it’s so important for the Indian community and wider South Asian diaspora to fill those stadiums in Australia when India arrives next month.  Enjoy this episode and for more ticket details for the upcoming Aus v India women's cricket matches, click here [https://www.cricket.com.au/tickets]. You can also find out more about Lisa's business, Around The Wickets here [https://atwickets.com/]. Host: Alicia Vrajlal Producer: Haresh Nair  Follow Draw Your Box on social media:  https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox [https://www.instagram.com/drawyourbox] https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox [https://www.tiktok.com/@drawyourbox] Read our coverage on our news website:  https://drawyourbox.com/ [https://drawyourbox.com/]