Forbes Names Several Indian Americans in 2022 ’30 Under 30’ List for Hollywood & Entertainment, Games, Media
Naomi Shah, founder of Meet Cute, made Forbes’ 2022 ’30 Under 30’ list in the category of Hollywood & Entertainment. (LinkedIn photo)
India-West Staff Reporter
In Forbes’ recently-released ’30 Under 30’ list for 2022, several Indian Americans have been named in the categories of Hollywood & Entertainment, Games, and Media.
The list marks the 10th anniversary of the Forbes Under 30 class.
Following are the Indian Americans named in the above categories in the list released Dec. 1.
Hollywood & Entertainment:
*Filmmaker Karam Gill of MGX Creative. In 2017, Gill made his directorial debut with “G Funk,” a documentary about the untold story of Warren G, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and the rise of hip-hop’s iconic sub-genre, noted Forbes. More recently, he wrote and directed the “Supervillain” series for Showtime.
*Producer Mohan Mandali of Fabel Entertainment. At Fabel, Mandali identifies genre and nerd culture content and while promoting BIPOC content, Forbes said. He is currently working on a series on the life and published work of famed neurologist Oliver Sacks with known showrunner Greg Berlanti and Fox.
*Naomi Shah, founder of Meet Cute. Shah is the founder and CEO of Meet Cute, a venture-backed entertainment company that has created more than 350 original, scripted rom-com stories in podcast form, said Forbes. Shah’s goal is for her company is to tell inclusive stories about the human connection that are relatable for every type of listener.
Games:
*Maneet Khaira founded Backbone in 2018, his senior year at Columbia University, raising $1 million in investment that included Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures and gaming creators Nadeshot, MrBeast, and Preston. The company launched at the end of 2020 and now its core product, an attachable gaming controller for iPhones that requires no charging, is the top selling product in its category on Amazon, according to Forbes.
*Kirin Sinha, founder of Illumix. Through her startup Illumix, Sinha is building the first dedicated game engine for augmented reality, and the early returns have been promising, noted Forbes. Illumix’s debut game has been downloaded more than 18 million times, generating millions in revenue. Sinha’s outfit is currently working with Disney to bring its AR technology to theme parks, retail and ecommerce, as well as luxury jewelry brands to improve the virtual “try on” experience.
Media:
*Shray Bansal, Nigel Egrari and Arjun Mehta launched the livestream platform Moment House in 2019 to connect artists and their core fans for global, elevated ticketed experiences, such as concerts, interviews and poetry readings. They have hosted elevated live-streamed events with celebrities like St. Vincent, Halsey, and Brockhampton, as well as overseeing the ticketing for Justin Bieber’s New Year’s Eve livestream, said Forbes. The startup has secured $13.5 million in funding.
*Author Krithika Varagur spent four years covering religion, politics, extremism and corruption in Southeast and South Asia for outlets including The Washington Post and The Guardian. In 2020, she authored “The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project,” a book about Saudi influence in the Muslim world. Until October, she was the youngest staff columnist at The Wall Street Journal, covering millennials at work, noted Forbes. She now works as a senior speechwriter at Fenway, a communications firm founded by President Barack Obama’s former chief speechwriter Jon Favreau and national security spokesman Tommy Vietor.
