Writer, director, producer, product designer, entrepreneur—Mozez Singh wears a lot of hats but is nowhere close to being done. Always the one to keep experimenting, he’s now turned podcast host with Amazon Audible Suno’s new show, Azaad Awaaz. With conversations around drag culture, the legal fight against Section 377, homophobia, and parents coming to terms with their child’s sexuality, the podcast is raw, inspiring and optimistic. We caught up with Mozez Singh to know what went into the making of Azaad Awaaz (produced by Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment):
ELLE: What do you hope listeners will take away from the podcast?
Mozez Singh: What I would like to see the most is an expression of empathy and compassion spread over the cultural landscape once people listen to Azaad Awaaz. Conversations about inclusivity and tolerance need to be born and they need to live. The most brilliant thing that the show does is that it provides a voice to the voiceless. Everyone has a story to tell. Now, we are finally finding a way to listen to these stories.
View this post on Instagram
ELLE: Did your perspective about certain things change while creating the podcast?
MS: I realised how much I don’t know, how ignorant I am about the LGBTQ community, considering I belong to the community myself. But above all, I realised how incredibly fortunate and privileged I am, and what I thought was a high threshold for pain is nothing compared to what some of my guests have been through. I found new heroes to look up to.
ELLE: Could you share a couple of anecdotes from putting together the podcast?
MS: I developed acute laryngitis a week before the recordings began and completely lost my voice. That was scary. And since the entire team was new and was working on an audio show for the first time in their lives, we had a lot of trial and error. But we treated the whole project like a giant adventure and had insane fun the whole time.
View this post on Instagram
ELLE: How can people be better allies to the LGBTQ community?
MS: By listening to their stories, by being tolerant, by being inclusive, by having generosity of spirit, by believing that at the end of the day, we are all one, and that we belong to a universal community. We have 10 episodes in season one and for each episode, I was dressed by either an LGBTQ designer or an LGBTQ ally designer. I just had to ask once and all of them were happy to send me their creations. This is a prime example of compassion and support.
