Priya Sharma and Sid Madiwale are Sydney-based content creators, best known for their lifestyle content amassing over 1.5 million TikTok followers, and as the co-creators of Dad’s Special Spice Mix. Priya was listed in The Daily Telegraph’s Top 25 Most Influential Indian-Australians in NSW list this month.
Social media is so present in our lives; as content creators, how do you disconnect?
Priya Sharma (PS): Sid and I consume content between 9am and 6pm, and then we go out, and make sure to have dinner together.
Sid Madiwale (SM): We’re not just consumers, we’re content creators which makes it more challenging, but there are clear times when we go ‘this is social media free’, for both consuming and creating.
PS: I think we call it our ‘outside time’; last night we had chai and went to a beautiful lookout… situations where you can’t be on your phone, like watching a movie in a cinema rather than Netflix.
As lifestyle content creators, how do you decide what goes online, and what doesn’t?
SM: The energy may be a little heightened, but largely what we do on social media and in real life is the same.
PS: Yes, whatever we do in life, we simply share it. If friends ask to hang out, we always ask if they want to be in today’s vlog.
SM: All the people we hang out with are very aware this is what we do; it’s so natural, there’s no script…you wouldn’t notice it’s happening. It’s just footage, and then when you come home and edit it, that’s when you tell the story. We’re fortunate to make content where we just get to do what we’re doing anyway. I think because we left our engineering jobs, the focus is on living the life we really want to, so that is the priority, and the content comes second.
@himynameispriyaFind someone who gives life to your inner child♬ original sound – Nathan
How do go about incorporating your Indian cultural identity online after years of repressing it?
SM: The content sort of evolved when we realised lots of audience were relating to [the experiences] we were talking about.
PS: When I was growing up, I watched a lot of Southeast Asian creators, and I could relate to them culturally, but I couldn’t find any Indian-Australian creators. I hope that we can be [representation] for young people, so they know there’s not just option A or option B, but a C, D, E, and F too. [I hope for them to] not be so scared of who we are and our culture, and to make it cool and [for them to feel] a bit more comfortable.
SM: I think language is the gateway, and when we start[ed] speaking Hindi, it allowed us to toggle between both cultures. I think we’re a bridge, and it’s great to see more representation on social media.
What’s something that you’re currently listening to/reading/playing/watching?
SM: We’re so excited to go watch Fighter, the new Hrithik Roshan movie! We’re taking my parents too.
@himynameispriyawe installed our WINDOW no.2#vanbuild♬ original sound – Priya Sharma
What’s a word that you like in a South Asian language, and what does it mean?Â
PS: I like the [Hindi] word ‘khoobsurat’ (beautiful), it’s very pretty.
SM: For me there’s lots of conversation around the word ‘hoga’ and ‘hoyega’; Priya says ‘hoyega’ and everyone says it’s ‘hoga’, so I’m trying to get to the bottom of this – which one is it?!
And finally: Soan Papdi or Papdi Chaat?
Priya Sharma and Sid Madiwale : Papdi Chaat!
SM: I prefer savoury over sweet, but if we could do both and have Papdi Chaat first, that’s ideal.
Read More: Priya Sharma: the South Asian Aussie spicing up social media
