It was Sharma's first big record and claimed the #1 spot on the BBC Asian Music Chart. Sharma's father, a videographer, would record weddings, birthdays and parties for members of the city's South Asian community, and would recommend his son to do the DJing. Sathish Bala, the CEO and founder of DesiFest, an annual South Asian music festival in Toronto, points to a major cultural milestone being the 2009 film Slumdog Millionaire. "When it came out, it had a very interesting soundtrack that nobody was used to: the blend of EDM and hip hop beats into South Asian music." Now entering its fifteenth year, DesiFest has grown by leaps and bounds alongside Canada's roster of South Asian musicians.

Source: CBC News March 07, 2021 09:00 UTC