Sofia Ashraf is an Indian rapper, singer, songwriter, filmmaker and content creator. She is also a social activist, known for her songs “Don’t Work for Dow” released in 2008 and “Kodaikanal Won’t” released in 2015, which criticized companies for being careless and failing to clean up industrial accidents.
Wiki/Biography
Sofia Thenmozhi Ashraf was born in 1987 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (35 years old as of 2022). Sofia studied Islamic history and philosophy. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design and Decoration from Justice Bashir Ahmed Saeed College for Women, Chennai. She ranked first in college. After completing her BA in 2007, she went on to pursue an MA in Graphic Design from Stella Maris College, Chennai. In addition to being one of the top students in her class, she was active in extracurricular activities while in college.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′2″
Weight (approximately): 45kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Sophia was born into an orthodox Malayali Muslim family in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
sophia and her family
husband
Sofia married Bilal Ansari on May 7, 2022.
Sophia and her husband Bilal Ansari
Relationships/Affairs
Sofia and Bilal Ansari reportedly started dating in 2020. They met during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Profession
rapper
Sofia started rapping at the age of 18. She attended a college music festival, rapping to lyrics she wrote based on society’s behavior toward Muslims after the 2001 suicide terrorist attacks on the United States by Islamic extremist al-Qaeda. She performed on stage wearing a hijab, which led to her being dubbed the “burqa rapper.” Her first performance was at Justice Rocks, an initiative that uses art and music to criticize corporate globalization and discrimination.
singles
In her 2008 song “Don’t Work for Dow,” she denounced multinational chemical company Dow Chemical for failing to provide compensation to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. She became popular with the song “Kodaikanal Won’t” released in 2015. In the song’s music video, she highlights and criticizes the issue of mercury contamination at a thermometer factory in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, owned by multinational consumer goods company Unilever. The song is based on the song “Anaconda” by Nicki Minaj. The video has been viewed more than 4 million times on YouTube. The song highlighted the issue, and the company provided compensation to 591 former employees.
In June 2016, she released “Dow vs. Bhopal: a Toxic Rap Battle”. On the YouTube channel “Blush”, she launched a series called “Sista From The South” and released the song “Any Good News” in 2016. In the same year, she released the song “Tam-Brahm”. In 2017, she wrote a song called “I Can’t Do sexy.” She has posted several music and comedy videos on YouTube that showcase social issues and issues faced by women.
Movie
She wrote and rapped the lyrics for the popular song “Jiya Re” from the 2012 film “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”. She has also composed lyrics for Kollywood films like “Maryan” (2013) and “Inimey Ippadithan” (2015). In “Inimey Ippadithan”, she rapped and wrote the lyrics for the song “Athana Azhagayum”. In 2020, she rapped in the title track “Gimme Your Kela” of the short film Miyan “Biwi Aur Banana”. The song was released to promote Saathi sanitary napkins, which are 100% biodegradable and made from banana fiber, in celebration of International Women’s Day.
cooperate
In 2015, she released the song “Deen” in collaboration with singer-songwriter Maalvika Manoj. The music video for the track was released in 2020 as part of the “Caffenol 7266” project. In 2020, G. Logan and Sofia collaborated to release the song “Let Chennai Breathe”, asking the health minister to clean up Chennai’s polluted air.
director and producer
In 2016, she started working as a Consulting Producer at Culture Machine Media Pvt. The media company has a YouTube channel called “Blush” under which she started a series called “Sista From The South.” She creates music and comedy videos based on the identity of the modern Indian woman. She writes, produces, performs, raps, designs, directs and edits her episodes. She has written and directed for actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kalki Koechlin, Taapsee Pannu, Shruti Hassan, Richa Chadda and many more.
Awards and nominations
- Won the title of Young Creative Person of the Year at the Ogilvy India Hero Awards in 2013
- South Asia Agency of the Year Awards 2014 South Asia Young Achiever of the Year Finalist
- Won the Best Script Award at the Bilbao International Animation Community Festival in 2017
Favorites
- Song: “Beirut” by Ibrahim Malouf
- Travel destination: Pushkar, Tokyo
Facts/Trivia
- Sofia is also known as the “burqa rapper”.
- In an interview, when asked if she wanted to be anything else besides a rapper and author, she replied:
There are a lot of things I want to do and have the privilege and privilege to try them too. From animation dubbing to writing greeting cards. Event management, PR, design, editing, culinary shows, theatre, dance, teaching. I’ve been involved in so many careers that I’ve grown gills. In this hodgepodge of careers, filmmaking has always been the career that interests me the most. I dream of becoming a director one day and who knows, I might achieve that goal. ”
- She is fluent in English and French. She can speak Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi at a conversational level.
- She enjoys sketching and regularly posts photos of her paintings on social media.
- In an interview, when asked whether she wanted to retire or continue working until she could, she said,
I used to live day to day, project to project. I work three jobs at the same time. I didn’t even take a Sunday off and worked every Eid and national holiday. Then I turned 30 and my body decided to take a belated sick day. I was physically and emotionally shattered. I used to be someone who over-romanticized busyness. Now, I value rest. I would like to retire one day, but I do hope I keep writing.
- Sofia has a different approach when she raps. Unlike other rappers who talk about partying and alcohol, her songs spread awareness about health and the environment. Talking about this, she said:
Rap has become synonymous with daaru, botal, ladki – courtesy of the Delhi rap scene. Honey Singh actually started by rapping Bhagat Singh. But the audience refused to accept it. So these people continue to write about alcohol and women. But with the popularity of “Kodaikanal Won’t,” I think audiences are starting to accept that rap doesn’t have to be just a misogynistic medium. I hope the entertainment industry will also take notice and realize that rap doesn’t need to be branded like the art form it is today. It goes back to its original roots, rap being a medium of rebellion.
- In 2007, she started working as a copywriter at ITC Limited and as a junior copywriter at Convex Studios. She also worked as a creative consultant for Exodus Events for five months in 2009.
- In 2009, she worked as a voice artist in the Nickelodeon show Ninja Hatori, voicing the character Yumeko.
- In February 2009, she started working as a freelance reporter at The Times of India; she worked there for more than a year.
- In 2013, she worked as a screenwriter at 9th Step Entertainment. She has adapted two English plays for the musical stage, “Aladdin” and “Sister Act.”
- She served as creative director at Ogilvy for five years (2010 to 2015). She has trained and supervised juniors and served in production roles such as finding directors, musicians, voice actors, actors and artists, coordinating with studios and final supervision, doing voiceovers and writing lyrics.
- She worked as a musician and project manager at AR Rahman for 8 years. She works in lyric writing, rapping, video editing, social media, costume design, stage design and project management.
- In 2018, she started working as a creative consultant at JANRISE ADVERTISING PVT. Ltd. She was tasked with upgrading and strategizing brands such as Continental Coffee, Ratnadeep Supermarkets and Birla Shakti Cement.
- In 2020, she served as creative director at The Rabbit Hole in Mumbai for over a year. At this company, she directed 120 videos in 20 months. She promotes, conceptualizes and delivers content videos for brands including Netflix and Tinder. Her work experience includes roles as creative strategist, writer, video director and creative executive.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education