Several members of the South East Asian community are making a mark in North America. Two of them are Daanish Dhansi and DJ Skillz (aka Faisal Keen). While Daanish Dhansi is a Bollywood Celebrity Coordinator, DJ Skillz is one of the most popular Bollywood DJs.
Daanish Dhansi, a Canadian Ismaili, started as a dancer at a young age and performed at various community events in the North American country. He slowly moved up and started managing Bollywood celebrities for shows and promotions. Some of the successful shows that he was a part of were Dream Team Star Concert Bollywood 2016, comprising Badshah, Parineeti Chopra, Sidharth Malhotra, Katrina Kaif, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur. These stars performed in various cities of the USA like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Orlando, Los Angeles, etc.. He even made his presence felt at the DA-BANGG – The Tour Reloaded tours featuring Salman Khan and several other celebrities.
Currently, Daanish Dhansi continues to work with multiple artists of Bollywood and also gives daily updates on Bollywood for those who do not have access to their favourite movie stars. His Instagram handle @bollywoodblogger has 19,000 plus followers while his Facebook page, Daanish The Bollywood Blogger, is followed by more than 20,000 people.
Daanish Dhansi stated, “It feels heartening that despite being thousands of miles away from Mumbai, the hub of Bollywood, I have been able to contribute to the industry. I enjoy managing concerts and welcoming our favourite stars here. At the same time, the diaspora has given me a lot of love for my work. It only encourages me to do better.”
DJ Skillz, meanwhile, began DJ-ing in 1996 and hosted his first event in Dallas in 1997 with the world-famous performer and DJ, Bally Sagoo. This was a time when there were not many ‘desi’ DJs in Texas or the whole of the USA, for that matter. Hence, he rose with each passing year. As a DJ, he’s performed nationally and internationally and has produced music for the late Taz (who sang ‘It’s Magic’ in Koi Mil Gaya) of Stereo Nation. Besides Taz, he has also shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the industry.
In 2022, DJ Skillz launched his Event Management company named Level Ten Events (LVL X Events). The next year, he held two successful events, one with Yo Yo Honey Singh in May and one with Mika Singh in August. The mantra of his company is ‘Unforgettable Stars, Unparalleled Events: Where Dreams Take Center Stage!’ and he wants to make sure that he follows it in spirit.
Music and entertainment have always been DJ Skillz’ passion and it shows with every event he hosts. He said, “Just hosting celebrities for a concert is not enough. It’s the overall experience you give to the audience with extra excitement that they remember. They should experience the ‘feel good’ moment which they’ll fondly recall 5 or 10 years from now.”
