In 2008, Pushkar Sharma watched in horror with the rest of the world as terrorists from Pakistan attacked various parts of Mumbai. “Watching that spectacular display of violence unfold was sickening,” says Sharma. “The extreme reactions that the attacks provoked were equally maddening.” With the idea of unity in mind, Sharma and his friend Sathya Sridharan created UNIFICATION, a show that would showcase the rich talents of both the Indian American and Pakistani American communities.

“We wanted to create a symbolically powerful event for people to rally and demonstrate for unity and peace in an effort to counter the hatred that was stoked during this attack,” he says. This year, Sharma and Sridharan planned a second year of UNIFICATION, featuring punk rockers, The Kominas, dream pop duo Fair and Kind, comedian Hari Kondabolu and themselves — a spoken word duo – BROWNSTAR Revolution. They all take the stage tonight at Joe’s Pub in Lower Manhattan in a show that spans August 14 and 15 – India and Pakistan’s respective independence days.

Sharma and Sridharan met at college, when Sharma was the director of a play that Sridharan tried out for. “Sathya certainly wasn’t a looker,” says Sharma, “but he had this awesome long hair that was perfect for the part.” The rest is BROWNSTAR history. The two went on to write and perform shows together that were a hybrid of theater and storytelling. With UNIFICATION 2010, Sharma and Sridharan hope to find even more fellow South Asian American artists and collaborate. “I think it’s very important that we stand united as a community,” says Sridharan. “Through the process of planning UNIFICATION 2010, we were able to work with an entire team of people across the country. And now we’re hearing word that people across the diaspora want to do something similar.”

“The purpose of UNIFICATION was to create a space where divisions are disarmed.  Where no matter where we were ‘from’ we were all sisters and brothers, grieving and celebrating and honoring our common past and future together,” says Sharma. In the spirit of UNIFICATION, proceeds from the show benefit South Asians Leading Together (SAALT), a non-profit that lobbies for the South Asian American community. After the recent floods in Pakistan, however, SAALT asked that half the proceeds benefit relief efforts “It’s going to be a really, really hot show,” says Sharma. “Our hope is that people have an incredible time.”

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Getting Down with BROWNSTAR

Pushkar Sharma (L) and Sathya Sridharan are BROWNSTAR Photo Credit: BROWNSTAR

Q: Who would play you guys in a Bollywood movie?
Pushkar: Well, I envision Sathya as more the clown character and myself as someone with gravitas – - so for him I would say Irrfan Khan. And as for me – well Shah Rukh Khan would no doubt be knocking at the door to play me, but I think all the directors would definitely cast me as a John Abraham. There’s the same wind blowing through my hair as blows in his…

Q: What’s your favorite Bollywood film?
Pushkar: I’m going to go with Omkara, because it’s such a badass film. Plus it has Saif Ali Khan and Bipasha!
Sathya: I don’t really watch Bollywood films, I’m more of a Tollywood man. I would say my favorite Tollywood film is Indian, which actually stars my cousin, Kamal Hassan.

Q: What are your plans for the rest of the summer?
A: We’re going to be performing next at “Faster Than the Speed of Light,” a play opening off-Broadway written, directed by and starring us. You can catch us there August 20-26.

Q: A performer who inspires you?
Pushkar: John Leguizamo because he’s smart, funny and compelling.
Sathya: Shakespear