S7 Ep 1 - Not Quite

Summary

True Fiction Project – S7 Ep 1: "Not Quite"

Host: Reenita Hora
Guest: Aneri Shah
Release Date: November 4, 2025

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Episode Overview

This vibrant episode of the True Fiction Project explores “Not Quite,” a comedy pilot by multifaceted creator Aneri Shah. With wit and emotional candor, Shah shares her zigzag journey from the expected path of a South Asian pre-med student to being a queer comedian, filmmaker, and passionate advocate for authentic self-expression. The conversation delves into her projects – the Eyebrow Queens podcast and the forthcoming semi-autobiographical “Not Quite” – examining the challenges and joys of reinvention, queer representation, and South Asian womanhood. The episode concludes, as always, with a creative fiction segment, dramatizing pivotal themes from Shah’s real-life experiences.

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Key Discussion Points

Aneri’s Creative Journey & Reinvention

• Early Life & Storytelling Roots
  • Aneri recalls being a lifelong reader and writer, starting at age three or four with cassette-aided books and imaginary audiences.
  • Despite her creative interests, family expectations as a South Asian led her towards pre-med in college.
  • “Because I’m South Asian, I was obviously pre med in college.” (03:42 – Aneri Shah)
• Career Detours & Finding Her Path
  • Dropped out of grad school amidst a quarter-life crisis, leaving medicine behind.
  • Entered advertising and tech (Bonobos, Shutterstock), then entrepreneurship, before returning to film and writing five years prior.
  • “[Film and storytelling is] where I was always meant to be.” (04:10 – Aneri Shah)

Eyebrow Queens: The Podcast

• Genesis and Concept
  • Sparked by pandemic relocation to LA and a hunger for artistic community, initially featuring informal interviews in her apartment.
  • The show became an extension of her pilot, fostering connection with non-conformist South Asians, especially queer women.
  • Unique “eyebrow” motif: “Because the eyes are windows to our soul, but the eyebrows are a window to our chaos.” (08:09 – Aneri Shah)
• Quirky Rituals & Cultural Bonds
  • Each episode asks guests about their "emotional relationship to their eyebrows"—surprisingly revealing and often humorous.
  • Renita shares a personal memory of learning to thread eyebrows alongside family stories, showing how beauty and identity intertwine.

"Not Quite": The Comedy Pilot

• Origin of the Title & Core Themes
  • Originally called “Lonely Girl”; the new title reflects shedding labels and embracing ambiguity:
    • “We are not quite anything. We're not quite gay, we're not quite South Asian.” (10:10 – Aneri Shah)
  • Inspired by her bisexual/queer awakening in her 30s, the show chronicles how tossing out old identities opens new possibilities.
  • “Strength is actually feeling emotion.” (12:22 – Aneri Shah)
• Semi-Autobiographical Storyline
  • Protagonist Lila (modeled on Aneri) blurts “I’m gay!” post-egg-freezing, blowing up her life and relationship.
  • The show follows her journey through queer reinvention, navigating romance, South Asian family expectations, and artistic ambition.
  • Lila’s friendship with Asma, a married Muslim friend, explores the push-pull between authenticity and performance in women’s relationships.
• Representation & South Asian Queer Visibility
  • Discussion highlights the dearth of queer South Asian women leads in American media:
    • “Can you think of one queer South Asian show?” (17:14 – Aneri Shah)
  • Addresses the complexities of owning one’s sexuality as a South Asian woman, and how “Not Quite” aims to break that barrier.

On Emotions, Sisterhood, and Adulting Outside Parental Influence

• From Constant Performing to Feeling
  • Shift from the entrepreneur’s mask to an artist’s vulnerability—“It’s not easy to figure out how to manage actually feeling emotion after a lifetime of saying, I don’t have any.” (12:07 – Aneri Shah)
• The Sisterhood Lens
  • Focus on friendship’s evolution as women “stop performing”—a call for emotional authenticity and self-inquiry beyond societal roles.
• Avoiding the Parental Gaze
  • Defends intentional minimization of parental storylines:
    • “There’s something powerful about a South Asian woman’s experience not being through just the lens of her parents… I want to establish them as adult women first.” (20:35 – Aneri Shah)
  • Host and guest agree: South Asian stories need space to explore adulthood and identity beyond family expectations.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Identity:
  • “We’re not ever quite anything. There’s actually success in admitting that we don’t know anything.” (10:48 – Aneri Shah)
• On Representation:
  • “It’s not just about putting a South Asian woman on the screen. It’s like, can you feel her? Can you feel her feelings?” (19:32 – Aneri Shah)
• On Emotional Truth:
  • “Strength is actually feeling emotion.” (12:22 – Aneri Shah)
• On Eyebrows as Metaphor:
  • “The eyes are windows to our soul, but the eyebrows are a window to our chaos.” (08:09 – Aneri Shah)
• On Parental Archetypes:
  • “Do you ever meet any of [Sex and the City’s] parents?” (20:35 – Aneri Shah)

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Notable Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Highlights/Details | |------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:20–04:21| Aneri’s nonlinear creative career | From pre-med to copywriting, tech, entrepreneurship, film | | 05:00–06:02| The documentary “I’m Doing My Job” | Story prompted by cousin's ER experience at peak COVID | | 06:16–07:54| Moving to LA & starting Eyebrow Queens | Building community, podcast concept, connecting with other artists | | 08:09–08:26| Eyebrow Queens naming story | Iconic quote about eyebrows & self-expression | | 10:02–11:24| “Not Quite” explained | Why the show’s about labels, reinvention, and not knowing | | 12:04–12:27| Emotional honesty as strength | Shift from performing to feeling | | 13:34–15:22| Characters & South Asian women’s friendship | Protagonist Lila, friend Asma, adulthood, women’s relationships | | 16:35–18:13| South Asian on-screen evolution | Mindy Kaling’s impact, lack of queer South Asian women representation| | 20:35–20:58| On parents in South Asian narratives | Prioritizing adult stories outside parental gaze | | 24:58–27:39| “Not Quite” fiction segment (trailer) | Dramatized scenes, humor, and the “I’m gay” egg-freezing moment |

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Podcast Fiction Segment: "Not Quite" Audio Story

[24:58–27:39] A lively, comedic dramatization inspired by Aneri’s life. Scenes weave together moments of awkward and honest queer coming-of-age, from the post-surgery gay-outing (“We got 14 eggs. I’m gay.”) to dating mishaps, friendship fallouts, and the raw humor of South Asian womanhood bucking convention. Themes include:

• Navigating new dating dynamics
• The discomfort (and comedy) of shedding old scripts
• Friendship strain and renewal
• The messiness and magic of being "not quite" anything

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Socials & Where to Find Aneri Shah

Instagram/TikTok: @QueenAneri (KWEENANERI)
Podcast: Eyebrow Queens (Queens spelled KWEENZ: @EyebrowKweens)
Streaming: Spotify, Apple, plus Instagram/TikTok
Open DMs for future guests and feedback.

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Final Reflections

This episode serves as an exuberant, vital look at the evolution of South Asian women’s stories—from expectation-burdened silence toward vibrant, emotionally resonant visibility. Shah’s work—across documentary, podcasting, and the invitingly offbeat “Not Quite”—insists on the full dimension of identity: messy, contradictory, unlabeled, and deeply felt.

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To connect, submit a story, or contribute as a writer:
www.renita.com/contact

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“It’s about time we walked the path.” (20:18 – Aneri Shah)

Transcript

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[Aneri Shah]

Even if someone says they're happy, sad, whatever, their eyes are saying one thing, eyebrows don't lie. And there was something so funny and weird about the name Eyebrow Queens and I just liked that. One, everybody has eyebrows. And two, I think they really are a mode of self expression. And then I started asking guests in every episode tell me your emotional relationship to your eyebrows. And I loved how people would answer that. It was so weird.

[Renita Hora (Intro Host)]

Welcome to the Tru Fiction Project, a podcast series that explores the origins of fiction. Every week we begin with an interview nonfiction followed by a creative piece, fiction inspired by something from the interview. The idea is to demonstrate, of course, that fiction is born out of our life experiences. Now here's your host, storyteller, author, public speaker, health and wellness expert, Renita Hora.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Welcome back to the True Fiction Project. I am your host, Rinita Hora and I have with me today a very special person. She is a writer, a comedian, a filmmaker. She is obsessed with telling stories about flawed, funny women. Because guess what? Perfect as we know, is boring. Does this sound like me? This does sound like me. Or perhaps it sounds like me when you know who I want to be when I grow up. This is Aneri Shah. She hosts the Eyebrow Queens, which is a salon style podcast where guests blurt out their truths. And she is developing Not Quite a comedy pilot about queer reinvention. And she has directed I'm Doing My Job, a wonderful feature featured documentary about women of color, er, physicians Set in the global pandemic. So without further ado, let me welcome Aneri. Hi, Aneri. Welcome to the True Fiction Project. Hi.

[Aneri Shah]

Thank you so much for having me. This is really fun.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

It is so great to have you on the show. And I'm particularly excited because I got to meet you the other day for the first time and wow, got to peek into your world and you're doing all of these fabulous, amazing things. Have you been doing them like since time immemorial, whatever that means.

[Aneri Shah]

You know, I definitely have always been a reader and a writer since I was three or four years old. I actually learned how to read through when I was growing up, those books that had those cassettes that would play the book alongside the cassette. So that's how I learned how to read. And then I would read out loud to imaginary audiences when I was young. But as a career, because I'm South Asian, I was obviously pre med in college.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Obviously, obviously.

[Aneri Shah]

And then dropped out of grad school and had like a total mental breakdown when I was 22. I'm like, I don't want to be a doctor. And I got a job as a copywriter at this company called Bonobos in New York. And from that I went into the like kind of e commerce tech world for a while and then I worked at Shutterstock for a little while and then that led to me running a startup for many years. And I came back to the film, TV writing and storytelling world about five years ago when I started the documentary. And I think this is where I was always meant to be. And you know, I think the other things I've done in my life will help my stories.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Oh my gosh, absolutely. And what amazing success to go from one piece to the next, you know, in rapid succession, by the sounds of it, kind of.

[Aneri Shah]

It was like a few. Maybe this is the. I don't know, I like novelty and people. So yes, I arrived.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

You arrived. So you were working for Bonobos as a copywriter, you said okay. And that's what got you started or led to your making the documentary, is that right?

[Aneri Shah]

No, when I started the documentary, actually, which by the way, I didn't think it was going to be a documentary when I started. I was living in New York and I was running a video advertising agency at the time, helping brands make short form video ads. So I did have access to a pretty large network of video editors and creators that were part of our network. And my cousin was working on the front lines in Brooklyn actually as an ER physician and she was Two days back from maternity leave when the lockdown started. I think it was March 12, 2020. And one morning on the way to work, I think it was six in the morning, she called me on the way to work and she had pulled over on the Brooklyn Bridge and she was having a panic attack. And she told me, you know, my boss just emailed me and told me that I have to make a will.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Oh my God.

[Aneri Shah]

And get my affairs in order in case something happens to me and my husband. And she said to me, will you take my son if something happens to both of us?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Yeah, it's really touching. I did watch the documentary. I saw the very touching scenes of her son, her husband. You interviewed her parents. I can see it from her point of view, just how scary that must be. I think he was five months old or something at the time.

[Aneri Shah]

That's crazy. I just base him and he just turned six. Hi, Jaden.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Yes, Jaden, exactly. Amazing. And then you moved out to California and is that when you started Eyebrow Queens?

[Aneri Shah]

Yeah. So kind. My journey has been winding. I moved out here and I was still running my agency. I still did not think of myself as an artist. Basic mentality. I was like, I have to do something that makes money, it feeds into capitalism. But I moved out here and I think something really special happens sometimes when you move to la, which is that you meet other artists and you realize you're one of them. You're like, oh, I want to tell stories. And so that's when I started writing, not quite my pilot and then the writers strike happened. Right. Just as I started pitching this pilot, I wrote about my own life in New York. The strike happened. And the reason I started Eyebrow Queensland, I actually just wanted to keep collaborating with people and I moved here and even though there was a strike going on, I was still meeting so many different types of people. And so actually originally Eyebrow Queens just started out of me wanting to interview people. And so I shot the first few episodes just in my apartment. I would invite people over, we would sit on my couch and we would just like bullshit. We talk about whatever and. But I was really good at it and I really enjoyed it and so.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Right.

[Aneri Shah]

I love bullshit. I liked how I could get things out, you know, I not quite as about my own life and my own queer reinvention. And so ultimately with the podcast, I just really enjoy talking to non conformist South Asian people about how they're living their life and how they're connecting to people and what they're doing. And I love queer Women who are brown. And so it became an extension of my pilot. And I realized that as I started pitching my pilot, that the podcast became an interesting tool for people to be able to find my voice.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

So this is very interesting. Why eyebrows? Because we are threading people. Aveen.

[Aneri Shah]

It was not the most logical decision. I just. After four or five episodes, I hadn't even named it. When I started recording, I was just recording using my phone in my apartment and a tripod and with Mohammed, my sound guy. Hi, Mohammed. Shout out to Muhammad. I was sitting in a bar one night and I was like, I know the name. It's Eyebrow Queensland. And my friend said, why? I'm like, because the eyes are windows to our soul, but the eyebrows are a window to our chaos.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

I love that.

[Aneri Shah]

I was like, even if someone says they're happy, sad, whatever, their eyes are saying one thing, eyebrows don't lie. And there was something so funny and weird about the name Eyebrow Queens, and I just liked that. One, everybody has eyebrows. And two, I think they really are a mode of self expression. And then I started asking guests in every episode and tell me your emotional relationship to your eyebrows. And I loved how people would answer that. It was so weird. So I just liked.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

It is truly amazing. One of my earliest memories in life is when I was a young child, my mother, watching her thread her eyebrows, she would have one end of the thread, like tied to a mirror or something. And then, you know, she would be, you know, I was like, that looks like a skill I need to learn. Which I did over the years and used and then had stopped using. But it's ironic that you mention it because my nephew is starting a razor blade brand. This is, you know, our historic sort of family business, and it sort of died at this point, but he's sort of reinventing it. And he just told me the other day, I'm going to trademark your name, by the way. I'm just letting you know because I want to name the eyebrow razor after you. I was like, okay, that's very specific. Because I have good eyebrows. Or you do have good eyebrows for an aging woman. Not bad. Yeah, I will give you that. Thank you.

[Aneri Shah]

We're all aging, Renita.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

You're right about that. My gosh. So I love the fact that literally, it's one thing has led to another, and it is the podcast that has led to your pilot. Not quite.

[Aneri Shah]

Yeah.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

So tell us about not quite. Not quite what? Tell us in your.

[Aneri Shah]

That's a great question. So I. Not quite was. It's a Title that was kind of born out of the earth. The show used to be called Lonely Girl, but then I just over time realized it's not about loneliness. It's actually about the shedding of labels. Like, we are not quite anything. We're not quite gay, we're not quite South Asian. And what I mean by that is, for me, I realized I was bisexual, queer, whatever, in my early 30s. And it was a crazy moment. Not just because it wasn't just about me realizing I also like to date women. That was one part of it. It also made me look back at my life and think, what assumptions have I made about myself or what labels have I assigned to myself that maybe just don't apply anymore? And it's made me much more open to this idea that we can throw out the script and start over at any time we want. And that doesn't mean we're faking it. It just means we're allowing ourselves to embody who we actually are. So, like, not quite, as this just whimsical way of kind of pointing out, like, we're not ever quite anything. And I think in South Asian culture, we often, especially South Asian American culture, we are looking for answers. We want definition, we want success. And I think there's something really fun about a South Asian woman creator being like, there's actually success in admitting that we don't know anything.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Oh, my gosh. Absolutely. And, you know, I really love that you have said that, Aneri, because I think women in general, South Asian women in particular, we have this mask that we must wear. We must look to the world like we have it all together. Right. Even if we don't even. We're crumbling inside or we're desperately nervous or desperately fearful, which is a lot of the time speaking on behalf of everyone without asking their permission. But it's never okay to say, I don't feel good, or, you know, it's not going well.

[Aneri Shah]

Yeah. I, you know, look, in my life as an entrepreneur, I always kept it together on the outside.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Yeah.

[Aneri Shah]

As an artist, especially an artist that makes content about herself, I don't have that luxury anymore because if I feel something, I have to feel it. And that's been a tremendous strength. But also it's challenging. It's not easy to figure out how to manage actually feeling emotion after a lifetime of saying, I don't have any and thinking, strength is not feeling emotion. Strength is actually feeling emotion.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Feeling the emotion. Exactly.

[Aneri Shah]

Yeah. And I think, you know, not quite the inciting incident is all about me waking up from my egg freezing and blurting out I'm gay to my doctor, which happened in real life. But ultimately it's really about how does a South Asian woman in her 30s navigate life without the script? And how do all the many traumas that happened in her life, because it's not just one. Right. It's all of them. How do those inform the decisions she makes as she actually self actualizes? And where's the comedy in that? I think that's really fun. Right. Kind of like a fleabag meets broad city, but through a South Asian woman's lens is very fun.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Amazing, Amazing. And you know, I resonate with this so much because my daughter, who is not quite 30 yet, but 27, so well on her way, is a complete, complete fish out of the water in India, where she has just moved to. So it sounds like she's from your show.

[Aneri Shah]

It does. I think she'll be. I mean, she's not quite 30.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Right.

[Aneri Shah]

I think there is something about probably like what she thought it would be and then what it's actually going to be and then your perspective on what it's going to be for her. I think there's so much humor in your daughter. Reverse immigrating to back to Mumbai.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Not quite Indian, but tell us about the show. You are the protag or the protagonist, I should say, is based upon you.

[Aneri Shah]

Based off of me? Yes, based off of you.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Okay, tell us more.

[Aneri Shah]

Yeah, so her name is Lila right now. Although, you know, I have toyed with the idea of what if I just changed her name to Aneri, Right? Like Issa Rae or Mindy Kaling. I don't know, we'll see. But yeah, it starts with her waking up and blurting out I'm gay. And it blows up her relationship with the man she's been dating for a very long time. And then we see her start to navigate dating women and then also navigate what happens when I always thought my life was going to be marry a man, have two kids, make my parents proud, live this life. And in her life, she's a comedian and storyteller. As she navigates dating women for the first time, you see this kind of expansion of Lila's universe around it's not just about am I dating women? But it's what do I actually want to be doing with my life? Like, do I want kids with a man? Do I want kids with a woman? Do I want to be a single mom? What is it that I want? And she starts to express these things and then meanwhile, her best friend Asma, who she's known, you know, they're both from Detroit, Michigan, where I grew up and where there's a really large South Asian population and a really big Muslim population. So I show how, you know, her best friend Asma is married to Amer, who is her very handsome doctor husband. And they have this kind of perfect marriage on the outside, but on the inside, there's, you know, kind of all the different, like, problems we see in a typical marriage where, oh, my husband's not emotionally available. And that sometimes makes me sad. But that's just how men are. That's just how men are.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Right.

[Aneri Shah]

I show how their friendship changes and evolves as Lila starts to come into her own. Because I think one of the core themes of the show is also about South Asian women's sisterhood and friendship.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Right, interesting.

[Aneri Shah]

I really wanted to explore how their friendship evolves as Lila stops performing and Asma continues to perform. So I think that's going to be a really fun part of the show because I myself have experienced that in many different forms with my own South Asian community. And I think that theme more universally applies to women's friendships at large. Right. Like, I think that we have historically been told who we should be, and in this era, so many women are waking up and saying, but who am I, really? And so I think that part of the show I'm so excited to explore and all the different fights that happen. Like the Jagra, right?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Yeah, the Jagra, exactly. So, you know, what's particularly exciting about this for me, and again for South Asians and for America, is that, you know, we've really seen this evolution of the South Asian on screen. When I came to this country years ago, at this point, Daves before the dinosaurs is what it seems like. You know, there was nothing. There was no one. There was like, you'd be lucky if you got sort of a background role in something, you know, Then there was, like, the era of Mindy Kaling, which in and of itself just changed everything from, you know, being a supporting character on the Office.

[Aneri Shah]

Thank you, Mindy.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Yeah, exactly. Thank you big time. See, where, you know, not just she has come today, but where she has brought the community of South Asian creatives. Really, I think we owe it to her.

[Aneri Shah]

You know, she opened the heaviest door.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Yeah.

[Aneri Shah]

She's like, please walk through it, please.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Exactly. And it's others. It's not just her, but, you know, she's always my front and center example. And we have seen South Asians sort of get out of their comfort zone. If you will, and explore things. We've seen it on her shows, other shows, but we haven't seen, correct me if I'm wrong, a full blown queer South Asian woman, have we?

[Aneri Shah]

Can you think about it? Can you think of one?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

No.

[Aneri Shah]

It's so funny you say that because literally the other day I was telling a friend, I'm like, I just watched the show Hunting Wives, which is super hot, by the way. If you are not gay, you will watch the show and you'll be gay afterwards.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Okay.

[Aneri Shah]

It is about these women in the south that, and, and a lot of it, they're like hooking up with each other and, and they're all very like, beautiful. And I was telling someone, I'm like, oh my God, it so funny. I'm going on a date with a woman this week. And we actually talked about Hunting Wives as like whatever. It was a whole thing. And he made some comment like, oh, but they're women in the south, like, how could you relate to that?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Right?

[Aneri Shah]

And I told him, I'm like, first of all, if I could only relate to people that looked like me, who would be my example?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Devi.

[Aneri Shah]

And never have I ever. Who is there? Right? But yeah, there is. It made me really reflect on. Even though everybody thinks like, oh, we've come so far in queer representation. I'm like, can you think of one queer South Asian show? And maybe with men, we do have some. Right. We have a nice Indian boy, which is amazing.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Right.

[Aneri Shah]

We don't have as many with South Asian women. And I think in particular it's because as South Asian women, even though we're the birthplace of the Kama Sutra in America, I think we still feel like we're not supposed to own our own sexuality. And so that feels very scary to be doing on screen.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Yeah. And I would argue that even in India, I think I don't know how many of us women, queer or heterosexual, actually own our sexuality, as you say, you know, because there's always these constraints and boundaries and you know, that mask I must wear every day. And this is definitely part of that.

[Aneri Shah]

We're taught to serve men. So even beyond sexuality, if you decide that you are only dating women or you want to date women, the added difficulty becomes then what do men mean in my life?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Exactly?

[Aneri Shah]

And how do I navigate that restructuring of the narrative? And I think that will be really fun to explore and not quite, I.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Think, oh my gosh, I can't wait. What I love about this show is you're taking so many of those known experiences Tropes, scenarios, and just I can see you turning them on their heads.

[Aneri Shah]

Yeah, I live for that. Well, there's something about. I think. I don't want to say I don't care about representation. I care a lot. But I think that maybe my superpower is feeling my emotions. And I think in that the content I make is always going to be resonant in some way. And I think my thing that I can do for our community is that. And, like, it's not just about putting a South Asian woman on the screen. It's like, can you feel her? Can you feel her feelings? Can you feel her emotionality? And I think even in the documentary, you can kind of feel that.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Yeah, absolutely. So representation, the South Asian.

[Aneri Shah]

The South Asian emotional representation.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Emotional representation. The South Asian queer woman. The transgression from pre med to, you know, queer comedian. I mean, it's.

[Aneri Shah]

And all the steps, it happens gradually. And all of a sudden, one day you're like, what happened?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Exactly.

[Aneri Shah]

Yeah.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

And then next thing you say is, well, it's about time.

[Aneri Shah]

It's about time. It's about time we walked the path. And, you know, one question I get asked a lot, I'm curious is like, I don't put a lot of parents in my work. And I get this all the time. Like, how come you don't have a scene with her parents? And I'm like, okay, you watched Sex and the City. Do you ever meet any of their parents? And I'm like, I think there's something powerful about a South Asian woman's experience not being through just the lens of her parents. Like, I'm not opposed to having parents in there, but I want to establish them as adult women first.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Absolutely. I could not support that more. Yes. I think we all need to get away from our parents. That's the one thing that haunts us and the community, I think, and will until doomsday if we don't change it. So, okay, so I am very excited about watching the trailer to your show. That's what we're gonna do in the story section, in the fiction section. But before we segue to that, answ us where we can find you your socials or, you know, how to follow you.

[Aneri Shah]

Okay, so my Instagram is Queenaneri Queen spelled K W E E N and Anari spelled A N E R I. So that's where you can kind of find my personal Instagram and my personal TikTok, and then also follow my podcast, it's Eyebrow Queens. So Eyebrow, you know how to spell and Then Queens spelled K, W, E, E, N, Z. We are on Instagram and TikTok and then also Spotify, Apple. But if you follow our Instagram, I would love to know what you think of our content. And also if you want to be a guest, my DMs are open. Always feel free to reach out to me, but that is where you can find me online.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Amazing. Queen Aneri.

[Aneri Shah]

Queen Aneri.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Queen Aneri Shah.

[Aneri Shah]

Aneri is not a very common name. Right. Even if you just type in Anari, you might be able to find me.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Since you mentioned that, I'm going to have to ask you that actually, before we close the show. Yeah. Speaking of parents and not talking about them, how did they think to name you? Aneri?

[Aneri Shah]

Actually, so my. And I don't know if this is Gujarati culture or South Asian culture, but at least in our family, the tradition was the dad's sister names names. The daughter. Is that Gujarati or is that just a thing?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

I think it might be Gujarati. Yeah. It's not.

[Aneri Shah]

If it's not, I'm sorry, I don't. But my dad's sister, she heard the name somewhere and she loved it. So she told my parents and they loved it too. So they decided Anari. And it means unique. I love the name. I think it's fitting. I like that it is easy for people to pronounce. But then also I'm learning that it's actually Aneri, not Anari. So, yeah, that's how I got named as my dad's sister chose it.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Amazing. And I am a very, very strong believer in that. We are all named for a pur. And, you know, one of our missions in life is living up to the purpose of your name, whatever your name might be, whoever you are. So, Aneri, you are indeed very, very unique.

[Aneri Shah]

Almost on the nose. It's like very on the nose, but I like it.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

But in a good way.

[Aneri Shah]

In a good way.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Loved having you on the show. Thank you for joining us today on the True Fiction Project. This is Aneri Shah. She is a writer, a comedian, a filmmaker, and a very unique human being.

[Aneri Shah]

Thank you for having me. I'm so glad we met.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Likewise. This is the True Fiction Project and I am your host, Rinita Hora.

[Ali Jackson]

If you're a podcast host, listen up. This one's for you. My name is Ali Jackson. I'm the host of Finding Mr. Height, a dating and relationship podcast that I've been doing for four years now, sharing my positive and practical approach to dating that's built on my own life experience. And I wanted to share another experience that I've had. My secret behind monetizing my show. It's called Red Circle. And I was just telling my colleague about how much I love their platform platform. With Red Circle, not only am I getting a seamless hosting experience, but I also love the support I receive in ad sales. It's not just typical ad sales either. It's targeted opportunities based on my show and my life. And the platform is super simple. You just set your preferences, and Red Circle matches you with sponsors that align with your show. You can vet every opportunity, and their platform gives you great analytics. More recently, too, my Red Circle team has brought me opportunities outside of my podcast on social media to really augment the podcast partnerships. Bring them full circle. I just can't recommend them enough. If you want to give it a try, go to Redcircle to get your free trial. That's redcircle.com for a free trial.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

And now to the premise of the True Fiction project, which, of course, is to create fiction out of Nonfiction.

[Aneri Shah]

We got 14 eggs. I'm gay.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Your boyfriend, he's live tweeting, the whole thing going viral. Babe, over here.

[Aneri Shah]

Okay, so for those of you who were listening last week, you know that I'm kind of gay now. I finally feel like myself, but I'm realizing that I kind of suck. All of a sudden, I went knowing exactly what I wanted to, knowing literally nothing. I don't like being single at this age. I feel old. Whenever my mustache starts growing in. I feel like I have to come in. You've come a lot more then really?

[Ali Jackson]

I think so.

[Aneri Shah]

You're very hairy. I feel inexperienced. I don't feel equipped to date women. Oh, my God, Asma. I went on the most amazing dates. You're kissing. And I started fingering her. And she called me the next morning, and she told me that what I was doing was hurting her. And literally, Asma, I'm like, what, am I, like, the me too now? And honestly, the more painful thing that my breakup has been dealing with, not having my best friend there, like, I don't feel like she's happy for me. I was thinking of opening up my dating apps to women. I mean, that feels.

[Ali Jackson]

Feels drastic.

[Aneri Shah]

No, like, this is a thing. It's like, it kind of highlights the things that might be wrong in her marriage. My friends are on baby number two, double click on my computer, and I'm this, like, weird geriatric millennial. I haven't had to be alone in four years, haven't showered in three days. I don't remember how to make coffee. I haven't had to kill a spider. I think that was like worth pretending to be straight for. I don't want to be single. I don't really want to be gay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's okay. Big changes. Huge. That really what you're wearing? Giving drug addict. Why does every hot brown girl end up with the most mid white man? I do love that this is every night for us forever.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

We just want you to be happy.

[Aneri Shah]

Doesn't seem like it. What are you looking for? More fun? More consideration?

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

More love.

[Aneri Shah]

Do you like fully gay now?

[Renita Hora (Intro Host)]

This is so cool.

[Renita Hora (Interview Host)]

Here at the True Fiction Project we are always looking for great stories that make for compelling fiction. So if you have a great story or know somebody who does, or if you are a writer who would like to contribute, then please do get in touch with [e-mail] contact.

[Renita Hora (Intro Host)]

Thank you for listening to the True Fiction Project with Renita Hora. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter to receive more inspiring stories showing how fiction is born from our everyday experiences. For more information visit www.truefictionproject.com.