Menu
Crown The Brown: Janu Kanneganti
The Crown The Brown community has taken a step into the world of Janu Kanneganti. Our Desi community is filled with amazing people. We love sharing their stories. Janu collaborates with so many content creators, being one herself. She loves embracing her culture in creative ways. Similarly, known for thinking outside of the box . Hence, always adding her own pinch of flavor in everything that she does. We decided to find out more about this amazing young lady, here is what she shared with us!
Janu Dimpu, as delightful as the name! Tell us more about yourself. How would you describe yourself?
A very funny, yet common misconception is that my name is in fact not Janu Dimpu. My legal name is Jahnavi Kanneganti alias Janu. Dimpu is my sister’s nickname . Always a shocking fun fact to people. I’m based in Dallas, TX of the Plano/Frisco/Richardson suburbia. I currently attend the University of Texas at Dallas, majoring in Health care Studies. The most mind boggling question of them all. How would you describe yourself? From my eyes, I see myself as a striving community member, trying to reach out for inspiration using my creative potentials and capabilities.
You are known for having some amazing collaborations that are unique and have a certain meaning behind them. When did you start these projects of collaboration and what inspired this amazing art?
In the summer, a friend of mine encouraged me to open up my talents to the public eye. This was the culmination of a small backend/behind the scenes group consisting of content creators across the United States. This was the root cause for my visions to come to life.
Embracing your culture is surely something you have done so well on your platform, how do you embrace your culture in a western world and how do people perceive it publicly?
I personally believe that I am so lucky to have been born into my culture. This was not an option for me—and it’s the best decision fate has ever made for me. Embracing my roots in a western world was a huge struggle that I overcame—simply by accepting how great and rich the traditions are. The public perceives it as they want to; some positive and some negative. But in my world, I perceive it as a blessing that I was able to find this balance between my love for my culture and my identity as an American Indian.
What do you think is the biggest challenge you face as a South Asian female in society?
I think the most powerful words in that question are “South Asian female”—which also answers it. For so many generations, females were looked down upon as the weaker sex. Breaking barriers, standing up to the society, and creating paths were all considered masculine tasks. Being raised in the 21st century by an ambitious mother and an inspiring father, I’ve never felt any less of a human than I am, simply for being female.
Most powerful women are looked down upon as being “bossy” and “conniving”, and being South Asian only adds fuel to the fire due to the social constricts and standards. However, surrounding myself with positivity and growth devalues the negative and nasty looks from people. Female empowerment is a movement of strong hope for the society that shouldn’t be hindered because of backward thinking.
What impact do you wish to leave on your audience and how do you wish to inspire your audience?
I want every single one of my audience to feel as inspired as I am when I do something I love/get in my zone. It’s a feeling of absolute satisfactory from all of life itself. These moments in life can’t be store-bought. It’s about doing something because your heart wants you to and it’s about following through with it because your brain wants you to. I strongly urge people to find one hobby/past time that makes you forget that you’re living but rather just being, effortlessly, yet thriving simultaneously.
What would you say is your favorite collaboration and how did it influence your platform?
I don’t have a favorite collaboration because every step of the journey is bright and beautiful on it’s own. Anything I do, I only do because I want to and it’s my absolute favorite. Therefore choosing between those would not do justice to my other visions. However, a common reaction I get from the public is “are you allowed to do that?” “your parents let you do that?” At first, this came as quite a shock to me that there are creative minds out there that are being suppressed. I slowly came to realize how incredibly blessed I was to be in an environment with friends and family that want to see me succeed. That is when I decided that my projects would serve as positive inspirations for young creative minds to follow their passion—despite the dirty disapprovals.
Being South Asian, what are you proud of the most and why?
My skin. Something that’s made me feel very unique and often times, an outcast too. South Asian, for me is more than just an identity. It’s a way of life, it’s what I find the most comfort in being.
What do you enjoy the most regarding shoots and what do you find the most challenging?
If you know me, you know I always say “I’m done” or “I’m retired”, yet I find myself working on another concept. I love that my hunger for producing content never dies. That is what I enjoy the most regarding shoots. The most difficult challenge is communicating between all the individuals involved in the shoot and getting them on board. Having a vision is one thing, but having everybody on board with that vision is completely different and difficult. Human minds perceive things to its own taste and capability, therefore having to communicate ‘a concept’ to the team is a challenge. But it’s not something I didn’t overcome.
Who is your role model and why? What inspires you about this person?
Deepica Mutyala. Everyone who knows me, knows this. Not a day goes by where I don’t talk about her, take inspiration from her, or strive to be like her. There was a small moment of online interaction between her and I and needless to say, that was the best day of my life. Deepica, like me, is a south Asian female, who works in LA as a beauty blogger. She recently started TINTED, a platform for POC to break beauty barriers, to make the underrepresented feel more represented and be more represented. This platform is a huge culmination of growth and positive energy. One day, I want to be able to influence women around the world to love themselves for who they are rather than be what the society loves for them to be.
As someone who is so ambitious and filled with such creativity, what advice do you have for other content creators and creative souls out there that are struggling to identify their purpose and platform?
Surround yourself with people that see the potential in you, and care enough to make you realize it. The people we interact with plays a huge role on your self-esteem and self-perception. After all, you are what you think you are. Whatever purpose you want it to serve, it won’t be done in one try because content creating is all about trial and error with logistics. The most important part is to not give up on your project—have some faith. I’ve had first hand experience in a change of growth when I switched the crowd around me. Positivity in life can fuel a burning passion thousands of miles into space. It’s beautiful to see uplifting souls around you, trust me.
Be Sure to Follow Janu Kanneganti and Crown The Brown on instagram!
