The South Asian Influence on Global and American Pop Culture

CASI Seminar
Mr. Nusrat Durrani
General Manager and Senior Vice President, MTV World
Annenberg School for Communication, Room 110, 3620 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Nusrat Durrani is General Manager/SVP of MTV World, a division of MTV created in 2004 to launch new MTV-branded channels that super-serve emerging bi-cultural audiences in the U.S.: MTV Desi for South Asian-Americans, launched in July 2005; MTV Chi for Chinese-Americans launched in December 2005; and MTV K for Korean-Americans planned for 2006. Nusrat is considered a pioneer in bringing global pop culture to America and has been instrumental in the emergence of the Asian-American pop music scene. He is also chairperson of the MTV Networks Diversity Council.

In 1995, fascinated by the creativity of MTV and the evolution of new media, Nusrat moved to New York. He was hired by MTV Networks in 1996 and was a part of the team that launched MTV's interactive division. He has held various positions in the company, including Director of Business Development and Operations and VP Strategic Partnerships and e-Commerce for MTV, VH1, CMT and Comedy Central.

Nusrat was born in Lucknow, India, and attended Lamartiniere College and University of Lucknow, where he obtained a Master's in Business Administration. He also has a Master's in Communications from the New York Institute of Technology.

Before moving to the U.S., Nusrat lived for five years in Dubai, U.A.E, where he worked as Marketing Manager for Honda Motor Cars. He has also lived and worked in New Delhi, India.

Nusrat has traveled extensively, and is a photographer and a writer. He is married to Afshan, a fashion designer, and they have a daughter, Laila, who is 6 years old.

The Nand & Jeet Khemka Distinguished Lecture Series is an endowed public program of the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI). Launched in the 2007-08 academic year, and made possible through the generous support of the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, the series brings renowned India specialists to the Penn community and serves as a critical forum for analyzing and understanding the complex economic, political, social, and cultural changes that the world’s largest democracy is experiencing, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.
The Saluja Global Fellows Program has been made possible by the generous gift from Vishal Saluja ENG’89 W’89. CASI was excited to launch the program during the 2022–23 academic year, coinciding with the Center’s 30th Anniversary. This new program enables CASI to invite eminent leaders and rising experts on contemporary India preferably from the fields of media, culture, law, and contemporary history to be in residence for one to two weeks at CASI.