Rishini Weeraratne, Editor of The Sun (Daily Mirror), HI!! Online, and Head of Social Media at Wijeya Newspapers Limited, was invited to present the Media Personality of the Year 2025 award at the prestigious Asian Achievers Awards (AAA) 2025. She had the honour of presenting the award to Emb Hashmi, an acclaimed BBC journalist and podcast host.
Now in its 24th year, the Asian Achievers Awards are the UK’s oldest and most distinguished awards ceremony celebrating the British Asian community. The glittering event took place on Friday 19th September 2025 at the Park Lane Hilton, London, hosted by actor Nitin Ganatra OBE and Sky News presenter Anila Dhami, with Marvel’s Eternals choreographer Nileeka Bose welcoming guests on the red carpet. The evening featured performances by Indian-Canadian singer Raghav, stand-up comedian Eshaan Akbar, and Guinness World Record-holding acrobat Klodi Dabkiewicz.
This year’s winners included Neerja Birla, billionaire philanthropist and founder-chairperson of the Aditya Birla Education Trust; Indhu Rubasingham MBE, artistic director of the National Theatre and one of the most prominent Sri Lankan figures in the UK arts scene; Sunny Gill Singh, the first British South Asian referee in the Premier League; and Prof. Selva Pankaj, co-founder and CEO of Regent Global, who moved to the UK from Sri Lanka as a teenager.
Also honoured were Jimal, Nishal and Devik Solanki for building Taj Foods into one of the UK’s most recognisable ethnic food brands; Syed Muhammad Faisal Sami for his humanitarian work; and Simon Arora, following his successful exit from leading High Street brand B&M Stores. Maulik Darji was recognised for his leadership in head and cancer treatments within the NHS, while BBC journalist Emb Hashmi was celebrated for her diverse contributions to media.
The night’s most emotional moment came with a standing ovation for music producer Rishi Rich, who received a special award for his decades-long contribution to music as a pioneer of the Asian-R&B fusion genre.
Speaking at the event, organiser Pratik Dattani, Managing Director of EPG, said:
“Britain faces political and economic headwinds from multiple sides, but South Asians have again showed their resilience and ability to contribute to building the nation. Our winners highlight the very best of how we contribute to Britain. But for the first time, several of our shortlist featured prolific entrepreneurs who have built their businesses in the UK but recently emigrated to Dubai. It highlights a risk to Brand Britain that policymakers need to urgently address.”
The Awards received cross-party recognition, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer praising British Asians as “a driving force behind much of the social, cultural and economic innovation we see in Britain today.” Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch echoed this sentiment, calling the awards “a celebration of the contribution you make across every sector of society, from business and public service to science and the arts.” Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey added: “What a pleasure it is to offer my congratulations to all the nominees at the 23rd annual Asian Achievers Awards. Your dedication and achievements serve as an inspiration to us all.”
