[2][3][4][5][6] Sawhney is also active in the promotion of arts and cultural matters, is chair of the PRS Foundation, sits on the board of trustees of theatre company Complicité, and is a patron of numerous film festivals, venues, and educational institutions.

Sawhney has scored for and performed with orchestras, and collaborated with and written for Paul McCartney, Sting, the London Symphony Orchestra, A. R. Rahman, Brian Eno, Sinéad O'Connor, Jacob Golden, Anoushka Shankar, Jeff Beck, Shakira, Will Young, Joss Stone, Taio Cruz, Ellie Goulding, Horace Andy, Cirque du Soleil, Akram Khan, Deepa Mehta, Mira Nair, Nelson Mandela, Ojos de Brujo, Hélène Grimaud, Natacha Atlas, Jools Holland, Jorja Smith, John Hurt and Pink Floyd.

[2][4][5][8][9][10][11] Often appearing as Artist in Residence, Curator or Musical Director at international festivals, Sawhney contributes to musical education, having acted as patron of the British Government's Access-to-music programme, the East London Film festival and, currently, Artis as well as acting as a judge for The Ivor Novello Awards, BAFTA, BIFA, and a new role as Patron for the PRS Foundation.

[2][4][15] In 1999, Sawhney released his fourth Gold-selling album, Beyond Skin, on London's Outcaste Records, which took a prestigious Mercury Music Prize nomination and won him the coveted South Bank Show Award.

[7] Sawhney's 2011 studio work, Last Days of Meaning, previewed at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2011, centres on a character from actor, John Hurt, and follows the metaphorical, Dickensian journey of a lonely and intransigent man.

[27] Other notable works include scores for Oscar-nominated director Mira Nair's adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's, The Namesake,[28] as well as Natural Fantasia[29] and Human Planet for the BBC.

[32] His previous scores also include the new adaptation of Mahabharata by the Olivier Award- winning writer Stephen Clark,[33] Simon McBurney's A Disappearing Number for Complicité,[34] and first-time theatrical director Jonathan Holmes' Fallujah.

Sawhney produced the music for the Ninja Theory video games Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (both starring Andy Serkis).

Sawhney again worked with the London Symphony Orchestra for the Network/BFI re-master of Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger,[36] performed live at The Barbican Centre on 21 July 2012.

[37] Sawhney also scored Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta's adaptation of Salman Rushdie's book, Midnight's Children,[38] released in October 2012 (US), and Vara: A Blessing and Japan in a Day.

[7][39] Sawhney scored the film What's Love Got to do with it?, released in 2022, starring Lily James, Shazad Latif and Emma Thompson, written by Jemima Khan and directed by Shekhar Kapur.

Sawhney's album Dystopian Dream has been made into a full stage show with Sadler's Wells, co-devised with Honji Wang and Sébastien Ramirez, which premiered in Luxembourg on 29 September 2017.

[41] After scoring Bahok for the Royal Ballet of China, Sawhney's composition for Khan's Vertical Road received a best new work award in Melbourne.

[42] As a fledgling theatrical director, his work to date includes Confluence for Sadler's Wells and directing/writing workshops at London's National Theatre for his play, Trust.

He works in the classical and pop communities, leading to his claim to broadcasting as artist in his own right for both the BBC Traditional and Electric Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall and Roundhouse respectively.

[48] Sawhney, given his classical background, is an experienced and established DJ, mixing styles from Afro-beat and Dubstep to Asian breakbeat and drum 'n' bass.

Performing at London's tastemaking Fabric nightclub, Sawhney has DJed at The Big Chill, Womad, Womadelaide and across the world at numerous major festivals.

1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2024 2025 Much of Sawhney's attention remains focused on the areas of education and community building, accepting the role of Artist in Residence for no less than five separate performing arts organisations across Great Britain and Asia.

[61] Sawney was chosen to serve as a judge for the 2024 Booker Prize, alongside Edmund de Waal (chair), Sara Collins, Justine Jordan and Nitin Sawhney.