My friend Reshma recently emailed me to ask if I could highlight a fundraising event in NYC she was holding for Obama. Reshma, formerly of South Asians for Hillary and South Asians for Kerry, is one of the members of Barack Obama’s new Asian American Finance Committee (other members mentioned here). Normally I would have just placed the event info on our “Events Tab,” where you can highlight just about any desi-related event. There was something about this event that was different though and I couldn’t put my finger on it until I re-read her email again. Then it struck me that the event itself represents a political first…as far as I know. This is the first time that such a large group of Indian American “celebrities” is being deployed in favor of a Presidential candidate. I am putting quotes around the word celebrities not to minimize the successes of some of these individuals but rather to contrast their pull to what we traditionally think of as Hollywood political celebrities (e.g., George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Angelina Jolie, Jane Fonda, etc.). In the past, both parties have relied on wealthy DBDs such as Sant Chatwal or various tech entrepreneurs or medical doctors for their campaign donations (from mostly first generation Indian Americans). Obama and his committee are taking a different approach, perhaps because he doesn’t want McCain to call him D-Punjab.
In all the loud talk of unity amongst the campaigns there is at least one tear jerker, or sort of – a controversial Indian American supporter of Hillary Clinton, appears to have not found favour with the Illinois Senator Barack Obama in the post-union phase of the Democratic party for 2008 presidential elections.
Sant Chatwal, known as one of the most effective fund raiser among the Indian American money bags, is not in the list of Asian Americans Finance Committee officials announced by the Obama campaign. [Link]
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p>Instead of enlisting only rich “uncles” to help bring in the cash from our community, Obama picked a much younger group and that younger group in turn thinks young desi celebs may be the way to bring in the cash for their candidate (although this is probably just one of many ways they are considering). Their target demographic appears to be very similar to the type that reads SM:
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p>I believe the way this model works is that a typical second-gen voter (and many younger DBDs) will see that some of his/her favorite brown celebrities support Obama and will thus follow suit and additionally supply some cash to the campaign (and probably get to meet these folks as well). I am pretty sure (unless someone has statistics to educate me) that this is a fairly successful model among many larger communities. What I am very curious to learn however, is if this model will work when applied to our South Asian American community which is still quite small by comparison. Small enough in fact the some of the people reading this may already be friends with one or more of the individuals listed above.
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p>There are two thoughts I take away after learning about this event:
- Perhaps the political power of South Asians in America is finally beginning to shift from the first generation to the second.
- It looks like every year there are a few more South Asian Americans with a high enough profile that they can be thought of as celebrities and opinion influencers. This is quite a departure from the 80s and 90s where desi celebs and Bollywood were inextricably tied together.
Finally, I have to say that if the AAFC had asked for my opinion I would have requested that Huma or Padma be put on the flyer as well 
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That’s pretty smart, actually. And pretty cool.
Of course, I’d pay not to be in a room with that group of celebrities, but, that’s just me. Kidding! They are all lovely people, I’m sure. Still, I’d rather just write a check. Loathe the fundraiser, personally.
Oh, and not to get into the South Asian verus Indian American thing, again —- still, it’s kind of awful aesthetically, isn’t it? South Asian American. What? You’re from Brazil originally? What? Oh, South Asia, not South America. Is that Thailand? Whatever.
S.A.M.???
Obama picked a much younger group and that younger group in turn thinks young desi celebs may be the way to bring in the cash for their candidate (although this is probably just one of many ways they are considering). Their target demographic appears to be very similar to the type that reads SM:
This SM reader already sent Obama a check.
1. Perhaps the political power of South Asians in America is finally beginning to shift from the first generation to the second.
And they choose:
a) Mira Nair. Mira Nair is neither young nor American-born. From wikipedia:
Mira Nair (born October 15, 1957 at Rourkela, India) is an India-born, New York-based film director. Her production company is Mirabai Films.
Mira Nair is more 50 years old.
b) Aasif Mandvi is more to 42 years old – That is not young (neither old) nor American Born. From wikipedia:
Aasif Mandvi (born March 5, 1966) is an Indian American actor and comedian. He began appearing as an occasional correspondent on The Daily Show on August 9, 2006. On March 12, 2007, he was promoted to a regular correspondent. Mandvi was born in Mumbai, India to a Muslim family. Before moving to New York City, he was part of the “Streetmosphere” (now, “Citizens of Hollywood”) ensemble at the Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World.
More simply, they are using the movie/ TV celebrities of South Asian (or Indian) origin, and that Democrats (or for that matter Republicans too) use often. More power to them…….but nothing of change of guard.
From the days of Barbara Streisand, Clint Eastwood (who later became mayor himself, and supported quite a few Libertarian Republican candidates), Robert Redford, Charlton Heston,and yes Ronald Reagen (before he himself became a politician)…….using celebrities for elections is as old as American Pie.
I’d argue that both the celebrities appeal to a younger south Asian demographic. Aasif Mandvi was on the Daily show(as well as his intermittent movie roles)and Mira Nair makes movies are more popular with the second generation of south Asians. I don’t think you can go purely on age or we would wonder why is a 46 year old Jon Stewart so popular with those college kids.
As to the fundraiser, when are they having something on the west coast?.. preferably the bay area. I’ve already donated but would gladly attend a fundraiser here.
Yes, Sunil just beat me to the punch on both counts. Madvi in person looks like he’s 35
“South Asians for Obama” will become “Indian-Americans for Obama” when Obama does what he said he’s going to do (i.e. violate Pak sovereignty in pursuit of OBL).
Mira Nair makes movies are more popular with the second generation of south Asians.
Probably so. Primarily, because you know only one dimension of Mira Nair – her recent movies made here.
Mira Nair started as street theater activist in Delhi, made some amazing documentaries (including one on Indian cabaret dancers), shot to fame making a movie on street kids of Mumbai (Salaam Bombay) and now is involved in teaching movie making in Uganda – Maisha (in her words (source: NPR interview), her adopted home these days), and Mumbai. She maintains three homes – one in NYC, in Uganda, and Mumbai.
Her brief bio from wikipedia:
Mira Nair was born in Rourkela,[1] Orissa, where her Punjabi father (Nayyar)she spells her surname Nair (having his roots in Amritsar, Punjab) was employed. She was the youngest of three children from a middle-class family. Her father was a civil servant and her mother a social worker. Mira did her early schooling at Catholic schools, including Tara Hall in Shimla. She studied sociology in Delhi University, where she became involved in political street theater and performed for three years in an amateur drama company. She left for the US at age 19 with a scholarship at Harvard, where she met her first husband Mitch Epstein, as well as Sooni Taraporevala.
At the beginning of her career as a film artist, Nair directed four documentaries. India Cabaret, a film about the lives of strippers in a Bombay nightclub, won an award at the American Film Festival in 1986.
Salaam Bombay! (1988), with a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala****, was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film, and won many other awards. It is today considered a groundbreaking film classic, and is standard fare for film students.
*** Her closest collaborator Sooni Taraporevela (she writes most of her screen plays) lives in Mumbai.
My jist is: She is no different from Vinod Khosla (one of the founders of SUN computers), apart being a celebrity. BTW, Vinod Khosla is also involved very closely with Obama campaign. That is true, a lot of people would prefer Mira Nair to have dinner with, but who knows, a lot of crowd would prefer Vinod Khosla too.
Yes, he’s the co-chair of the group that is organizing this event in fact.
But that’s already happening. Being out of power he has the luxury of being explicit about it, and gain easy brownie points for being tough on terrorism.
I think you under estimate Nair’s audience and the posters on this blog, I been familar with her work all the way from Salaam Bombay and have caught up with all of her early work. I did’nt need to look up Wikipedia since I was already familiar with her bio data :). In fact her activism is more appealing to the second generation of desis who tend to get involved with this stuff in college. I think my dad would relate to Vinod Khosla but I hold to my belief that younger desis relate to her outlook and movies, not to mention all the other celebrities on the bill, Karsh kale, DJ Rekha, etc.
I think a very effective idea if you want to encourage the youth to participate in the political process. I hope somebody screens the proceedings and puts it on tele or u-tube.
Yes, I read about this via email msg & on FB 2 wks ago! I went to a SAFO mtg, and there were some REALLY nice people organizing it.
Maybe I am really off-base, but I thought this event just motivates people to continue to donate to Obama by bringing them into events that focus on folks they like? I feel like it’s rare to get all these people in one place (which I guess is what you’re saying, Abhi), so I would find it exciting. It wouldn’t motivate or discourage me from donating; it’s just a nice “perk.”
well, whatever vinod khosla says is usually good enough for me. i was going to wait for engelbert humperdinck to chime in, but i doubt he can be any more persuasive than paris hilton.
I was just excited to see that a bunch of friends will all be playing the same gig in support of our fave hussein! Sadly, mrs. C and I will be out of town for this one.
Yes, we get it Abhi, 2nd gens are so much better/smarter/open-minded/’progressive’/non-provincial/cosmopolitan than the generation that spawned them, especially when it comes to politics. This is about your 273474247th post showing that you think so.
19 · apth said
From which sentence in the post did you make this inference?
lots of dbds like mira nair and appreciate her work.
Let’s talk about Maulik Pancholi. He is ABD, young and talented, Abhi you remember we met him at Sona’s (his sister) Home four X’mas ago. I tend to agree with Kush on this one. Mira, and Aasif are probably not appropriate. BTW you need to get over with Huma and Padma. Both are too old for you !! 🙂
7 · sunil said
A very slippery definition of this Obamademographic indeed. If it is not age and it is not birth place, then how is this group defined, other than ‘those who read SM?’ I think a lot of Indian Americans, who don’t know SM much less read, know Mandvi from his play and other appearances. Same with Nair. They may or may not be Obama supporters, or even Democrats.
i agree with “19 · apth ” that abhi’s attitude is a little funky
A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention. [Source: Wiki]
None of these outside of Mira Nair qualify for the title of South Asian celebrities. They all sound like 40+ has-beens, waiting for a VH1 Surreal Life ishtyle reunion.
19 · apth said
He never said that, which makes your comment rather uncalled for. We love and respect our parents very much. YoDad is Abhi’s Father and he commented on this very thread– now don’t you and “ybother” feel silly for accusing Abhi of a malice which does not exist?
And for someone who attacked a different mutineer for being “defensive”, you’re awfully…well, you know. There’s a way to disagree with Abhi (see: Kush Tandon’s comments) without resorting to baseless accusations.
Put all your money in biofuels then and see where that takes you.
12 · voiceinthehead said
Hahaha, that’s rich.
And about Aasif Mandvi, as far as he’s on The Daily Show, he’s considered young.
Since Aasif is on the Daily Show I would say his audience skews young which makes him appropriate for this gathering.
I’m aware that Abhi’s parents read/comment here, but this has nothing to do with them. My remark is based on my LONG time lurking here, and I’ve found that Abhi is the one to usually write posts about 2nd gens in U.S. politics and how it’s “finally” time to take away attention/fund-raising from the “moneybag uncles” (which is highlighted in one of the quotes but not talked about in this blog post). I actually don’t have much to be defensive about, considering that I’m an ABD, albeit a relocated one. But there is a certain holier-than-thou attitude that I get from a LOT of ABDs, and it’s one based on how flippant/Americanized/anti-‘FOB’ you are, and honestly based on the barrage of posts that Abhi has made about how it’s time for the ABDs to take desis-in-U.S.-politics away from the aunties and uncles (because they’re not real Americans, despite the fact that they actually DID something to become American aside from being born?) and toward the 2nd gens, it’s the impression I get of him.
oh come on, apth! you can read this kind of “real american/anti-fob” drama into the text, or you can see the more obvious thrill that they are finally emerging from the shadows of their previous generation, maybe becoming more mainstream, and are being considered noteworthy in their own right. i do not see where you guys are getting this contempt thing from. and i say this as a fob.
Why the inferiority complex (“it’s one based on how flippant/Americanized/anti-‘FOB’ you are”)?
If you really have read my posts then you’d see that the reason I would like to see the center of power shift from the first to the second generation is because I don’t want to focus on love for Modi, or other India issues that the older generation seems most concerned about (not all of course, just the most vocal bunch). I have written at least a half dozen posts outlining this. I want a greater focus on American issues. That certainly doesn’t make me “anti-FOB” or mean that I think uncles and aunties aren’t real Americans as you claim. That is your skewed perspective, probably based on your own baggage.
It isn’t my responsibility to correct your knee-jerk impressions. If you think all my political posts are holier-than-thou I suggest you just skip them. It isn’t too hard to scroll down if you have a mouse.
Just to throw in my two naya paisa…
I work for a Republican congressman, I’m a volunteer at the RNC and maybe later on during the campaign. I think the bloggers and commenters here are very knowledgeable and well reasoned in the rationale behind their support for Dems or the GOP or (gasp!) Libertarian/other. There is very little “Messianization” of Obama and the hands across the Earth mentality. Not only that, and more importantly, if you take an objective look at the commentary about American political issues you will find that the subject matter is mostly bereft of the ABD/DBD/FOB/ABCD undercurrent that might be more evident in other cases. If anything, it is American as it should be.
I dunno, maybe it’s as simple as the younger crowd is more progressive and abhi’s a progressive (or liberal, or whatever) and happy about the shift? I mean, I’m a DBD, technically, but here long enough to be ABD (oh, all these labels) and I’m more comfortable with the ‘uncles’ because my politics often more closely mirrors theirs. So, I don’t think it’s a looking down thing. It may just be a simpatico thing.
*abhi, you would be proud of me. On another blog, I used South Asian American unironically, totally un-Alannis Morrisette-y. I am slowly, slowly, slowly being converted. Heaven help us!
32 · Abhi f you really have read my posts then you’d see that the reason I would like to see the center of power shift from the first to the second generation is because I don’t want to focus on love for Modi, or other India issues that the older generation seems most concerned about (not all of course, just the most vocal bunch). I have written at least a half dozen posts outlining this. I want a greater focus on American issues. That certainly doesn’t make me “anti-FOB” or mean that I think uncles and aunties aren’t real Americans as you claim. That is your skewed perspective, probably based on your own baggage.
Wow! Is that really your experience with the uncleji crowd? Many of them are out of touch with Indian politics, particularly Modi. Most of the high political contributors are from the uncleji generation and they contribute both left and right, covering all bases. They have been here long enough to have a very long view of politics and history, as far back as the Kennedy-Nixon debates, having watched them on black and white tv and would tell you where they were when Kennedy got shot. If they are eligible they are avid voters – unlike the 30 and under slackers. They support their children to work in the campaigns, hoping of course a career will be born.
Most who discuss Indian politics in detail and with passion are those who are still very much in touch with desh – newly arrived and young. Many of them have no idea of the issues that you say you are interested in and have no opinion on it.
Ha! You are the first domino in my new domino theory 🙂
I’m aware that Abhi’s parents read/comment here, but this has nothing to do with them. My remark is based on my LONG time lurking here, and I’ve found that Abhi is the one to usually write posts about 2nd gens in U.S. politics and how it’s “finally” time to take away attention/fund-raising from the “moneybag uncles” (which is highlighted in one of the quotes but not talked about in this blog post). I actually don’t have much to be defensive about, considering that I’m an ABD, albeit a relocated one. But there is a certain holier-than-thou attitude that I get from a LOT of ABDs, and it’s one based on how flippant/Americanized/anti-‘FOB’ you are, and honestly based on the barrage of posts that Abhi has made about how it’s time for the ABDs to take desis-in-U.S.-politics away from the aunties and uncles (because they’re not real Americans, despite the fact that they actually DID something to become American aside from being born?) and toward the 2nd gens, it’s the impression I get of him.
This has nothing to do with being anti-FOB. Most desi uncles are not FOBs and have been in the US forever. However worshipping mass murderers like Modi gets tiresome after a while.
Of course it comes back to Modi… look, as a south Indian he doesn’t mean shit to me, or to my relatives either actually. I guess I just haven’t encountered this barrage of mass-murder-approving Indian uncles that you all have. As for the balance of power shifting, well, the older generation usually has interests in India, often with the intent of moving back, that it wants to protect (I mean things like the nuclear deal). The 2nd gen progressive type has interests it wants to protect too, namely their ideals and huge egos, by voting for the people who are usually not economically beneficial for them, considering the background that most ABDs are from.
Besides, what American issues ARE there for South Asians? Oh right, I forgot how oppressed we are by The Man, and especially by Republicans. It’s why we’re 7x proportionally overrepresented as doctors. BAWW.
38 · apth said
apth, never let me go. I look forward to a long ride together.
Hmm. Looking back, I admit I wasn’t exactly tactful with my words. The majority perspective on this blog/of this supposed demographic (the ‘who-reads-Sepia-Mutiny’ demographic) is not going to change, but that’s why I’m thankful I was born about a decade after the average reader on this blog. Let’s just leave it here, apologies to SM for hijacking.
I guess I just haven’t encountered this barrage of mass-murder-approving Indian uncles that you all have.
Good for you. Such experiences are nauseating.
isn’t DJ Nihal from the UK and on BBC Asian Network or is it a different DJ Nihal?
IF this is the a-list of desi stars in America then we don’t really have anything.
Of course it comes back to Modi… look, as a south Indian he doesn’t mean shit to me, or to my relatives either actually.
I also could not give a damn about this Modi guy since I was born and raised in small town Canada and this Modi guy had no impact on my life.If the guy likes to spend time with sheep in his private life or if he collects bootlegs CD’s of Journey , I could care less. But it seems from time to time his name keeps coming up on this website, like some people have some big obession with him.
Instead of worrying about some jabroni named Modi, where is the SM post about the huge Brett Favre trade to the Jets. There has to be some desi angle somewhere to this whole Brett Favre thing. I bet there more people here who want to talk about Favre instead of Modi.
44 · Suki Dillon said
Suki, you would be a tad more believable if you didn’t derail random threads with tabloid articles about atrocities by Muslims in Denmark, France, or some suburb of London.
there’s a Nihal on BBC Radio 1, that’s the only desi dj nihal i would know…though BBC1 isn’t part of a specifically asian network as far as I know.
Suki, you would be a tad more believable if you didn’t derail random threads with tabloid articles about atrocities by Muslims in Denmark, France, or some suburb of London.
Tabloid articles????? I bet I can find many people those countries who agree with me.
sweetheart, you were more believable with your small town Canadian hick shtick. Why don’t you just stick to worrying about things like Brett Favre and Molson Lite that have an impact on your life?
sweetheart, you were more believable with your small town Canadian hick …
R U Shoba De.
Why, isn’t that just the most graceful face-saving move ever? Golly. Take one final parting shot, then apologize and leave.
I’m glad you were born about a decade after the “average reader,” too. I’m not sure how you calculated the age of the average SM reader, but I’d be very curious to find out how you managed to deduce that you were ten years younger than that number (Let’s see, if the average age of an SM reader is 26, you’d be…16. And if it’s 38, you’d be 28. But what if the average age slews upwards or downwards suddenly and drastically due to an influx of new readers? In the latter case, can we harvest stem cells from you, sans etchical considerations? And in the former, maybe you’ll suddenly experience puberty or wind up looking like John McCain?).