We almost had a shot last year at having South Asian characters in a prominent role on network television…but it fell through.  According to reports, Russell Peters has just inked a deal to have his own sitcom on a major American network.  The Canoe Network reports:

For a guy who’s just inked a deal to star in his own sitcom for a major American network, comedian Russell Peters is remarkably calm.

“I just signed the deal with Warner Bros. this week. They want to build a show around me,” Peters says over the phone from Los Angeles. “I’m working with the guys who produced The Cosby Show and In Living Colour, so it’s pretty cool. I guess I’ll be shopping for real estate in L.A.”

While it’s too early to say precisely what the series is about, the 35-year-old knows his East-Indian roots will play a big part of the comedy.

“My heritage is a big part of my comedy,” he says bluntly. “Frankly, I’m open to it. As long as they don’t make me the 7-11 guy or the taxi driver.”

Now I was hesitant to post this story.  It seems that more people find our website by searching for “Russell Peters” than by any other means.  That is very irksome.  It will be interesting to see how the American network executives change his act.  Peters often borders on racial insensitivity.  Having seen his act, although I found him generally funny, I did cringe a few times. Continue reading →

You might think George Ka Pakistan (George’s Pakistan) is a straightforward description of the political relationship between Dubya and Musharraf. Instead, it was recently Pakistan’s #1 reality show (via Uncleji):

The premise was simple: could a Gora (white man) become a Pakistani? Over 13 weeks, Fulton, a 27-year-old former public schoolboy, travelled the country to find out. He sampled Pakistan’s many delights – moseying through the tribal areas, dancing at slick Karachi parties, speaking bad Urdu and arguing with his electricity company… Fulton squeezed into tiny taxis, milked a buffalo and tried on a dhoti… [Link]

George Fulton, a TV and theater producer, ended up becoming a Pakistani citizen. Why? Lowe, twu lowe:

The ministry of the interior was so impressed with Fulton’s efforts that it offered him Pakistani citizenship… The downsides included the potential of being be conscripted into the Pakistani army in the event of war with, for example, India. But now, he says: “I’m going through with it”… he has fallen in love with a Pakistani woman, also a TV producer, and they plan to get married next November. [Link]

To paraphrase the National Front, if he’s a loyal Pakistani, why does he still root for England’s cricket team?  To be a true Pakistani, all he needs to do is obsess over India and talk nostalgically of his years in New York.

Fulton received… six marriage proposals (he politely refused them all). Then, in the final episode, the prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, received him in Islamabad and the show’s producers polled viewers about whether “George Sahib” had succeeded in becoming a Pakistani. Sixty-five per cent said yes. [Link]

It has been 75 years since Lux soap was first manufactured in India. To mark the occasion, Hindustan Lever is making its first ad for Lux staring a male Bollywood actor. In it they present Shah Rukh Khan in a bathtub full of rose petals. Equal opportunity objectification for men is beginning; you’ve come a long way baby!

It seems that the actor had long wanted to star in a Lux ad:

A spokesman for Hindustan Lever, the Indian arm of the multinational Unilever, said the firm had learnt of Shah Rukh Khan’s desire to star in a Lux commercial, following in the footsteps of actresses Hema Malini, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai.

“Our advertising agency somehow managed to hear that Shah Rukh had told his co-stars Juhi Chawla and Hema Malini while shooting for a movie that they are the real stars as they get to sit in elaborate bathtubs and advertise for Lux,” the spokesman, Paresh Chowdhury, told the BBC. [BBC]

And of course, a sudsy SRK made perfect sense for the manufacturer as well: Will desi men start threading their chest hair to emulate SRK?

“The target audience, which is basically women between six and 60, love him because he comes across as vulnerable,” he told the BBC. “You could have had some macho actor get in tub but he would seem unreal.

“Shah Rukh Khan is a man with a very strong female side – he is not ashamed of not having any hair on his chest – yet he is a man’s man.” [BBC]

Is Shah Rukh Khan the metrosexual desi man for the next century or just a passing fad? Will desi men start threading their chest hair to emulate SRK? One thing is for certain, Indian TV will never be the same again.

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The Romans pioneered today’s victory and ticker tape parades in their Triumph ceremony.  Post-war, a long procession of captured loot, slaves, musicians, and, of course, the Legion in its finest regalia marched through the city for all citizens to lavish their praise.  The victorious General followed this procession in a priceless chariot waving to the audience like the beauty queen of his day.  Ever cognizant of human nature, the Roman council enlisted a slave who stood by the side of the general whispering the reminder that “all glory is fleeting”.  

Perennial SM television favorite Raj Bakhta may have to hang up his golden leaf crown as he confronts the newer, younger model this fall.   The latest season of the Apprentice will unveil the newest Desi reality-TV star, Ms Toral Mehta –

Toral, 29, currently a Vice President in the Capital Markets group of a major investment bank in New York City, is among the handful of officer level women in her group responsible for originating, structuring, negotiating and closing multi-million dollar business deals. Fluent in French, Hindi and English, Toral has traveled to more than 15 foreign countries over the course of her career, working with top business leaders in both the public and private sectors. A graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Toral has worked for some of the country’s leading financial institutions including Goldman Sachs and American Express. In addition, Toral is a skilled day trader and self-made multi-millionaire. Her recent investments include luxury real estate and upscale restaurant projects in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Toral now resides in New York City, and likes to spend her free time at her homes in Miami Beach and London.

A few Penn alums who know her mentioned that Toral has the chops to give Omarosa a run for the money in the drama and tension category.   Delicious.   Her interview Q&A certainly reveals she’s a PC-be-damned type –

When will you consider yourself “a success”?
I already do.

Have any previous Apprentice winners motivated or inspired you? If so, who and why? If not, what did you think of the winners?
No, and I don’t think about them.

Would you rather be stranded on a desert island with Donald, George, or Carolyn, and why?
I would take my chances floating at sea.

Heh.   She sounds charming.   Unlike Raj, for whom charm appeared to be just about the only thing in the show he had going, Toral’s victories sound rather less fleeting.  Let history and the history about to be made be the final judge whilst the denizens of Sepia Mutiny lavish ratings.

Continue reading →