The Kumars At No. 42 Are Looking to Move

Meera Syal (BBC)

Brits Ricky Gervais and Sacha Baron Cohen have made the journey.

And now it might just be Meera Syal’s time.

The actress and author is in talks to bring her enormously popular BBC comedy chat show, The Kumars at No. 42 ,to American television viewers.

“There’s interest from America and we are in talks,” Syal told reporters earlier this month. “It’s early stages and so much depends on the budget … I’d be really interested. Can you imagine, the Kumars interviewing Sylvester Stallone and Nicole Kidman? I think it would be hilarious.”

Syal’s previous projects include the (instant classic) film Bhaji on the Beach and Broadway’s hugely successful Bombay Dreams . She can next be seen in Ayub Khan-Din’s latest Rafta Rafta—a play about newlyweds who move in with the ‘rents and, er, have trouble consummating their union.

Rafta Rafta opens this Friday, April 26, at the National Theatre in London.

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YouTube clip of The Kumars at No. 42

He May Be Gone, But Sanjaya Is Still Our Papaya

His final song as a contestant on American Idol was Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About,” and that’s just what Sanjaya Malakar gave America for the last nine weeks, alternately exasperating and thrilling audiences with his morphing hairstyles and wacky performances. But it all came to an end this week as the 17-year-old from Washington state was finally booted from the show. In his farewell performance, Sanjaya crooned, “Let’s give them something to talk about—other than hair.”

That, Sanjaya, is why your fanjayas love you.

And maybe also because of this: “Before I was on American Idol, I loved to walk on the street singing very, very loudly. So if you ever saw a little Indian kid walking around singing, it was probably me.”

Many South Asians in America also got a kick out of Sanjaya’s success, even if they didn’t all agree on if he deserved to keep advancing. His father, Vasudeva Malakar (who came to the U.S. as a Hare Krishna pujari and met Sanjaya’s mother, also a Krishna devotee at the time), told the Indian Web site Rediff that “People of Indian origin here and in India love him. I will not be surprised if more and more Indian kids show up in this competition in its next season.”

The soft-spoken Sanjaya talked about his Idol run today—free from the sequestration the contestants face:

How surprised are you by all the fans you’ve formed over the last few weeks on Idol?
It’s crazy. I knew the show was big, but I had no idea how big it really was and how much impact it had.

Did you see it coming last night, especially when Ryan looked at you?
When we saw the show on Tuesday, I kind of had a feeling. I was in the dumps all day on Wednesday. I kind of knew.

Are you and your sister, Shyamali, going to form a duo now?
I think that we’re probably going to sing together. I don’t know if we’re going to become a duo band but I think that we will definitely sing together.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mandvi in Mumbai

Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty got their PDA on a few days ago (raising AIDS awareness never looked so sexy yaar) and India is still reeling from it all.

The Daily Show‘s Senior Mumbai Bureau Chief Aasif Mandvi brings us this report on the uproar and how Al Sharpton is coping.

Confused? Good:

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San-jayah Is On Fiy-ah

Fanjayas rejoice!

American Idol’s Malakar is still going strong. In celebration, comedian Smooth E has released this tribute video, now being wildly circulated through cyberspace:

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Oh, So Excited

So tonight, after you finish watching Grey’s, stick around on ABC to catch the series premiere of Notes from the Underbelly starring cutie Sunkrish Bala as Eric, a very excited father-to-be. Grey’s fans will recognize Bala from another excited state: as Meredith’s one-night stand who, er, couldn’t control his excitement with a painful looking case of priapism. Read Sunkrish’s interview with Nirali here as he talks about his character on Notes and working in Hollywood today.

In an email, Sunkrish writes:

I can’t wait to watch. Please tune in and let us know what you thought of the show.

USA Today: South Asian Stars Storm Hollywood

Getty Images/USA TODAY/NBC

It looks like USA Today reporter Bill Keveney has been reading Nirali.

OK, perhaps I’m giving our little magazine too much credit—maybe he has finally just noticed all the desi actors who are taking Hollywood by storm. In his April 8 article, “Stars of South Asian Descent are on the Ascent,” Keveney writes that “After years of relative anonymity, performers of Indian heritage are establishing a small but growing presence in TV and film, breaking stereotypes along the way.”

His examples? Sendhil Ramamurthy, Navi Rawat, Mindy Kaling, Aasif Mandvi, Kal Penn, Parminder Nagra, Naveen Andrews (see our upcoming feature) and Ravi Kapoor.

He forgot to mention Aziz Ansari, Noureen DeWulf, Maulik Pancholy, Sunkrish Bala, Kavi Ladnier, Rasika Mathur, Janina Gavankar, Reef Karim and a few others (maybe he should have perused Nirali’s archives?).

It’s fun to see this story in print, even if it does lack a little heft. It would have been much more fascinating if the piece focused on this nugget from our favorite “Hero”:

Now that’s a story. More acting opportunities, more stereotypical roles: Selling out or moving on up? Maybe Keveney can pursue this angle next.

Jamal Q Sixpacks

Last night, The Daily Show’s “Assistant Baghdad Bureau Chief” Aasif Mandvi filled us in on John McCain’s recent tour of an Iraqi market:

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Pancholy and Gavankar’s Mad Dash

Pancholy (Vikram Tank for Nirali)

Maulik Pancholy has been cast in the new CW network comedy Dash 4 Cash.

The Weeds and 30 Rock star is part of an ensemble of new comedic talent. Dash 4 Cash will go behind-the-scenes with six teams as they race in a mock reality show competition. The single-camera comedy is scripted but will have a mocumentary feel to it (think Curb Your Enthusiasm or The Office).

Pancholy will be playing the contestant “Pablo.”

The show is currently in development, and a pilot has recently been ordered. Word is Janina Gavankar of Barbershop and The L Word fame has also been cast.

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Fox Loses A Friend

Chetry (Fox News)

Kiran Chetry will take over the reigns from Soledad O’Brien next Thursday, becoming the new host of American Morning.

CNN President Jonathan Klein is thrilled to have her on board and says he is “blown away” by the Gaithersburg, Maryland native. “She’s a fantastic anchor. She lights up the screen.”

Chetry has been a part of the Fox Network news family since the spring of 2001. Her decision to leave Fox and Friends put her in the spotlight, especially after this letter (from Fox’s VP for business and legal affairs to Chetry’s agent) was made public.

“I played by the rules,” Chetry has said in response to allegations that her handling of the transition was unprofessional. “I will always be grateful for the opportunities there, but it was time to go.”

The newswoman, 32, is Nepalese American. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She is married to Fox weatherman Chris Knowles. Their daughter Maya Rose was born last February.

Sanjaya Out Of This World?

“Welcome to the UNIVERSE OF SANJAYA!!” American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar yelled out during yesterday’s show—after Simon Cowell called his performance “incredible.”

Cowell isn’t alone in his, er, support.

“I want that funny Indian kid to win,” actress Rose McGowan told the snaparazzi while signing autographs earlier this week. “He’s horrible. He’s great.”

“I can’t even comment on the vocals anymore,” said judge Randy Jackson last night. “What I like about you now is that you’ve turned into a great entertainer.”

EvenTony Bennett agrees. “I really think you’re terrific,” he told Malakar, adding that he appreciates his “sense of humor.”

Now Kentucky Fried Chicken has come forward, saying Malakar will be given a free lifetime supply of KFC’s Famous Bowls if he sings on stage in a bowl haircut. “We’re sure America will be as ‘bowled-over’ by your take on this classic look as they are by our KFC Famous Bowls,” KFC’s president wrote in a letter to the singer.

Tell us what you’re thinking in the comments-section below (especially re: the latest ‘do. Is it more Sopranos or Saturday Night Fever? Also: “Sanjaya is my Papaya?” Please explain.).

More: Sanjaya also makes me cry; Making girls cry since 1989; Starving for Sanjaya; It’s in his hair.