Newly-elected Councilmember Anu Natarajan

Anu Natarajan (anu4fremont.com)

Role model C. J. Cregg

Earlier this month Anu Natarajan became the first Indian American elected to a city council in northern California’s Bay Area. Appointed two years ago to the city council of Fremont, the Bay Area’s fourth largest city, she received enough votes in the recent elections to finish out the rest of her four-year term as an elected member.

Natarajan’s background in architecture and planning should prove useful in the city’s upcoming dealings with the Oakland A’s—the team has announced plans to move to Fremont and and build a high-tech baseball stadium there.

Like most elected officials, Natarajan has her detractors. But there is one position she holds that should face little to no resistance among the pro-“West Wing” faction. That would be her choice of Allison Janney/C. J. Cregg as role model (bio)!

More information: City of Fremont, http://www.anu4fremont.com/home/

Kavi Ladnier on Heroes Tonight

Move over, Sendhil. There’s a new brown face on Heroes—that of the very gorgeous Kavi Ladnier.

Ladnier will appear on the hit NBC show tonight playing a mysterious someone from Mohinder’s past. You can see a preview of Kavi’s appearance in this little trailer online. Will Ms. Ladnier, who’s quite a superhero in her own right (she’s a busy lady who juggles a flourishing acting career with being a mom), make future appearances? Who knows. We do know that Nirali scored an interview with her, so look for the scoop in our story in the upcoming weeks.

Meet the Papdits

The Papdit Family

Oh. My. God. Thank you so much to The Head Turban for introducing me to The Papdits. I am surreptitiously listening to this at work and it is ridiculously funny.

CBS has begun streaming the discarded pilot of this show, created by writer-producer of “Borat” and “The Ali G Show”, Ant Hines. The show was intended for FOX (which I think would’ve been great for the misplaced Arrested Development fans) and was passed up by both FOX and CBS.

The docu-comedy is centered around a family from Kashmir who have decided to travel cross-country and look for suitable locations to start quartz mining operations. They interview many people along the way including a house boat rental manager, school administration and some lovely senior citizens. The pompous father figure is played with such brilliance by Nitin Ganatra, who was last memorably seen in Bride & Prejudice. The woman who plays Mrs. Papdit steals the show with her gentle tone of voice saying the most ridiculous statements. As a Tupperware Party host, she explains Tupperware (after realizing it’s used for storing food and not for use as a toilet.) as having “a magical see-through quality”… and introducing a popular soft drink as “Dew from the mountain that is very refreshing.” Gahhh, I love it. Take a look, and tell me what you think.

Hai, Hai, Hai and a Bottle of Lassi

The Office folks get down with Diwali.

Nothings spreads holiday cheer like some plucky lyrics set to tender music (see Happy Birthday Jesus and the Kwanzaa Spelling Song: K-W-A-N-Z-A-A!) , so when the cast of NBC’s hit show The Office celebrates Diwali on screen next Thursday, they will be doing so with an aural ode to the Festival of Lights.

Called The Diwali Song , its lyrics are dark (“Don’t invite any zombies/To a celebration of Diwali”), folky (“Along came Polly/To have some fun at Diwali”) and might just convince you to put your old holiday CDs—about flying deer and talking snowmen—into storage for good.

Tune in to NBC at 8:30PM on Thursday, November 2, to catch desi script and screen sensation Mindy Kaling introducing her co-workers to the joys of being Hindu. As a bonus, we are told her real-life parents will be starring in the episode.

In the meantime, pop on your headphones and turn up the volume for this: The Diwali Song (courtesy of NBC Universal).

(PS: Want more on Mindy Kaling and other desi American television writers? Check out the November issue of Nirali for the exclusive).

Ismat’s Note: What do you think? Is the song funny, offensive, or none of the above? Share your thoughts!

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places…

Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator nabbed a number of South Asian Silicon Valley IT professionals in the act of soliciting 13-year-old girls for sex. Little did they know that the teenage object of their affection was a decoy for a covert sting operation. The lame excuses that they offer upon realizing they’ve been caught would be funny if it wasn’t so sick.

The perverts’ last meal.

Check out Dateline Videos #3 and #4 to see these loser lotharios in action. #4 even features two South Asian men who come prepared for their pedophile playdate with sandwiches—because God forbid a good desi goes to anyone’s home empty-handed.

And if that’s not enough for you, check out this bit from a radio station in which a desi woman asks the DJ to help her catch her cheating husband: Buddha Call. Some people think the call is a fake…what about you?

And what are your thoughts on the disgraced IT guys from the Dateline expose?

Treehugger’s Simran Sethi on Martha Stewart

Simran Sethi of TreehuggerTV, appeared on Martha Stewart’s show on October 4th, offering tips on design products which are sustainable and eco-friendly. Martha was duly impressed by the knowledgeable Sethi, who completed an MBA focused on sustainable management from Presidio.

I especially loved the furniture from Q Collection. Sustainable style is tres chic!

Related: In Living Green

Gold, Gold and More Gold

My brother and sister claim that I’m obsessed with a “unique quiz cum game show” on GeminiTV, an Indian station my parents receive via satellite. Evoking the game show classic “Family Feud” in its setup, “Bangaram Mee Kosam” (the title roughly translates from Telugu as “Gold for You”) has multi-generational families competing against each other to answer questions on general topics and win gold. Even though I’ve only seen it once or twice while visiting my parents or grandmother, my siblings may have a case. The evidence? Exhibit A: After a first viewing, I was so excited that I set the family computer’s screensaver to display the show’s title in giant yellow scrolling text. Exhibit B: More recently, while suffering from a metal deficiency medically referred to as “Bangaram Withdrawal Syndrome,” I wondered aloud if I could download the show online to watch on my computer.

A few of the show’s elements that manage to feed my alleged obsession include:

1) The glamorous set. The giant Egyptian head that brings to mind King Tut may seem over-the-top, but it’s really in keeping with the tone of the show and probably a necessary counterbalance to the hostess’s blindingly shiny wardrobe. As you might expect from a show with gold in its name, there’s “GOLD, GOLD and more GOLD,” or at least something that looks like it, all over the set. My inner pirate loves when the kids from each family face off because the one with the correct answer gets to grab some pieces of gold from the bowl filled with large coins that look suspiciously like chocolate gelt.

Game show hostess Radhika Sarathkumar exhorts viewers to go for the gold. (Swaathis.com)

2) The hostess’s glittering outfits. When contestants have asked her about her clothes during introductions, she has shared little details like the fact that the sparkly bits on her sari are actually Swarovski crystals. More of her (perhaps literally) stunning wardrobe as designed by Swaathis can be seen here. She is also usually decked out in enough gold jewelry for an entire bridal party.

3) The charming contestant introductions. These are much longer than what I’m used to from the game shows I grew up with like “Jeopardy!” and possibly my favorite part of the show. It’s not uncommon for family members ranging from grandma to baby to belt out a few notes of a favorite film song or bhajan in addition to introducing themselves and listing their hobbies, occupation and/or favorite subject in school. On one occasion, a contestant whipped out a small container of homemade sweets especially for the hostess. Delicious!

I don’t always know enough about the quiz topics to be able to play along, but you’ve probably guessed by now that the quiz portion of the show isn’t the main attraction for me anyway. Final verdict: Perhaps I am a little obsessed, but it’s only because this show is a solid gold hit!

Additional information: The Hindu, Rediff India Abroad.

Shalini on Today

iVillage’s new Beauty Expert Shalini Vadhera

Here at Nirali we love celebrating our contributors, so it was pretty thrilling to see our very own Shalini Vadhera (who has been penning our Ask Shalini column almost since the very beginning) on the Today show yesterday.

As the brand new iVillage Beauty Expert and spokesperson for their Makeover Central site, Shalini will also be hosting “About Face,” a broadband-only program on the iVillage site that will feature makeovers and beauty tips.

Read more about Shalini’s new makeup line here.
Congratulations, Shalini!

Kal Penn Joins Cast of 24

Kal Penn’s star is rising—he’s been everwhere since Nirali interviewed him in September 2004.

Kal Penn has joined the cast of 24, Fox’s Emmy-winning drama about Jack Bauer and his quest to stop the terrorists. I don’t watch the show, but word is that Penn is going to play the recurring role of a man who is involved with a nefarious Muslim leader who “may or may not be plotting a terrorist attack.” (Aside: Oy. I’ve heard good things about the show, but as a Muslim, I’m reluctant to check it out—does it perpetuate stereotypes? Hmm, I may have to rent the DVDs.)

Penn’s star is certainly rising: Not only was he in Superman, he will soon film Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam, the follow-up to 2004′s Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. The Van Wilder sequel is going to be based on Penn’s character Taj and will be called Van Wilder 2: Rise of the Taj. And who can forget his leading role in The Namesake, Mira Nair’s film adaptation of the Jhumpa Lahiri novel, due out this spring.

Looks like Kal Penn is officially in the big leagues. Good thing he still knows how to have fun. Check out his official MySpace profile for some hilarious videos that are somewhat…unexplainable?…but amusing nonetheless. And don’t forget to read our September 2004 feature on Penn himself.