TV: Fictional Desi TV Characters

Tonight on ABC, there's a big new ensemble sitcom with a South Asian character in it. It's called "The Knights of Prosperity" and the character's name is Gourishankar "Do not call me Gary" Subramaniam (he's played by Iranian-American actor Maz Jobrani). The show, which was originally titled "Let's Rob Mick Jagger" (because that's the premise of the show - ordinary guys decide to rob Mick Jagger's apartment), describes him thus:

Back home in India, Gourishankar "Gary" Subramaniam (Maz Jobrani) was a superstar lawyer, but here in New York City he drives a cab to make ends meet. Reluctant to join the group at first, Gary has a change in heart when Eugene reminds him that, although he was a winner at home, here he chauffeurs old ladies to Broadway matinees.

[You can watch the entire episode later tonight online - free - at http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing]

Anyone with any qualms about having a desi character being played by a non-South Asian actor should not that in Hollywood it's fairly common to see brown actors of various ethnicities playing various other ethnicities. After all, the most famous fictional Iraqi on American TV is played by a South Asian. We are talking about Sayid Jarrah, a former Iraqi Republican Guard, who is played by Naveen Andrews.

This got us thinking: What are the other famous fictional desi TV characters? There are occasional desi sightings on American TV, but what about the recurring characters (at least three episodes)? Here are some memorable ones. Send in your thoughts on these folks and anyone else we should have had by posting in the comments section below.

• Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Kwik-E-Mart owner on "The Simpsons" (1989-present), voiced by Hank Azaria. [Also see this SAJAforum posting on an Apu makeover]
• Mohinder Suresh, superhero in "Heroes" (2006-present), played by Sendhil Ramamurthy.
• Chandra Suresh, father of a superhero in "Heroes" (2006-present), played by Erik Avari.
• Amita Ramanujam, math genius on "Numb3rs" (2005-present), played by Navi Rawat.
• Neela Rasgotra, doctor on "ER" (2003-present), played by Parminder Nagra.
• Kelly Kapoor, customer service rep on the U.S. version of "The Office" (2005-present), played by Mindy Kaling.
• Dr. Mahesh "Bug" Vijayaraghavensatanaryanamurthy, a doctor on "Crossing Jordan" (2001-present), played by Ravi Kapoor.
• Raji Bakshi, a TV producer on "Lateline" (1998-99), played by Ajay Naidu.
• Dr. Siddhartha "Sid" Shandar, a doctor on "Gideon's Crossing" (2000-2001), played by Ravi Kapoor.
• Jonathan, "30 Rock" (2006-present) played by Maulik Pancholy.
• Sanjay, on "Weeds" (2005-present), played by Maulik Pancholy.
• Babu Bhatt, a Pakistani cafe owner on "Seinfeld" (1991-97), played by Brian George.
• Waitress  on Frasier (2003-2004), played by Amita Bhalla.
• Saraswati Kumar on "Las Vegas" (2004-2006), played by Lakshmi Manchu.

Meanwhile, South Asians playing recurring non-South Asian characters on American TV:

• Sayid Jarrah, a former Iraqi Republican Guard (2004-present), played by Naveen Andrews.
• Theresa Diaz, a Hispanic hotel worker on "The O.C." (2006-present), played by Navi Rawat.
• Niobe of the Veroni on "Rome" (2006-present), played by Indira Verma.
• Ahmet on "24" (2006-present), played by Kal Penn.
• Papi on "The L Word" (2006-present), played by Janina Gavankar.
• Dr. Adrienne Holland, a doctor on "3 lbs" (2006), played by Indira Verma
• Also: Rhona Mitra regularly plays non-South Asians in various shows, including "Boston Legal," Party of Five" and "Gideon's Crossing." 

UPDATE: Thanks to reader FatMango, who posted this in the comments section, we have this very useful site and all its listings:

Oh wow, after poking around for the legendary Kuda Bux who had a show in the 50s, I found a website listing pretty much all the Indians on TV from the 50 through the 80s. Holy cow, I can't believe there were so many. How strange to think of Indians on television in the 50s!!

Who else? As long as they have been in at least three episodes, they qualify. Send in your thoughts on these folks and anyone else we should have had by posting in the comments section below.

Thanks to the following folks their input into this list:  Rocky Agrawal, Jas, Kavi Ladnier, Anita Malik, Anandi Premlall.

 

Comments

[anita malik]

How about Kelly Kapoor on "The Office" played by Mindy Kaling.

[Jas]

Sendhil Ramamurthy NBC drama Heroes
As a total eclipse casts its shadow across the globe, a genetics professor (Sendhil Ramamurthy, "Blind Guy Driving") in India is led by father's disappearance to uncover a secret theory -- there are people with super powers living among us.

[Rocky Agrawal]

Maulik Pancholy plays Jonathan, the assistant to Alec Baldwin's character on 30 Rock.

He also plays Sanjay, the assistant to Mary Louise-Parker's drug dealer on Weeds.

[Anandi A. Premlall]

Indira Varma played Dr. Adrianne Holland, a neurosurgeon in CBS's 3 lbs.

[fatmango]

This is embarassing that I know all this useless stuff. But I swear, it's less about watching lots of TV than it was growing up in a small farm town in Ohio where I simply got so excited seeing a brown person on TV who wasn't Puerto Rican. So here goes:

The original Indian on American television has to be Hadji from Jonny Quest. Yes, a cartoon but I certainly got fired up as a kid.

As a Tamil Nadar myself, my entire family rallied around the TV in the mid-80s to watch Vijay Amritraj play a police cadet on a show called Last Precinct. Vijay also put some time in Yakov Smirnoff's show in the late 80s but can't remember the name. It was like an ESL class. No joke.

Jory Husain as Jawaharlal Choudhury in Head of the Class circa late 80s. Model Immigrant.

Now, more current hot women:

Lakshmi Manchu as Sarasvati Kumar in Las Vegas circa present

Rhona Mitra in Boston Legal, Party of Five, and about another dozen shows it seems though I don't think ever as a desi.

Sheetal Sheth in a yet unaired NBC mid-season replacement, Singles Table, as Martina (Latina character).

Oh wow, after poking around for the legendary Kuda Bux who had a show in the 50s, I found a website listing pretty much all the Indians on TV from the 50 through the 80s. Holy cow, I can't believe there were so many. How strange to think of Indians on television in the 50s!!!

You can check it out here:
http://www.tvacres.com/ethnic_indian_pak.htm

That's definitely enough procrastination for now.

[Matt]

You forgot Dr.Kenchy Dhuwalia on the CBS television show "Jericho" played by Aasif Mandvi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jericho_characters#Dr._Kenchy_Dhuwalia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aasif_Mandvi

[AJ]

Leela, from Sesame Street.

http://entertainment.in.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1310703

Dr. Lawrence Kutner, from House.

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/house/theshow/characterprofiles/penn/index.html

[d]

Sulekha (?) from Men in Trees.

[exsqueezeme]

isn't there a better way of presenting such listings of TV or hollywood hopefuls in a more natural way than treating them as south asian arrivistes who must be natural freaks to have made it this far. instead of this obssessive self-congratulatory celebration why not celebrate the wider context of their product and then zero in on them, discuss and evaluate them, adore them or destroy them, just so they look less jarring to the uninitiated. omar sharif, who touched the pinnacle of hollywood never needed promotion as an egyptian to get to the top of the heap. the only reference his 'egyptology' ever got was as an egyptian bridge/poker player.

let these actors enjoy anonymity instead of being encumbered with ethnic distinctions. let them be critiqued by professionals, if there are any, instead of gloating over their burgeoning ranks.

moral: the way they are presented these stories produce ENNUI.