SAJAforum's Ankita Rao wrote in June about "Outsourced," a new NBC's show this fall:
A spin-off of the 2006 movie by the same name, the plot
follows a jaded salesman, Todd (Ben Rappaport), to India to oversee a call
center.
If the movie is indeed a taste-test, “Outsourced” promises
to channel a stereotype into a subtle, lively storyline complete with romance
and cultural commentary.
The cast is mostly comprised of vaguely recognizable BBC
stars, sitcom hoppers and newcomers such as Rizwan Manji, Rebecca Hazlewood,
Anisha Nagarajan and Sacha Dhawan.
Writer Robert Borden hails from “The Drew Cary Show”, and director
Ken Kwapis tested out his diversity comedy with “The Office”.
The show debuts tonight, as part of the Thursday night 9:30 pm slot, right after "The Office." You can see the trailer below. More on the show at http://www.nbc.com/outsourced.
Many of you weighed in on Ankita's post (more than 50 comments!), without seeing the show. Please watch tonight and post your comments and analysis below.
WhileKal Penn and Aziz Ansari have paved the way for South
Asian funny guys, a full cast from the subcontinent are just now making their
way to the small screen in NBC Thursday’s new sitcom, “Outsourced”.
A spin-off of the 2006 movie by the same name, the plot
follows a jaded salesman, Todd (Ben Rappaport), to India to oversee a call
center.
If the movie is indeed a taste-test, “Outsourced” promises
to channel a stereotype into a subtle, lively storyline complete with romance
and cultural commentary.
The cast is mostly comprised of vaguely recognizable BBC
stars, sitcom hoppers and newcomers such as Rizwan Manji, Rebecca Hazlewood,
Anisha Nagarajan and Sacha Dhawan.
Writer Robert Borden hails from “The Drew Cary Show”, and director
Ken Kwapis tested out his diversity comedy with “The Office”.
“Outsourced” bumped out “Parks and Recreation” (starring Ansari) for the
Thursday evening spot at 9:30, although that doc-style comedy is only on hold,
not canceled. NBC is adding five new comedies and seven new dramas to their
line-up, according to the NBC website.
Times Now correspondent Simrat Ghuman was "walking on air" after President Obama called on her to ask a question during his news conference at the G-20 summit in London. (Is it just me, or does that number seem to change every year, and entirely without warning?) Apparently, Ghuman was so high in the clouds that she couldn't help but interrupt Obama's answer:
QUESTION: Hi, Mr. President.
OBAMA: How are you?
QUESTION: Thank you for choosing me. I'm very well. I'm (inaudible) from the Times of India.
OBAMA: Wonderful.
QUESTION: You met with our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. What did you -- what are you -- what is America doing to help India battle terrorism emanating from Pakistan?
OBAMA: Well, first of all, your prime minister is a wonderful man.
QUESTION: Thank you. I agree.
(LAUGHTER)
I agree.
OBAMA: You know, did you have something to do with that?
(LAUGHTER)
You seem to kind of take credit for it a little bit there.
(LAUGHTER)
QUESTION: We're really proud of him, so...
OBAMA: Of course. You should be proud of him. I'm teasing you. I think he's a very wise and decent man and has done a wonderful job in guiding India, even prior to being prime minister, along a path of extraordinary economic growth that is a marvel, I think, for all the world.... [link]
Must-see video of the entire exchange (including Obama's full response) is above, and the rest of Obama's answer appears after the jump. No word on whether Prime Minister Singh is now "walking on air" as well. However, the next time someone tells me that Sree Sreenivasan and Arun Venugopal are "wonderful men," I'll be tempted to interrupt and say "thank you."
Unfortunately, Ghuman's pride in her Prime Minister stole some of the media oxygen from the actual response to her own question. However, as the Associated Press notes, in his response Obama said that "in a nuclear age, at a time when perhaps the greatest enemy of both India and Pakistan should be poverty, ... it may make sense to create a more effective dialogue between India and Pakistan."
Photographer Jay Mandal/On Assignment sent us these images of Aishwarya Rai, who's in NYC to promote "The Pink Panther 2," where she appears alongside Steve Martin. The movie opens this week.
Kids, see if you can match his photos to our captions.
"First thing after the wedding, I had such a big cheeseburger."
"I told him straight to his face: 'Sallu, what woman would marry a guy in such tight shorts?'"
"Well, mister, when you're quote-unquote the world's most beautiful woman, I think that's completely acceptable behavior."
"I kid you not. He said, 'Marry me, Ash, or I swear I'll pull the trigger.' I said, 'Sallu you lush, that's my blow dryer.'"
We posted last year on an alleged interpretation of Jack 'n Jill by KL Saigal, but of course the oeuvre is endless. Here's an actress from a Tamil sitcom in which you can experience Twinkle Twinkle in various South and North Indian renderings.
According to one YouTube commenter, the first Twinkle Twinkle she performs is in Vasantha Ragam. I particularly like the endless laugh track, and the token suspicious neighbor who shows up near the end. Anyone know the Tamil serial, or the Bollywood film that shows up at the end of the clip? Love that dress.
For those new to the art of Indian nursery song drills, check out this video. Also, Bhai's version. And this clip has renderings of Twinkle Twinkle in Carnatic and Bollywood styles. And here's a version of Baa Baa Black Sheep, with tabla, and yet another, performed by what appears to be some sort of teacher. This Twinkle Twinkle, lip-synched by an Indian teenager in school uniform, is sped up and a little eerie. I really must pull myself away now.
One of the more unusual press releases: "From Batman to Gandhi: Three Events at the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Arts (MoCCA)" - including a discussion about "comics from super heroes to the nonviolent." Full press release below.
From Batman to Gandhi: Three Events at the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Arts (MoCCA) MLK Week
Press Release Contact: Karl Erickson or Ellen Abramowitz eabramowitz@moccany.org kerickson@moccany.org
From Batman to Gandhi: Comics from Super Heroes to the Nonviolent
Three Events at the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art, Manhattan--MLK Week:
Jan. 19th, 2-:30pm, Workshop-Urban Empathy: Living with Compassion in the Big Apple
Jan. 22nd 7pm, Moderated Discussion & Launch of Urban Empathy
Jan. 24th 1-3pm, Workshop-Making Comics in Adobe Flash
No other city can boast as many super heroes as New York---Superman, Batman, and Spiderman all play out their larger-than-life adventures in the Big Apple. Yet what happens when the action figure genre is applied to a different kind of risk and adventure---every day interactions between New Yorkers? And rather than using physical force or finesse---like Superman and Spiderman---it's communication skills to the rescue?
She, ie. 23-year-old Natasha Paracha, agreed to appear on CNN to speak about something she clearly doesn't know anything about: India-Pakistan relations in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. She was also caught on camera, self-consciously touching her face as it to make sure her makeup were okay. And her earpiece kept falling out of her ear. And if that weren't humiliating enough, they made her wear her Miss Pakistan World sash.
But then she had to go and say this:
"The image of Pakistan has been threatened with these recent attacks. And I feel that now as Pakistanis we have to stand up and condone what has happened in the country of India and in these Mumbai attacks."
Surely she meant "condemn," yes? Well, unfortunately for the two nations on the brink of war, she repeated herself, most confidently.
Jim Romenesko's media blog on Poynter.org is a must-read because he covers all the important developments in the our industry. On occasion, he also finds little gems in otherwise routine stories - and those gems are worth the visit. Case in point: this is how he summarized Regina Schrambling'spiece about food writers and thanksgiving.
Why food writers secretly hate Thanksgiving Slate They have to knock themselves out to come up with a gimmick -- fast turkey, slow turkey, brined turkey, unbrined turkey -- when the meal essentially has to stay the same, says Regina Schrambling. "It's like redrawing the Kama Sutra when readers really only care about the missionary position."
Recent Comments