Indian-origin stars Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Pooja Kumar hit Hollywood gold

London: American actors of Indian descent such as Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Pooja Kumar have come a long way to claim their place in the US television and film industry.

Indian American creative talents have more on their plate today than what they did a decade ago when they were offered only stereotypical roles. The collaboration of Hollywood and Indian film companies for joint projects has led to a spurt in South Asian origin executives in leading entertainment organisations as well, reports the BBC. Most of these professionals are US-born such as Kalpen Modi, also called Kal Penn, whose talent, as seen in comedy film series Harold and Kumar and crossovers like The Namesake, apparently led him to be an outreach director in the Obama administration. Mumbai-born actor and writer Aasif Mandvi also carved up a niche with the popular American TV comedy series The Daily Show. Mandvi said: "When I started out as an actor there were very few of us. There were no roles for Indians in Hollywood films or TV. "But acting was something I always wanted to do, and there was nothing else I was very good at. I just had to sink or swim. I did a little bit of both along my way." While actress Pooja Kumar featured in TV serials and films including Flavors and the musical comedy Bollywood Hero, other leading names of Indian origin included Sunil Nayar, Sri Rao and Mindy Kaling. Rao, a writer-director-producer based in New York City, added: “The biggest opportunity for South Asian writers, actors and producers is in American television now. "There is a tremendous amount of content being produced and there is much interest on the side of the networks and studios to make sure that their casts are more diverse and that the stories they are telling are unique and different from what were told in last 10 or 20 years." ANI