Hi Aziz! Big fan of your standup, your sketch comedy work and especially your role on Parks and Rec. This is the first time I've asked anything on a celebrity AMA, and I'm really hoping you have the time to read it.
Most of the Indian characters I've seen on American television shows are very stereotypical, either doctors/engineers (or at least very nerdy), socially awkward, and the majority of jokes involving them are about their ethnicity, sometimes going as far as simply being thinly-veiled racist comments played up for cheap laughs. It’s incredibly refreshing to see a character on a mainstream TV show who isn’t an Indian stereotype, but is just a character who happens to be Indian (and, in fact, goes against many of the stereotypes, whether it’s purposely or not). So as an Indian actor in America, have you had to make a conscious effort to stay away from such stereotypical roles? Also, do you see the future of Asian and South Asian actors trending away from such stereotypical roles? As an Indian man in the US myself this is something I would definitely like to see happen, but you’re obviously more in-touch with that world than I am.
Flarinite798 karma
Hi Aziz! Big fan of your standup, your sketch comedy work and especially your role on Parks and Rec. This is the first time I've asked anything on a celebrity AMA, and I'm really hoping you have the time to read it.
Most of the Indian characters I've seen on American television shows are very stereotypical, either doctors/engineers (or at least very nerdy), socially awkward, and the majority of jokes involving them are about their ethnicity, sometimes going as far as simply being thinly-veiled racist comments played up for cheap laughs. It’s incredibly refreshing to see a character on a mainstream TV show who isn’t an Indian stereotype, but is just a character who happens to be Indian (and, in fact, goes against many of the stereotypes, whether it’s purposely or not). So as an Indian actor in America, have you had to make a conscious effort to stay away from such stereotypical roles? Also, do you see the future of Asian and South Asian actors trending away from such stereotypical roles? As an Indian man in the US myself this is something I would definitely like to see happen, but you’re obviously more in-touch with that world than I am.
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