South Asian American talent from coast to coast
From household names to up-and-comers, there is increasingly Brown creative talent regularly on stage across the U.S. These are some I saw.
This post originally appeared on Red, White and Brown’s newsletter on Substack (Issue #63 sent on Feb. 8, 2023).
I spent most of 2023 working remotely on the road, driving coast to coast and in between. In addition to Denver, I spent months in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and Boston — mostly for personal reasons but also partly trying to attend as many South Asian American events as possible in each city.
The short of it: There is so much Brown talent everywhere — and I just saw a tiny fraction of it. Here’s a sample of highlights that inspired me:
Because photography was banned inside, I don’t have a photo of Russell Peters, but it felt like a throwback to see the OG Brown comedy legend perform standup in Long Beach, California. While some of his humor has not aged well (Gen Z would likely cringe), I enjoyed his usual, unfiltered delivery on the South Asian diasporic experience.
Couldn’t leave LA without attending a movie premiere. Hosted by well-known Indian matchmaker Radha Patel (far left), writer Nikhil S. Jayaram (seated left) shared the process about creating his Hallmark rom-com “Make Me a Match,” starring Rushi Kota (seated next to Jayaram). The movie was Hallmark’s first Indian American-centered storyline.
I finally got to meet artist Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed whose storytelling and art always has a unique political lens. Her solo exhibit, “Aunties with Deadly Stare,” premiered at LA Artcore — a beautiful nonprofit art space run by artistic leader (and childhood friend — small world!) Pranay Reddy.
I heard contemporary Carnatic musician Sid Sriram sing his heart out in West Hollywood, sampling sounds from his first full English album, “Sidharth.” I was quite in awe to see a Tamil American guy raised in the Bay Area, who became a household name with a huge career in Chennai, perform at the Roxy Theatre — an LA institution where iconic artists like Neil Young, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Etta James and Aretha Franklin have stood on that same stage. Now, add Sid Sriram to that list.
It was a treat to be a part of the live audience at the Los Angeles taping of comedian Rajiv Satyal’s 90-minute set. Hopefully, audiences worldwide will get to see it soon.
The South Asian AF comedy variety show, also in LA, was amazing — a packed audience witnessed hilarious improv from Brown talent across the city.
I had wanted to see Aparna Nancherla for years and finally got to see her comedy on stage at The Elysian in LA’s Eastside.
In Palo Alto, a staged reading of actor and writer Minita Gandhi’s play “Nerve” shared a beautiful intergenerational story of an Indian American family. I was captivated by the storytelling, raw emotions and starstruck to see the grandmother from “Never Have I Ever” — Ranjita Chakravarty — perform live.
I could also write an entire issue about the amazing food I ate along the way, but I’ll spare you my gastronomic obsession. Some highlights: Sights of Punjabi dhabas along interstates in Nebraska and Texas, South Indian modern takes at Copra in SF (chef Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan is now a James Beard Award semifinalist), unique Gujarati spins at Besharam in SF, Indian-Mexican fusion in LA, Indian pizza in Boston, basically everything in NYC and more.
This year, I’m back in San Francisco. Tell me about events happening in your Bay Area communities.
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