- I've gotten plenty of 'thank you, come again.'
- You know, it's not...
It's not real.
- Probably a step back, probably a step back for Indians.
- I grew up in India, I am Indian, and in this video,
we are going to be talking about fictional Indian characters
in Western television and film.
- The main gripe I have is that really it's just
so underrepresented.
- I think it's changed a lot over the past few years.
- We're not in the perfect moment, you know,
but I think we're, you know, we're coming along.
- I was thinking of dressing up as Indiana Jones'
mocha-skinned lovechild. (laughing)
Indian Jones.
- Alright, this is Raj Koothrappali
from The Big Bang Theory.
- White writers, they always make an Indian name
for the character that even Indians can't pronounce.
- Great character.
I mean, I love Raj Koothrappali from the show.
I think he's written really well.
- Probably the worst character on TV right now
for brown people.
- Raj kind of feels like a blend
of a lot of different stereotypes.
- But as an Indian,
I sort of have a love hate relationship with him.
- Really intelligent, he has a job in the field of science,
he comes from a rich background.
- Why does the Indian guy have to be the biggest loser
out of all these four geeks?
- I love theater myself.
My whole life's basically one long Vagina Monologue.
- So, this is Mindy Lahiri from Mindy Project.
Mindy Lahiri is a really awesome character.
Mindy Kaling really created a character
that we haven't seen before with South Asian females.
She's humorous, she's really ambitious.
- I think it's a step forward to having Indians represented
in leading roles, which I think is very good.
I don't know if the show necessarily does the best job
of exploring her culture that often
given that she tries to ignore it for most of the show.
- Mindy Lahiri has had some criticism,
and I have some of my own criticism
as well about the character.
One of the main things
is that she only dates hot white guys.
- Oh, man, I was a little worried.
Some of my friends have racist grandmas.
- Oh, I see.
You assumed I was a racist just because I'm old.
- Well, now the tables have turned.
I'm sorry.
- So, this is Dev Shah from Master of None.
This was a really groundbreaking show, I think,
for the South Asian community.
- Easily the most relatable character,
Indian character, on a TV show.
He's just him, you know?
People view him for what he is, not because he's Indian.
- Dev Shah is a pretty accurate representation of
what a lot of Indians would experience in America today.
- He talks a little bit more about relationships and dating
and career stuff through the South Asian lens.
- There is, again,
disproportionate amount of white girls in this show.
Still want a brown girl here and there, you know?
Just saying.
Throw in a Basanti for every Britney.
- You know, Ben Kingsley did an accent in Gandhi
and he won the Oscar for it, so...
- But he didn't win the Oscar just for doing the accent.
I mean, it wasn't an Oscar for Best Indian Accent.
- Casting people would always
ask brown people to do an accent,
and I think this episode
made them feel a little bit bad about it.
- You're getting money
for a role that you might be perpetuating the same ideas
about what a culture might be.
- While I find that enough of a turn on to get into this car
and do what we just did, in the long run,
definitely not my type.
- This is the lovely Priyanka Chopra
playing the role of Alex Parrish from Quantico.
- The fact that she's playing this role is awesome.
- Priyanka Chopra is actually...
Was born and raised in India.
So, for her to be kind of this sex symbol
and kissing another person on screen
is actually a really big thing
in Bollywood and Indian community
where you really don't see actors and actresses
having that kind of physical relationship.
- That is interesting.
That's not a thing that Indian culture would've allowed,
but in this American show, it's a very natural thing.
- It's kind of refreshing to see this big step be taken
in this particular scene.
- Again, it's a white guy.
The more I see these clips, the more I'm realizing it.
Yeah, I guess you can not have
a brown brown relationship on screen.
Is that, like, not financially feasible?
I don't know.
- Do you have any idea what it's like
knowing my real brother and mother
spend every day of their lives looking for me?
- Yeah, this is Saroo from the movie Lion.
- Saroo, I think, is a really interesting
person to talk about when talking about representation
because he was adopted
and grew up in a mostly white community
wanting to find this identity.
I really actually kind of identified with Saroo.
A lot of, I think, second generation Indian people
really feel this balancing tightrope
where you're trying to juggle the community,
like the American community, but also your Indian community.
- Hollywood loves casting Indians as street boys.
It's either you're an orphan or a doctor.
It's just the highest level of sort of a sector
or you have no parents.
- I mean, they are realities in our country,
but there is, of course, a lot more to our country
than just the slums.
- I'm gonna cry.
What I also love about this scene
is seeing the entire village come together
to really exemplify that sense of community.
That is something that we focus on so much in India.
It's a small little detail,
but to see everyone kind of crowd around this reunion,
it feels very real.
- (sniffs) Jiminy Cricket.
Expired ham.
- Uh oh (laughs)
- Apu, apu, apu, apu.
- This is Apu, not gonna pronounce his last name,
from The Simpsons.
- This guy is just...
Created such a bad impression for Indians worldwide.
- Here's the thing.
He was the only Indian entity in my life on TV
until I was 13, 14.
So, while I was growing up as a kid,
he's the only Indian I've ever seen.
- The problem with Apu is just that
he has been the only character, prominent Indian character,
on American television for the longest time.
So, if someone has never met an Indian person before
and they've seen The Simpsons,
you're gonna think I talk like that, but I don't.
- Everything that we call out as a stereotype today
exists in Apu.
- It is a case of ignorance as opposed to malice.
They just did not know enough about the culture
to accurately portray it on screen.
- Obviously there are Indian people
that run convenience stores and gas stations
and drive taxis.
We're not saying that that doesn't exist, but again,
you're just showing one side of their character,
and you're making fun of it.
- He is intended to be laughed at.
His Indian-ness is something that
is supposed to be laughed at and supposed to be made fun of.
So, in that sense, I would say Apu is definitely offensive.
- Jess, Bend It Like Beckham.
Jess is a fuckin' badass.
Stereotypes that you kind of generally see
about Indian women are very...
They're quiet, they're conservative,
they're very marriage obsessed,
and Jess isn't like any of them.
- This is a very good story with good characters.
Maybe the mom was a little caricature.
She's like 'get married now,' maybe that was a little much.
- She is a really cool character
because she wanted to play soccer,
but she also wanted to please and support her parents.
- Some Indian girls and boys do go through
that sort of feeling where they're stuck in between
trying to keep their parents happy,
but also they want to find their individuality.
- They did so much risk to get here.
They want you to also be safe,
and they want you to be well-off.
- A movie like this actually, I think,
has helped to broaden our society back home.
- We're in a much further place even from 10 years ago.
I think people like Mindy Kaling, Aziz Ansari,
these types of people really helped push the envelope
and really create opportunities
for more South Asian representation
and kind of breaking away from the stereotypes.
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