WASHINGTON: This seems to be the year of the Indian-American community as they have been taking a crack at the glass ceiling in almost every profession. Joining the crowd is comedian Aziz Ansari, who will soon become the first person of Indian-origin to host the well-acclaimed 'Saturday Night Live' on January 21.
The previous year brought quite a lot of attention on Ansari, as he won his first Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and earned a total of four nominations for his Netflix show 'Master of None'. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, to immigrant parents from Tamil Nadu, he was in the New York University Stern School of Business when he began performing in Big Apple clubs and weekly shows. His first award was the Jury Award for "Best Stand up" at HBO's 2006 US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen.
However, his big break with SNL doesn't really mean his popularity has been growing. Speaking out about the lack of diversity in the industry, Aziz had once said, "Even though I've sold out Madison Square Garden as a stand up comedian and have appeared in several films and a TV series, when my phone rings, the roles I'm offered are often defined by ethnicity and often require accents." SNL has been criticised in the past for its typically White hosts. Only two celebrities of Asian descent- Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu have hosted the show before. However, there have been a couple of Black performers, including Oprah Winfry, Janet Jackson and Chris Rock.
Several Indian-Americans have made their place in the comedy world in the US. Among well-known stand ups of Indian-origin are Canadian Russell Peters and Mindy Kaling.
