Irrfan Khan: 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Life of Pi' actor dies

Irrfan Khan, 1967-2020

ASAM NEWS

Irrfan Khan, a veteran Hollywood and Bollywood actor, has died at the age of 53, NBC Chicago reports.

Khan passed away on Wednesday after being admitted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection. He had been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in 2018 but appeared to recover from it.

Khan was born on Jan. 7 1967, to Saeeda Begum and Yaseen Khan in Rajasthan, India, The New York Times reports. He was one of four children.

In the 1980s, Khan began his career playing small roles on Indian television, according to The New York Times. His film debut came in 1988 with a small role Salaam Bombay!, an Academy Award-nominated film, Rolling Stone reports. He would go on to star in dozens of Bollywood films. I

Khan would make his mark on American cinema in 2007, with his role in the English language Bollywood film The Namesake. In 2008, he played a police detective in Slumdog Millionaire. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He would go on to star in films like Life of Pi, The Amazing Spiderman, Jurassic World and Inferno, the sequel to The DaVinci Code.

Actors and world leaders have taken to social media to honor Khan’s life and work.

Mindy Kaling, one of Hollywood’s most prolific Indian American entertainers, called Khan her “favorite actor” and praised the “subtlety and sensitivity” in his performances.

“Irrfan Khan’s demise is a loss to the world of cinema and theatre,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a tweet. “He will be remembered for his versatile performances across different mediums. My thoughts are with his family, friends and admirers. May his soul rest in peace.”

Khan is survived by his wife Sutapa Sikdar and their two sons.

TGIF Feature: Filipino American characters to debut in Pixar's 'Float'

PIXAR

A first: The two lead characters in 'Float' are Filipino Americans.

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VIEWS FROM THE EDGE

Animation takes a new twist, courtesy of Pixar, with its new short Float due out November 12 with the debut of the Disney+ streaming platform.
Float is one of six projects under its SparkShorts banner. It’s from writer/producer Bobby Rubio.

This is believed to be the first time ever Filipino American characters have been featured in animation. It’s also the first time Pixar has introduced Filipino CGI characters.

In his video blog on YouTube, Frank Bernard said SparkShorts is designed to bring more diverse storytelling to Pixar Studios. 

Bernard described the story in Float this way. “The dad has tanned skin, large expressive eyes, a very prominent Filipino nose, and definitely epitomizes the traits of a Filipino father. The fact that he’s depicted as a very protective dad who tries to keep his son grounded, literally, is so Filipino, and it really shows Rubio is tying in his own culture in his work.”

Rubio has worked as a story artist for Incredibles 2, Inside Out, and Monsters University.

“I know what it means to see our culture represented on screen,” Rubio wrote on Twitter.

Rubio has worked on other Pixar hits including Incredibles 2, Inside Out, Up and Monsters and also the animate films Tarzan and Avatar: The Last Airbender series. 

He shared how important it is to finally have characters that represent millions of Filipinos all over the world.

"I am proud to tell our stories. I know what it means to see our culture represented on screen! #RepresentationMatters," he wrote.

Excitement in the Fil Am community is building

"I am so grateful to tell our stories. I know what it means to be underrepresented... I’m going to do my best to tell MORE!" he wrote in another tweet.

Rubio is currently on a separate project entitled Neighborhood Legend, starring yet another Filipino American character in a story set in his hometown of San Diego, California.

You can get a look at all six Pixar SparkShorts in the trailer below.

“The SparkShorts program is designed to discover new storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques, and experiment with new production workflows,” said Jim Morris, president of Pixar Animation Studios. “These films are unlike anything we’ve ever done at Pixar, providing an opportunity to unlock the potential of individual artists and their inventive filmmaking approaches on a smaller scale than our normal fare.”

Added Lindsey Collins, vice president of development for Pixar, “We want to nurture our future storytellers and encourage them to share their stories with the world. Who are the future directors and producers and what crazy new ideas do they have brewing? What is the next big breakthrough in our industry? Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of Sparkshorts. The program was created to provide opportunities to a wide array of artists—each with something unique to say.”

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Indian American family featured in possible spinoff from Fresh Off the Boat

Preity G. Zinta, left, and Vir Das have been cast in a 'Fresh Off the Boat' episode that might spin off.

ASAM NEWS

Two leads have been named to star in a potential spinoff of Fresh off the Boat. The new show now in development would center around an Indian American family whose daughter goes to school with Eddie Huang (Hudson Yang), reports Variety.
The show is tentatively titled "Magic Motor Inn" and would star Vir Das as father DC and Preity G. Zinta as the mother, Meena.

Both characters will be introduced in a Fresh off the Boat episode which is scheduled to be shot in mid-November. If successful, a formal pilot will be ordered.

According to Forbes, writer-producer Rachna Fruchbom will be writing the new series. The Indian American scriptwriter is currently under a deal with 20th Century Fox. She is currently a supervising producer of Fresh off the Boat after moving up from a writer position. 

Vir Das is a YouTube star and actor and has two Netflix specials. Variety named him one of the top ten comedians to watch in 2017. The highly popular Zinta has starred in 37 Bollywood films.

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Chloe Kim struggling with being a celebrity

SCREEN CAPTURE / ESPN

For Olympian Chloe Kim, being in the spotlight isn't all that glamorous.

ASAM NEWS

Chloe Kim made international headlines on the halfpipe at PyeongChang 2018 when she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding medal at 17-years old but with the glory came the tremendous pressure to "represent" Asian Americans. 
“Every time I’m stepping outside, I have to make sure I’m putting my best foot forward,” Kim told espnW. “That’s hard sometimes. I ask people not to be so harsh. It has even affected my family. My mom’s doing this knitting class and said she has to be careful, she’s worried she might say something weird. We’re working on it as a collective.”

ESPEN interviewed Kim in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) to discuss success and growing up in the spotlight.

Kim made sure to thank her family for her successes and continues to be grateful for them. Her parents instilled in her a drive to work hard for success since she was young.

“My dad never quit or let me give up or anything like that,” said Kim. “I just like what I do, it was never hard to motivate myself. I always wanted to do more. If I didn’t like what I did, I’d be miserable in the mountains. I do what I do solely because I love it, and that’s all the motivation you need.”

All that hard work has brought her an Olympic gold medal and national fame, but that fame means little rest in the public eye.

“Sometimes when we go and eat, we have a strategic way of sitting at the table so that no one can see me,” said Kim. “I don’t want to sound like a brat who says she hates her fans, I love my fans. Sometimes though I just want to be left alone. I’m so anxious about what I’m saying, what I’m wearing, or what I look like. It can be really hard.

“I’m working on accepting that that’s my life now. It’s always going to be like that, I’m always going to be judged. Sometimes I’m like, ‘damn, I wish I didn’t tweet about churros that one time.'”

Kim spoke about her experiences as one of the few Asian Americans on the slopes as part of a campaign with Panda Express for APAHM.

As for defining success outside of snowboarding, Kim claims she’s the worst person to ask.

“I haven’t found it yet. I’m going to college. I’m going to see what I can do with my life outside of snowboarding. I’ll have an answer for you in six years.”

Kim will be attending college at Princeton, where she hopes to major in a science, reports The New York Times.

“Even after I snowboard, I hope that my next career involves helping others,” Kim said in the Panda Express interview. “As long as I’m helping others, I’ll be very happy with my life.”

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Asian Spring blooms after Asian August planted the seeds

From upper left, clockwise, Late Night, Plus One, The Sun Is Also A Star, Warrior.

In the wake of Asian August, during which we saw the premieres of three major movies featuring Asian Americans in leading roles, we are luxuriating in the Asian Spring blooms

From March to June, the sheer number of television series and films that already had or will have a season premiere or movie debut, leaves one breathless. It is almost enough to make one wonder what the fuss was over representation.

Asian August brought us Crazy Rich Asians, With its all-Asian cast, the movie broke box office expectations for a romantic comedy. The month also brought us To All the Boys I've Ever Loved, another romcom starring up-an-coming Korean American Lana Condor; and the thriller Searching starring John Cho. All the movies were critically acclaimed. One movie with Asian leads was unique but three movies with that cross-over appeal woke up Hollywood

While these movies and TV shows began development before the success of Crazy Rich Asians didn't hurt. The success of that single film had Hollywood questioning its own bias against casting of Asians. If projects were on the bubble, Asian August helped push them over the greenlight line.

Sandra Oh kicked off Asian Spring by hosting Saturday Night Live.

Despite the dozen movies and TV series that debuted in Spring, don't be lulled into a state of inaction. There is still plenty of room for improvement. Studies show that AAPI actors are still a rarity and the vast majority of television products still don't include an AAPI cast member.

Hollywood may not be in a love affair with Asian-inspired projects, it is certainly full-blown flirtation bueled partially by curiosity and, let's face it, money. As long as these projects are making money, studio heads, directors and producers will keep the door open. Nevertheless, as Asian Spring demonstrates, we should acknowledge that representation and inclusion has taken a leap forward for the AAPI audience and artists.

While it is too early to say if this open door leads to institutional change in the entertainment industry, in the meantime, let's enjoy the unprecedented presence of Asians on the big and small screen:

PEN15: A comedy about teenage angst stars newcomer Maya Erskine learning how to survive middle school. Although it premiered Feb. 15, it is still available through the spring on Hulu's streaming network

Saturday Night Live: Sandra Oh hosted Saturday Night Live, only the third Asian American to host the comedy variety show, following in the footsteps of Lucy Liu (1962) and Awkwafina (2018)

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, Janelle Parish (To All the Boys I Ever Loved) and Sydney Park in this sequel to Pretty Little Liars. Freeform, March 20, 8 p.m.

Into the Badlands: The martial arts epic taking place in a dystopian future America stars Daniel Wu entered its final season, March 24 10 p.m. on AMC.

Warrior was so well received that it is already committed to a second season.

Warrior: The Bruce Lee-inspired television series that takes place in 19th century San Francisco's Chinatown debuted April 5 on Cinemax

Killing Eve: The second season of this crime thriller starrin Sandra Oh, who won an Emmy for her portrayal of MI6 agent Eve Polestri. The series launched 9 p.m., April 7 on BBC America.

Unforgotten: Sanjeev Bhaskar stars as Sunny Khan in the British crime drama revolving around two London detectives. His costar is Nicola Walker. The third season began on April 7,  PBS 10 p.m.

The Code: The television legal drama stars Philippa Soo debuted April 9 on CBS, 9 p.m. Soo plays Lieutenant Harper Li, a highly capable, hyper-organized and fierce lawyer whose ability to compartmentalize and prioritize makes her an asset to the team of military attorneys.

Plus One: The romantic comedy starring hapa Maya Erskine. Plus One premiered May 5. “This was something that I couldn’t have dreamed possible as a kid,” says Erskine. “As a kid, I didn’t see myself reflected back to me, so I didn’t see this as a possibility. So if this movie makes it out there and other people see it, I do hope that a young girl who is like me can look at it and be like, ‘Oh, I can be that woman.’”

John Wick: Parabellum stars Keanu Reeves in the third installment of this popular science fiction action franchise.

The Sun is Also A Star: The boy-meets-girl stars Charles Melton, a Korean American actor from Riverdale, as the romantic lead opposite Yara Shahid, of Blackish. It debuts in theaters May 17.

Disney went to great effort to appropriately cast the live-action Aladdin.

Aladdin: The live action remake of Disney's animated movie stars culturally appropriate Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmin, Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Will Smith as the genie. The trailers are gorgeous. The musical film will have its general release to U.S. movie theaters on May 24.

Always Be My Maybe: The rom-com explores the premise of “the friend zone” with the comedic duo of Ali Wong and Randall Park. It will be on the Netflix streaming service starting May 31.

Late Night, Mindy Kaling’s buzzy look at sexism and diversity in the television writers' room (partially based on her real-life experience), will hit theaters on June 7, 2019. It stars Kaling and Emma Thompson.

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