Content warning: This article contains mentions of suicide.
Stereotypes and underrepresentation often push Indian creatives to the sidelines. We’ve all seen it: the nerd with a heavy accent, the sidekick who hacks into the mainframe or the outcast who never fits in. But as times have changed, more Indian creatives are paving the way, expressing themselves in ways that are bold, authentic and ready to be heard.
This Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, dive into these six media recommendations from the creative minds of Indian directors, actors, musicians and writers.
An action-packed thriller
English actor Dev Patel both stars and debuts his directorial prowess in “Monkey Man,” a 2024 revenge thriller that tackles political violence in the Indian caste system. The audience follows Kid (Patel), a jobber‚ or a wrestler who purposefully loses matches for money, in an underground fight club with a merciless plot to avenge his mother years after she was murdered by a corrupt police chief. Underpinning the fast-paced action is Kid’s profound devotion to Hanuman, the Hindu god with the face of a monkey, as well as his moments of restoration in a temple where he is cared for by a nearby city’s hijra population that faces government discrimination. The cultural elements of Indian mythology and collective community are what makes this film more than just an action movie, rightfully described by the director as “an anthem for the underdogs, voiceless and marginalized.”
A resonant cultural memoir
“They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us” (2023) is a memoir by Indian American journalist and author Prachi Gupta detailing the harrowing effects that the model minority myth has had on her family since her childhood. This book is a tear-jerker, and it was the first book I ever read that I completely resonated with as an Indian American woman. Gupta writes the book as an address to her mother, notably discussing the emotional toll that comes with immigrant family expectations, the negative impacts that Western psychiatry had on her and how she only began to understand the struggles her mother faced once she became an adult herself. Her prose is deeply resonant, depicting the cultural anxiety and grief while also emphasizing the importance of empathy and radical self-acceptance as a third-culture kid.
A cheesy rom-com
Oh, to fall in love during a summer in New York City. The 2022 film “Wedding Season” centers on Asha (Pallavi Sharda), a no-nonsense career woman who is dead set on her job at a microfinance startup. To satisfy her marriage-crazed mother, Asha reluctantly agrees to go on a date with Ravi (Suraj Sharma), a carefree, artistic guy that Asha’s mother finds through the dating profile she runs for her daughter. The pair, both facing familial and cultural pressure to get married, decide to fake date each other during an Indian summer wedding season. While some criticize the film for its typical storyline and cliche fake relationship trope, I find it refreshing. Indian American kids often grow up watching themselves depicted on screen as the sidekick, the nerd or the outcast. But sometimes, it’s nice to watch someone who looks like you fall in love in a way that is joyful, cheesy and delightfully predictable.
A high-energy hip hop artist
Known for his viral hit “Big Dawgs,” Sooraj Cherukat — known to fans as Hanumankind — has taken the internet’s Indian communities by storm. Originally from Kerala, India, the artist takes inspiration from the Hindu deity, Hanuman, for his stage name, noting that “he personifies honor, courage and loyalty.” His music style combines Indian cultural references with a raw, authentic hip hop sound that makes it impossible to sit still. In his recent single, “Run It Up,” weighty sentiments like “We feelin’ the weight of our ancestors / We healin’ with ways that don’t last for long” are undercut by booming bass notes and the ringing sounds of a chenda, a percussive instrument that originates from South India. With recent performances at Coachella and Lollapalooza India, the artist’s stage presence proves to be just as explosive and exciting as his music, making for a raving celebration of Indian pride on a global scale.
A zany coming-of-age series
Enter Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a hot-headed Indian American high schooler from Southern California who leads in comedy-drama series “Never Have I Ever.” Devi is characterized by her impulsive decisions, earning the title of “Crazy Devi” from her peers at school. Underneath all of Devi’s derogatory — albeit hilarious — quips at her classmates, she grieves for her father, whose death precedes the plot of the first season. Devi’s moments of recklessness ultimately pave an avenue of connection to her mother, Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan), while they work through their shared grief. “Never Have I Ever,” while comedic on the surface, more profoundly depicts the messy, beautiful dynamic of a daughter and her immigrant mother as the audience watches their relationship develop over the show’s four seasons.
A heartfelt Bollywood movie
“Chhichhore” is a 2019 coming-of-age Bollywood movie directed by Nitesh Tiwari exploring the toxic, competitive nature of the Indian higher education system, particularly the engineering field. The plot begins when the teenage Raghav (Mohammad Samad) doesn’t pass his Joint Entrance Exam — required for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology. Fueled by shame and the guilt of disappointing his parents, he tries to commit suicide by jumping off of his balcony. Rushed to the hospital by his father, Anni (Sushant Singh Rajput), Raghav ends up in critical condition, where he is visited by several of Anni’s old friends from school who reminisce about the ups and downs of their college years through a series of flashbacks. The film beautifully reminds its audience of the sentiment that many young, high-achieveing and academically minded kids often forget — it’s okay to mess up. Worth is not defined by our success or achievements, but rather the lessons we learn, the resilience we build and the way that we lean on others for support when we need it.
Contact Anjali Mehta at [email protected].
