EXCLUSIVE:With 346 submissions since the Desi List wasfirst announced earlier this year,the South Asian scribe spotlighting partnership betweenThe Black ListandThe Salonhas some big talent looking at the work of the talent of tomorrow.
Were committed to transforming the conversation on South Asian and Desi representation in TV and film said The Salons co-founders Nik Dodani, Bash Naran, and Vinny Chhibber on new feature scripts and TV pilots.
Our goal is to shine a light on a forward-looking slate of scripts and retire the tropes and stereotypes that have defined our community on screen for so long, the trio added.
The Desi List, Mindy Kaling and Riz AhmedAri Michelson/Getty
Related Stories
‘Industry’ Adds Kal Penn, ‘Stranger Things’ Star Charlie Heaton & Claire Forlani For Season 4
‘Sex Lives Of College Girls’ Creators Mindy Kaling & Justin Noble React To Max Cancellation: “We Are Living In An Era Where We Need Comedy Badly”
to make it ensure that the diversity of our large community is reflected in The Desi List in terms of cultural background, professional experience, and creative taste weve recruited an eclectic group of 43 writers, showrunners, directors, actors, producers, executives, agents, and managers to read and evaluate the submissions.
Watch on Deadline
The committee will look at through the lens of originality, character development, dialogue, pacing, structure, theme, market potential, and quality of representation, the Black List and The Salon say.
Among those nearly four dozen members of the selection committee areMindy Kaling,Riz Ahmed,Kal PennandStargirlstar Hina X. Khan.
Hillman Grad Productions CEO and Lena Waithe producing partner Rishi Rajani,Delhi Crime 2director Tanuj Chopra, Oscar winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor, and performance artist ALOK are also on the Desi List selection committee.
Additionally, the multi-genre group include Aneesh Chaganty, The Salon co-founder/WMEs Naran, Bilal Baig, Chitra Sampath, Christine DSouza Gelb, Danny Pudi, Janina Gavankar, Kabir Akhtar, Karan Soni, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Mallika Dhaliwal, and Maureen Bharoocha, Meera Menon, Munis Rashid, The Salon co-founder/Twisters Dodani, Nikesh Shukla, Nikitha Menon, Nimitt Mankad, Prashanth Venkatarmanujam, Priya Satiani, Raj Raghavan, Rameez Khan, Reena Singh, Ritesh Mehta , Rohi Mirza Pandya, Roshan Sethi, Sameer Gardezi, Sanjay M. Sharma, Shayok Misha Chowdhury,How To Die Aloneshowrunner Vera Santamaria, Shivaani Sharma, Shruti Ganguly, Sim Hothi, Simran Baidwan, Smriti Mundhra, and Salon co-founder/Big Skys Chhibber round out the selection committee.
The Desi List received 346 submissions, which is an astounding number of submissions for a Black List diversity list in its first year, saidFranklin Leonardnoted of the response to the February announced project.
It reflects the immense energy and deep bench of talent that exists in the South Asian community, and I cant wait for the industry to read the scripts that this incredible committee selects, The Black List foundered went on to say.
It would be unwise to ignore the scripts this committee chooses, the remarkable community of talent it represents generally, and the South Asian audience broadly.
With that, the final selections for the very first Desi List are expected by the end of the year.
Add that to your calendar, and of course the 20thanniversary picks for The Black List is coming in December too.
Happy Holidays.
