SYNOPSIS
Join us for an exciting discussion that brings together South Asian actors who are changing the face of American and Canadian film and television. After decades of not having enough representation in casting, these actors have made a mark through their roles in successful films and TV series, showing that South Asians can play a variety of roles and representation can mean many things. 

Co-presented with the Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals (CoSAFF)  and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).

Moderated by Kausar Mohammed (East of La Brea). 

RSVPed members will receive a link to watch the live discussion via email one hour prior to the start of the program.

PANELISTS

Tiya Sircar
Tiya Sircar is an Arlington, Texas native with a background in film, voice-over acting and dance. After taking her first acting class at age seven, she realized her true calling and attended the University of Texas at Austin, receiving two bachelor’s degrees: the first in business/marketing, and another in theater & dance. Following graduation, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her professional career. While Sircar’s acting history spans a vibrant list of roles, she recently starred in “The Good Place,” for NBC in which Entertainment Weekly dubbed her the series ‘Scene Stealer.’” Other acting appearances include playing the lead female in the Quibi show, “The Fugitive”, starring as the lead in the Netflix film “Good Sam,” and guest starring in Netflix’s “Master of None” and Fox’s “The Mindy Project,” to name a few.

Hamza Haq
Hamza Haq was raised in Ottawa, Canada, born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents and has called Canada home for almost twenty years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies with a minor in Law from Carleton University. He is represented by ART and continues his professional training as an actor with LS&Co Studios. He is currently starring as Bashir (Bash) Hamed in the new CTV/NBC medical drama, “Transplant” which centers around an ER doctor who fled his native Syria to come to Canada, where he must overcome numerous obstacles to resume a career in the high stakes world of emergency medicine. In 2017, he was named one of Canada’s Rising Stars in The Hollywood Reporter and his other notable acting credits include recurring roles on the Cinemax series “Jett” starring Carla Gugino, “Quantico” starring Priyanka Chopra, and “The Art of More” with Denis Quaid and Kate Bosworth.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan soared to fame by landing the role of Devi in Netflix’s hit show “Never Have I Ever” after a worldwide open casting call by Mindy Kaling. Maitreyi beat out over 15,000 actors for the role. The show premiered April 27, 2020, receiving incredible reviews and climbing to the #1 spot on Netflix internationally. Ramakrishnan has garnered international attention for her performance as Devi receiving accolades from industry leaders and media outlets. Outside of acting, she is an advocate for public education, the universal right to education, missing and murdered indigenous women, gender equality and authentic representation. Maitreyi identifies as a Tamil-Canadian and currently lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

Sugith Varghese
Sugith Varughese is currently recurring on both the hit TV series comedy, “Kim’s Convenience” seen on CBC in Canada and Netflix worldwide and the acclaimed TV series drama, “Transplant” on CTV in Canada and NBC in the US. He has also made many stage appearances, including a Dora Award nominated performance starring in “Little Pretty” and “The Exceptional” at Toronto’s Factory Theatre. He appeared in Indian Ink at CanStage/National Arts Centre, “Animal Farm” at the famed Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto and “The Men In White” at Factory Theatre.

A Writers’ Guild of Canada award winning screenwriter and Gemini award-nominated TV writer with more than 15 hours of produced on screen work. He was the first minority to attend the prestigious Canadian Film Centre as a writer-director and his short films and children’s TV dramas have screened at festivals globally and won several awards. His stage play Entitlement premiered at the Summerworks Theatre Festival in Toronto and he co-wrote the acclaimed outdoor play with music, “The Postman”, that premiered at the Panamania arts festival as part of the 2015 Pan Am Games.