Namaste Broadway!

The success of South Asian artistes is quietly changing American theatre

- LAVINA MELWANI

Some very startling things are happening on Broadway, New York’s renowned theatre district. The Disney extravaganza Aladdin is playing to packed houses, and for the first time, Aladdin is played not by a white or black actor but by an Indian, Michael Maliakel. Aladdin’s love interest, Princess Jasmine, is also played by an actor of Indian-origin, Sonya Balsara.

The previous lead, too, was Indian—Shoba Narayan, who was recently seen as Nessarose in Wicked, another big Broadway show. Shoba made her Broadway debut in 2016 in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 and became the first female South Asian actor to play a principal role on Broadway. She also played Eliza in Hamilton on the national tour.

Another Broadway production packed with South Asian actors is Life of Pi, based on Yann Martel’s bestselling novel. In its final weeks, Pi is being played by a woman, Indian actress Uma Paranjpe. The gender change was the decision of the playwright—the London-based Lolita Chakraborti, herself a mother of two girls. Life of Pi has already bagged three Tonys, New York’s most prestigious theatre award, and five Oliviers, in London, including the one for best play.

Look at any Playbill, and you can now find desi names on it. When The Kite Runner, set in Afghanistan, played recently on Broadway, critic Maya Philips wrote in The New York Times: “Legitimacy is always a tricky question when it comes to productions about people of colour. That a story about the struggles of Afghans over the course of nearly three decades is on Broadway is a feat in itself, as is the cast of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent.”