The first trailer for writer-director’s Nida Manzoor’s Polite Society has just dropped, and the Focus Features Film hits theaters April 28, 2023!
Continue reading “Watch the First Trailer for Nida Manzoor’s Desi Martial Arts Epic ‘Polite Society’”
We discuss episodes 3-4 of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, joined by cosplayer Isa and Maznah of Den of Geek!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 41: ‘Ms. Marvel’ Episodes 5-6 and Season Review”
Ms. Marvel has a new comic series out! In the five-issue Beyond the Limit, Kamala must deal with unexpected multiverse shenanigans as she visits her cousin Razia in Chicago. Writing her in this series is author Samira Ahmed, who is the first Desi Muslim to write Ms. Marvel!
Continue reading “Samira Ahmed Talks about Writing ‘Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit’”
After four years since the last time she stopped by, Janina Gavankar returns to the NOC to catch up on the last few years. She and I discuss the projects she’s completed in that time, including the new film starring Riz Ahmed, Encounter, now available to stream on Prime Video.
Continue reading “Janina Gavankar Talks About Her New Film, ‘Encounter’”
The rip-roaring show of a Muslim women punk rock band is coming back to our screens and our hearts.
Continue reading “Peacock’s ‘We Are Lady Parts’ Renewed for a Second Season”
Ted Lasso has taken our pop culture by storm. From its trademark humor to the soccer (AKA football) matches, to the great performances, and an often stunning exploration of mental health (at least for most of its main cast), it’s a show that inspires through showcasing the difficulties that the members of Richmond Football Club endure, and how they ultimately uplift each other through it all.
Continue reading “How ‘Ted Lasso’ Failed Nate as a Character”
Back in May, Apple Podcasts curated a bunch of AAPI-themed podcasts together, and we were lucky enough to be featured alongside The Carolina Desi podcast. Naturally, we had to invite the hosts, Gurtej Singh and Rashmili Vemula, to join Southern Fried Asian!
Never Have I Ever returns this week for its sophomore season, and it seems like our protagonist, Indian American teenager Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), has not learned her lesson from last season on how to be a better person. As shown in the trailers, the second season starts with Devi having to deal with two romantic suitors — Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and Ben Gross (Jared Lewison) — and attempting to juggle them both. Of course we know it will lead to heartbreak for the trio and leaves Devi in a really difficult place trying to make things right. There were many times I felt aggravated watching Devi make mistake after mistake and felt like she was never really growing as a person. The thing is, nobody is perfect and as annoying as Devi is when mistakes are made, Never Have I Ever still finds a way to make it as charming and relatable as possible.
Continue reading “‘Never Have I Ever’ Charms as it Deals with Grief and Growing Up”
Get ready to fall in love with the next best DJ in The Disney Channel’s Original Movie Spin.
Directed by Manjari Makijany, the film follows Indian American teen Rhea who lives a pretty normal life that revolves around her eclectic group of friends, Molly, Watson and Ginger, her after-school coding club, her family’s Indian restaurant, and her tight-knit, multi-generational family, which includes her father Arvind, younger brother Rohan and her grandmother Asha.
Continue reading “Get Ready to Meet the Family in The Disney Channel Original Movie ‘Spin’”
Get a first look at the cast of We Are Lady Parts, a new series coming to Peacock in June!
Continue reading “Peacock Reveals ‘We Are Lady Parts’ Trailer and Character Posters”
It’s extremely hard to look directly into the eyes of Freida Pinto without blushing.
When I first entered the press room where Pinto was prepping for the premiere of Disney Junior’s latest animated series, Mira, Royal Detective, I couldn’t help but compliment her on her beauty, successful career, and her work for empowering women. Named by Vanity Fair as one of the most beautiful women in the world, Pinto humbly laughed off the compliments aimed at her and got serious when we began talking about her role as Disney royalty in the new series.
“I keep forgetting it’s a Disney Queen,” laughs Pinto. “It’s not just a Disney character.”
Continue reading “Freida Pinto is Ready to be Queen in Disney Junior’s ‘Mira, Royal Detective’”
It’s press day for Disney Junior’s upcoming animated series Mira, Royal Detective, the first animation based on the cultures and customs of India for children. Set in the fictional land of Jalpur, the series follows Mira (Leea Ladnier), a commoner who is appointed to the role of royal detective by the Queen (Freida Pinto). Mira solves mysteries with help from her friends, thus proving she is indeed one of the best detectives in the land.
Continue reading “Utkarsh Ambudkar Hopes Disney’s ‘Mira, Royal Detective’ Normalizes Brown People”
Since the NOC launched in 2013, actress Janina Gavankar has been one of the community’s biggest celebrity boosters. Now, finally, Janina is able to join us on Hard NOC Life! In the intervening years, she has racked up the nerd bona fides by starring in Arrow, True Blood, and Sleepy Hollow. But now, she is part of the biggest nerd franchise of them all: as Iden Versio in the blockbuster game franchise Star Wars: Battlefront II.
Continue reading “Janina Gavankar: How a Nerd of Color Became the Face of Star Wars”
