This week, Priyanka Chopra, Mindy Kaling, and Paramount Pictures hosted a South Asian Excellence party in Los Angeles to honour the achievements of all the nominees for the 2023 Academy Awards.
The pre-Oscars event brought together a diverse group of South Asian stars, including Pakistani celebrities such as Saim Sadiq, Alina Khan, Apoorva Guru Chara, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Malala Yousafzai and her husband Asser Malik, Ali Sethi, and Riz Ahmed.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy took to a photo-sharing app to express her emotions about the event, calling it a nostalgic night. She reminisced about her first time attending the Academy Awards in 2012 and how much the South Asian community has progressed since then. In her post, she wrote, “It was an emotional night for many of us in LA. In 2012, when I was at the Oscars, there were only three South Asians present!”
“A decade later over 100 of us came together to celebrate South Asians in cinema, and amongst us were so many Pakistanis. I watched Saim get up on stage and make a speech about Joyland. Malala spoke about her support for cinema and Ali Sethi brought the house down with Pasoori. And I will proudly say that as the only South Asian with two Academy Awards, there was so much love for that achievement!” Sharmeen exclaimed.
