Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ram Madhvani's 'Aarya' starring Sushmita Sen and the now-controversial stand-up comedian Vir Das were among the host of nominees for the International Emmy Awards, which honoured excellence in television programming at its 49th edition at Casa Cipriani in New York City on Monday night (U.S. Eastern Time). The three represented India at the prestigious awards ceremony, the nominations of which were announced in September.
While it sure was a moment of great pride for the three to be among the nominees for the Emmy 2021 Awards, however, as the results were announced none out of the three nominated from India won in their respective categories.
Siddiqui had been nominated for the best performance by an actor category for the Sudhir Mishra directorial 'Serious Men'. At the 47th International Emmy Awards in London in 2019, he had received the award on behalf of the cast and crew of McMafia, the crime drama. In 'Serious Men', Nawaz plays the protagonist in the film, a satire based on the book of the same name by Manu Joseph. It tells the story of a middle-aged man named Ayyan Mani, who works as an assistant at the National Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. Having lived his life in a slum with his wife and son, and frustrated at the state of his life, Ayyan cooks up a story presenting his child as a science maverick, but matters take a comical turn when the lie gets out of hand. 'Serious Men' is streaming on Netflix.
Nawazuddin was pitted against British star David Tennant (Des), actors Roy Nik of Israel (Normali) and Christian Tappan of Colombia (El Robo del Siglo or The Great Heist). Tennant won the International Emmy in this category.
The second nomination from India was 'Aarya' in the Best Drama category.
An adaptation of the Dutch series 'Penoza', the series streaming on Disney+ Hotstar has Sushmita Sen playing the titular role of Aarya Sareen, who becomes a mafia queen after her husband is murdered at the behest of drug lords. The series also stars Chandrachud Singh, Namit Das and Sikander Kher.
The series was nominated alongside Chile's El Presidente, Israel's Tehran and the second season of There She Goes from the UK. Tehran won in this category.
Lastly, Vir Das, who was recently embroiled in a controversy over his 'Two Indias' act at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., was nominated for the Netflix comedy special 'Vir Das: For India'. In it, the comedian celebrates India's history from the time of the Vedas to Bollywood with his unique perspective on the subject. After losing to Call My Agent, Vir took to Twitter and wrote, "I was nominated for best comedy at the International Emmy Awards, for jokes. Call My Agent, a beautiful show I love won. But I got this medal, and ate this fantastic salad. It was an honour to represent my country. Thanks so much to the @iemmys."
For the unversed, last year, 'Delhi Crime' headlined by Shefali Shah had won in the Best Drama category. That has been India's only win at the Emmys so far.
