Telecast by TV One on Feb. 22nd.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has nominated four Indian-origin artists for its prestigious 2014 Image Awards.
Mindy Kaling, Archie Panjabi, Karan Brar, and Chitra Elizabeth Sampath have all been nominated for recognition at the 45th iteration of the awards show, which will be aired live on TV One on Saturday, February 22.
Kaling is nominated for her starring role on Fox TV’s “The Mindy Project,” the first television program in US history to feature a desi actor or actress in the lead role. Kaling is vying for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series award, which pits her against Aisha Tyler (“Archer”), Niecy Nash (“The Soul Man”), Tasha Smith (“Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse”), and Wendy Raquel Robinson (“The Game”).
Panjabi, from Britain, is up for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role on the CBS drama “The Good Wife.” Panjabi has won a host of awards for her work on the show, which is currently in its fifth season, including the 2010 Primetime Emmy in this very category. Panjabi is also known for his roles in feature films like Bend it Like Beckham and The Constant Gardener.
For the Image Award, she is up against Diahann Carroll (“White Collar”), Debbie Allen (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Vanessa Williams (“666 Park Avenue”), and Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson (“Person of Interest”).
Karan Brar, 15, is one of the stars of the Disney Channel hit “Jessie,” about a girl from Texas who comes to New York City and becomes a babysitter for a group of young kids in a posh building in Manhattan. Brar is competing against fellow Disney Channel stars China Anne McClain (“A.N.T. Farm”) and Zendaya (“Shake it Up”), as well as Fatima Ptacek (“Dora the Explorer”) and Eric I. Keyes III (“Live Life and Win!”).
Finally, Chitra Elizabeth Sampath is nominated alongside her co-writer, Damian Kindler, for their work on the Fox TV smash hit “Sleepy Hollow,” for which they are the lead writers. Sampath has also worked on the shows “Saving Grace,” “SouthLAnd” (which is also nominated this year), and AMC’s “The Killing,” which is created, producer, and co-written by fellow Indian American Veena Sud.
The other nominees for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series are Aaron Rahsaan Thomas (“SouthLAnd”), Janine Sherman Barrois (“Criminal Minds”), Sara Hess (“Orange is the New Black”), and Karin Gist (“Revenge”).
No Indian-origin names made it into the film categories, but last year, Life of Pi star Suraj Sharma landed a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama, losing to Denzel Washington for his Oscar-nominated performance in Flight.