Comedy television serial on Indian American family being developed by 20th Century Fox

Based on the creator of ‘Keeping up the Guptas’, Sunny Tripathy’s family.

By The American Bazaar Staff

NEW YORK: The Indian American community may soon get to watch a comedy television series based on a desi family in the US.

Sunny Tripathy, 24, the creator of the viral comedy YouTube series, “Keeping Up With the Guptas” has finalized a development deal with 20^th Century Fox for the creation of a possible television series based on his Indian American family, the Tripathys, reported NBC.

“It will not be a show about curry, turbans, 7-Elevens — whatever stereotypes that are out there. It will be far from that. But you will learn and see things you might be familiar with that are reflective of South Asian identity and culture,” Tripathy, who has held various modeling and comedy stints on Last Teen Comic Standing and Mr. India Global, was quoted as saying.

Earlier this year, Tripathy landed a much coveted general meeting with some of the top comedy executives and producers at 20th Century Fox. Tripathy initially thought he might have a shot at an entry-level writing position, or maybe even a gig as a writer’s assistant for one of Fox’s existing shows. But the conversation took a turn as Fox took an interest in stories Tripathy was telling about his family. He walked out the development deal for a potential show, said NBC.

“‘Keeping Up With the Guptas’ was great in that it helped get some visibility and name recognition,” said Tripathy. “It did extremely well and above all — people enjoyed, respected, and related to the series. That in itself was enough to at least get an opportunity to get people to read your material.”

The terms of the development deal were negotiated in May 2014, and a pilot script deal was signed, according to Tripathy. The deal memorandum from 20th Century Fox is now official and closed.

In 2010, the comedian, model, and screenwriter launched “Keeping Up With the Guptas,” a web series that accidentally became an overnight sensation despite its poor production value and basic budget, said the report.

In the web series, the lives of the “Gupta” family are played by Tripathy’s parents — Niranjan and Sumita Tripathy, and his friends — Sumi Raman and Sahil Punamia. The series focused squarely on issues, frustrations, and every day situations families to most South Asian families, with stories revolving around arranged marriages, parental expectations, and generational differences.

Tripathy says the characters cast in the series are highly exaggerated and sensationalized versions of themselves. But that’s what seemed to resonate with viewers. “Keeping Up With the Guptas” has received tens of thousands of hits, including worldwide attention from fans all the way from Singapore.

The characters in the series aren’t just bound by their racial identity — something Tripathy says has stood out and contributed to the series’ success. The family in the series is of South Asian descent, but their racial identity isn’t the main focus of every story.

For instance, in one scene in, Tripathy’s sister receives a B+ on an exam, much to her father’s disappointment. He then “happens to be” loading a gun while admonishing his daughter. In another scene, Tripathy’s mother cooks a meal for her daughter’s boyfriend, and then asks for him to pay.

Tripathy told NBC that scenes like this make it easier for mainstream families to relate to the everyday shenanigins and dramatic conversations that happen in any home, at the dinner table, or at family outings.

With his development deal, Tripathy hopes to address harder hitting issues, while using comedy as a backbone for bringing people together. Once a victim of a racial hate crime, he believes that laughter and comedy on television are vehicles to help people better understand different religions, races, sexual orientations, and cultures.

“I think racial tolerance and cultural acceptance is something that is extremely important,” said Tripathy. “The best way to help understand other people’s cultures is by learning to love characters that are within that culture.”

If the deal comes through, the Tripathys could become as famous as the Kumars family in the UK, the fictional subject matter of the hit show ‘The Kumars at No. 42’ which inspired the ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ in India.