Son of Indian immigrants spoke of often lost or mistaken color identities in Hollywood.
For those of you, who were looking for diversity at Oscars Sunday night and were rooting full throttle for the cast and crew of Parasite, there was another big happy desi surprise in store for the evening.
Utkarsh Ambudkar was the guy who came up on stage and did a quick musical recap of the first half of the Oscar show and left many wondering who he was and wanting to know more about him.
But looks like, Ambudkar himself gave his best introduction when on the big stage he talked about being on Broadway, but still being considered new in American entertainment.
“This is incredible, I do not belong here,” said Ambudkar opening his short but riveting act. “You don’t know me. I am Utkarsh.”
“Movies, I have been in a few. Broadway too, but you still may consider me new. But anyway, I am here to recap the show, for I am seeing a bunch of nominees who don’t look like me.”
While Ambudkar’s performance did pique up the interest of the high and mighty Oscar audiences at the prestigious Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday night, what won many hearts was his introduction and a cheeky reference to often lost or mistaken color identities in Hollywood.
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Utkarsh did take up this big Oscar moment to play up his roots when he wore a dark blue suit with intricate Indian-work detailing. On the red carpet, he was seen in a dapper Ermenegildo Zegna.
Ambudkar is an Indian American actor and musician born to Indian immigrants Suresh and Indu Ambudkar in Baltimore, Maryland.
A NYU graduate, he is a member of rap group, Freestyle Rap Supreme. He will be soon seen lending his voice to the character of Chikku, the mongoose in the upcoming Disney animated series, Mira, the Royal Detective. Kal Penn would be lending the voice to the other mongoose, Mikku in the series.
Ambudkar has also starred in films such as Brittany Runs a Marathon and Pitch Perfect. In the past, he was also seen on the TV show, The Mindy Project and also on The Muppets on ABC.
Talking about Ambudkar’s early tryst with Broadway, the actor was originally to play Aaron Burr in Hamilton. He even performed during the early phases of the show when it was off Broadway. He was replaced by Leslie Odom Jr. before Hamilton went on to become a big Broadway hit.
Utkarsh will soon also be seen in Mulan and Free Guy and we can bet people will be looking out for him.