To no one’s surprise the Indian entertainment industry has come away empty-handed from the International Emmy Awards 2021 which was held at New York City on the night of November 22.
The setback, though no surprise to those who had seen the work of other nominees, came as a big blow to Netflix, the OTT champs who hosted all the nominees and carted an entourage of press representatives from the Indian media to cover the event in New York.
Hours before the ceremony Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vir Das were seen giving interviews to the Indian media in NY. Only to lose the Emmy to others, albeit more deserving candidates.
Nawazuddin lost in the Best Actor award to David Tennant , the Scottish actor who is stunningly scary as a serial killer in Des. In the Best Drama category the Israeali serial Tehran won over India’s Aarya which was a remake of a Dutch series, hence not quite the politically and aesthetically correct candidate for the win.
The controversial Vir Das lost out to Call My Agent in the Comedy category. Vir Das posted what sounded like a feeble attempt to undo the damage caused by his ‘Two Indias’ monologue. “I was nominated for best comedy at the International Emmy Awards, for jokes. Call My Agent, a gigantic beautiful show I love won. But I got this medal, and ate this fantastic salad with a very interesting crispy cheese topping. It was an honour to represent my country. Thanks so much to the International Emmys For India. It’s always for India.”
While I was not able to speak to Nawazuddin immediately after he lost the Emmy, earlier the actor had said, “I am not a big fan of international honours.For me the Emmy and the Indian awards are of equal importance. If the recognition comes from a place of respect, it is always welcome and precious. Being nominated for an Emmy is honour enough.”
Last year the Netflix Richie Mehta directed truelife crime drama Delhi Crime had won the Emmy in the Drama category.
