The visibility of South Asian men in non-stereotypical lead roles on screen is set to continue into the autumn with Armando Iannucci’s take on David Copperfield, with Dev Patel in the lead role.
The jobs that I have done in the last year have had nothing to do with my ethnicity,” says Patel. “I’ve been in two period pieces, which is another door opening now.It’s something you wouldn’t have imagined a few years ago.
But what about female stars?
Sadly, change doesn’t seem to be coming as quickly for female stars of South Asian origin, who aside from Kaling, are still struggling to land leading roles without an ethnic bent in films made in the West. Indian actress Priyanka Chopra was the first South Asian to headline an American network drama series, FBI thriller Quantico, in 2015. However since then, good roles have not been forthcoming for her outside Bollywood. Equally, Freida Pinto has not had the opportunities of her male Slumdog co-star Dev Patel.
While leading men of South Asian heritage are breaking out, it is still much more of a struggle for their female counterparts like Priyanka Chopra
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