In Soham Mehta’s Fatakra starring Samrat Chakrabarti, Meena Serendib, Ritik Goyal, Raj Vats and Conrad Gonzales, Chakrabarti gives a soulful performance as Naveen, a tailor who left his wife and son in India to chase his dreams in America. During Naveen’s reunion with his family after a much belated homecoming, he realizes he has a lot to make up for. Now he must learn from his son’s favorite hero, Arjuna, if he hopes to reconcile with his estranged family. Chakrabarti also composed the score for Fatakra, Mehta’s haunting and powerful meditation on longing, loss and family.

Born in India and raised since the age of four in Texas, South Asian American theater and film artist Soham Mehta was bitten by the acting bug, performing in his first play when he was eight years old.

As Mehta continued collecting stage credits over the next twenty years, his interest gravitated towards writing and directing. Mehta studied theater and computer science as an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin. No stranger to multi-tasking, Mehta founded Shunya, a Houston-based theater troupe dedicated to providing a voice to the South Asian American experience, and spent the early part of his professional life working in technology by day and directing plays by night. After leading the troupe for four years, Mehta returned to Austin to pursue his MFA in film production as a Warren Skaaren Fellow.

I was welcomed into the engaging world of Dogs Lie director Richard Atkinson, when he invited me to the pre-screening party for theVanguard Cinema release of his latest indie thriller starring Samrat Chakrabarti, Frank Boyd and Ewa Da Cruz on Monday, April 23, 2012, at the elegant Wall Street apartment of co-writer Ronnie Cohen and her husband Larry.

Dogs Lie is based on an Off-Off-Broadway play written by Ronnie Cohen and Jane Beale, and the pair collaborated with director Richard Atkinson on adapting it for the screen.

On Monday, May 7th at 7pm, WNYC’s The Greene Space and Theater Communications Group will welcome Tony award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, whose latest Broadway comedy Chinglish received 3 Drama Desks nods today – Outstanding Play for Hwang, Outstanding Actress in a Play for Jennifer Lim and Outstanding Set Design for David Korins. The Greene Space is located at 44 Charlton Street at Varick Street in New York.

This evening will feature a conversation with Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of the Public Theater in New York and readings by Hwang with guests Brian D’Arcy James, BD Wong, Jennifer Lim and Francis Jue. The event will be followed by a book signing including Hwang’s newly published play from TCG Books, Chinglish, which received its Broadway premiere in fall 2011 and was named “Best American Play of 2011” byTIME magazine.
Filmmaker Justin Lin Acquires Film Rights to David Henry Hwang’s Critically Acclaimed Broadway Comedy Chinglish

Tickets are $15 and available at www.thegreenespace.org. A live video webcast will be available to stream at www.thegreenespace.org.

Gwynne Chow Tuan

On Wednesday, May 2, 2012, MSNBC anchor Richard Lui and actor BD Wong (“Awake”, “Law & Order SVU”) will co-emcee APEX’s 20th Anniversary Inspiration Awards Gala Dinner celebrating role models in the Asian-American community and APEX’s crucial work with underserved, inner-city youth, at Capitale, 130 Bowery in New York City from 6:30pm – 10pm.

The 2012 Inspiration Awards will be presented to Ben and Emily Huh of Cheezburger Network, Aasif Mandvi of “The Daily Show,” Chad Troutwine of Veritas Prep, Dr. Alexander Tsui, and fundraiser Gwynne Chow Tuan.

APEX enables underserved children from Asian American communities in New York City to become well-rounded, productive members of society through programs that meet their academic, social and personal needs. The honorees for the evening have demonstrated an equal commitment to serving the Asian American community.

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, April 26, 2012, President Obama named the late Gordon Hirabayashi one of 13 recipients of this year’s Presidential Medal of Freedom awards. Members of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice)—Asian American Institute, Asian American Justice Center, Asian Law Caucus and Asian Pacific American Legal Center—and the Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education applaud the president for awarding the nation’s highest civilian honor to Hirabayashi, who passed away earlier this year on January 2. The Medal of Freedom is presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. President Obama will present the awards at the White House in late spring.

“Gordon Hirabayashi was an American hero. We are thrilled to hear that he will receive a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, an honor which will help spread awareness of his courageous story,” said Ling Woo Liu, director of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education, a program of the Asian Law Caucus.