Indian-themed comedies the flavour of the month on small screens in US

India-themed comedies are the flavour of the month on US television with Nirvana on Fox and Outsourced on NBC. The controversial NBC office sitcom, which premieres on September 23 at prime time, has a plot aimed straight at the heart of American workplace angst — outsourcing of US jobs to India.

“Where am I calling? Is this India?” an irritable American novelty goods catalogue shopper snaps at Indian call centre worker Manmeet. “Am I calling freakin’ India to get a mug that says,

‘America’s Number 1!?’”

“No,” Manmeet flubs. “We’re in Detroit. The city of motors and black people!”

Click.

Those lines are scripted, but with America bleeding jobs, it is believable that there are versions of that scene playing out in the real world.

Outsourced sets its stage quickly. American call centre manager Todd Dempsy is shipped off to India to “polish up” a ragtag group of Indian customer service representatives.

Indians will cringe at the Indian stereotypes perpetuated by some of the customer service reps.

There is also the usual mirch masala of an office romance between the American expat and Asha, played by Rebecca Hazlewood, a gifted Shakespearean actress from England who is sadly stuck in this series with a bad Indian accent.

Outsourced, which is set in a Mumbai call centre, is getting attention because it touches on a hot-button issue. “Will it help humanise Indian workers for US audiences, or reinforce stereotypes?” asked Computerworld.

NBC has billed the series as “the Midwest meets the exotic East in a hilarious culture clash”, but the Washington Post is not so convinced. It has panned the sitcom for being nothing more than “a bunch of lame jokes about sacred cows and curry-related bouts of diarrhoea”.

Outsourced has set off visceral reactions. “My wife, a mother of two kids, lost her job of 10 years due to outsourcing to India. Since then I have been working two jobs to make ends meet. For a network to think this is funny at all makes me want to puke. I will never watch this show and will boycott NBC,” an American wrote on the NBC website.

Director Ken Kwapis has defended Outsourced, saying it will connect with audiences: “This is really a show about America as seen outside of America. It is unique and, at the same time, relatable. Unique, because how often do you get to see a comedy set in another country? And relatable because we all have had the experience of talking with a call centre worker. It’s an important aspect of our lives, but we don’t see what is on the other side of the phone.”

Indian-American writer-director Ajay Sahgal’s comedy Nirvana is an ensemble comedy about two grown-up sons, their Indian parents and their friends, including one of the son’s Caucasian girlfriends.

“It’s about how their lives intersect in often polarising ways and about the clash of the old Indian values and the new American values,” Sahgal who is is married to Lie to Me co-star Kelli Williams, told The Hollywood Reporter. The show is based loosely on his experiences.