Siddhant in the race for Emmy

Ending a decade-long drought, an Indian television series has been nominated for the final round at the International Emmy Awards.

Siddhant, produced by Anurradha Prasad’s BAG Films, which recently ended its first season on Star One, has been accepted for the final round in the drama category. The serial was the only one to make it past a jury evaluating entries in four categories including comedy, young adults and children, drama and non-noscript.

“There will be a total of around eight nominations in this category from around the world. It’s indeed something to be celebrated,” said Anil Wanvari, member of the International Academy of Television Art and Sciences and founder of the Indian Telly Awards. The serial was the launch pad for newcomer Pawan Shankar who went on to win the critics award for best male actor at the Indian Telly Awards.

“The credit goes entirely to Anurradha Prasad - she’s changed my life,” said Shankar who took a short sabbatical after Siddhant went off air and has recently signed up a Balaji serial titled ‘Thodi Se Zameen, Thoda Aasman’.

“It’s not only path breaking for us, it’s a collective achievement for the Indian television industry which has now clearly come of age,” said Prasad who will be attending the awards ceremony in New York on November 20.