Oct 23, 2011

From Ranjit in the METRO PCS ads to Jimmy Kimmel’s outsourced from India jokes and now Anjul Nigam gets his own show.

 

Maybe you don’t know Anjul Nigam by name, but you know him. I always give my father updates on what fun things I’m doing in Las Vegas, the celebrity du jour I’ve interviewed, etc., and the response is usually the same, “I don’t know who that is.” It matters not how famous the person is. When I told him I interviewed the Ranjit guy from the METRO PCS Tech & Talk ads, he excitedly said, “Now we’re talking! I love that guy!” Anjul is also the guy who answers in “India” when “Mr. Kimmy,” aka Jimmy Kimmel, Skypes India to get an outsourced joke. Many of Anjul’s fans have been crying out for a show starring him and now their dreams are coming true.

David Pritchard, President of Gigapix Studios, is working with our favorite Indian guy and he will star in The Accidental Guru. The show is, as it was explained to me, “A Curb Your Enthusiasm with a young Deepak Chopra. A self-help guru tries to balance his wellness empire and serene reputation with his chaotic private life.” It was developed by Anjul Nigam with his writing partner Andy Siegel.

Given that Pritchard is the Executive Producer for the show Workaholics for Comedy Central, and he has won numerous Emmys and Emmy nominations for many shows like The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy and others, I’m betting it’ll be another sure hit. Maybe Comedy Central will pick it up to play along side the hilarious Workaholics, but nothing is in contract as of this writing. So, we don’t know where this show is going to land just yet.

In the meantime, we’ll see him in the METRO PCS ads as Ranjit on Tech & Talk and he will continue to be there to answer the call when Jimmy Kimmel is looking for an outsourced joke from India. I know he’s working on other projects besides popping up on all sorts of TV shows. I even wrote a comedy sketch for him for the Murder She Wrote ongoing gag on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, but they never responded. Yes, —>Craig Ferguson<—, I’m holding you personally responsible for that. Just kidding. No, no, I’m not.

Anjul has promised me that the next time he’s in Las Vegas we can go walk into a METRO PCS store and create a little havoc. I told him to remember the hat & glasses. If that does come to pass, you’ll get to read all about it here and live on Twitter.

You can follow Anjul Nigam on Twitter & on Facebook.

The last time I spoke to Anjul Nigam (Ranjit in the ads) he said their characters in the Metro PCS ads were going to take it up a notch and develop the characters a little more.  He wasn’t lying.  Here is the latest released advertisement showing them living Ranjit’s rock and roll fantasy.

Aug 4, 2010

PRIMM VALLEY CASINO RESORTS PUMPS UP ADRENALINE WITH FREE RIDES ON THE DESPERADO IN HONOR OF NATIONAL ROLLER COASTER DAY AUG. 16

- Property Invites Guests to Experience Final Thrill Before Summer Ends and School Begins-

For the latest Primm Valley Casino Resort news, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Primm Valley Casino Resorts celebrates the official day of roller coasters with complimentary rides for Nevada residents on The Desperado Monday, Aug. 16.

Primm invites guests to be kids again and enjoy a final thrill on the exhilarating Desperado roller coaster before summer draws to a close and the school year kicks into gear. Daredevils may get a breathtaking view of the Valley from 209 feet before plunging at tremendous speed into a succession of twists and turns. A swift and giant coaster, the Desperado is 2.43 minutes of pure heart pounding fun.

Guests must present a valid Nevada ID to enjoy the complimentary attractions in Primm throughout June. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Age and height restrictions apply among others. Seatbelts have a maximum length of 44 inches. Rides are weather permitting. For hours of operation, call 702.679.RIDE (7433).

About Primm Valley Casino Resorts:

Primm Valley Casino Resorts, located 25 minutes south of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 at the Southern Nevada/California state line, includes Buffalo Bill’s Resort & Casino, Primm Valley Resort & Casino, and Whiskey Pete’s Hotel & Casino. The properties’ amenities offer something for everyone including 24-hour dining, The Spa at Primm, shopping at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets and two championship golf courses designed by Tom Fazio. With attractions for the whole family, the Desperado Rollercoaster, Adventure Canyon Log Flume, Video Game Arcade, Carolee Movie Theatre and Star of the Desert Arena, a venue for the best live performances, Primm Valley Casino Resorts offers entertainment and recreation at an affordable price.  For more information, visit www.primmvalleyresorts.com.

I usually do my best to avoid politics, particularly on my blog and even more particularly when it comes to Israel. However, this is just too much for me to stand.

Helen Thomas is a woman any young, female writer my age would have looked up to. She was an aggressive reporter, working the White House Press Room for as long as I’ve been alive. She was ground breaking for women, as far as I could see, during my entire lifetime.

Ari Fleischer calls for Helen Thomas’ Firing.

Sure, she is entitled to her opinion on Israel. Damn near every person is on one side or another. I’m no Zionist, many Jews are not, but Helen Thomas’ comments on May 27 during the Jewish Heritage Celebration at the White House were certainly not appropriate to say the very least. Her anti-Semitic spew during a Jewish event shows she was never worthy of my high regard. These are the kind of comments backward, uneducated, racists throw around to make others feel sorry them when in fact it is their inability to get along in the world and laziness keeping them down. They blame the Jews, the blacks, the Mexicans, anyone but their own inept, lazy selves. This isn’t a tradition promoted by whites alone. I have heard the same bull shit out of black people as well. Bigotry has no color.

I would expect so much more from Helen Thomas, something intelligent, for a start. She can be sitting on the Arab side of the fence and show up to the event. She can even mention her views when prompted, but that isn’t what she did. She’s an idiot. How could someone so obtuse get so far in the US? I’ll ponder that for the rest of the day and I’m afraid at what the answer truly is.

Her public apology isn’t worth the virtual paper it was written on. It was no apology. It was no misstep with words. It is her actual, hateful view on Jews. It is quite clear the only thing she’s regretting is that numerous educated people in the USA do not share her hate and there is likely to be a price she is going to have to pay. With any luck, she will be removed from the White House and never heard from again.

There is such an anti-Semitic upswing right now in the USA and in the rest of the world. Things had quieted down for a little while and now it is all brewing and bubbling away once again. I can’t help but think the next Hitler is getting ready to be revealed. It is never a matter of whether or not people will slaughter Jews again; it is always only a matter of when.

My great-grandparents came to this country from Russia/Poland around 1906. They were killing Jews in pogroms in Russia at the time. When they got to Michigan they said they were Catholic and buried their Jewishness. I was the first person in my family to get on a mission to find out why I was taught to do odd cooking traditions. I was the first in my line to discover the truth, we were Jews. A distant relative told how they were chastised as children if they ever mentioned they were Jews. They were forbidden to ever mention it. The only reason he spoke about it now is because I sent someone to ask the old man.

My first reaction was anger at my immigrant ancestors. How could they cheat me out of my rightful Jewish upbringing? How could they deny who they were? How could they not be proud of who they were? How could they not tell their children before they died?

And now, at 52, I might be on the verge of understanding. They were trying to stay alive. They were trying to save their children. A fate I might one day face myself.

Jun 3, 2010

My underground source, who is hidden away in a curry bar somewhere deep in India, told me today our favorite technical support guys are going to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live again real soon.  The likely air date will be Thursday night’s show, so set your Tivo, DVR and VCR to make sure you get it recorded.

In case you haven’t already discovered the Indian Call Center Guys, they are all the latest rage.  We first ‘discovered’ them in the Metro PCS advertisements and they are everyone’s favorite new tech support guys.  I actually look for their ads!  Well, they weren’t on the air for all that long and Jimmy Kimmel picked them up.  They are his new ‘outsourcing to India for jokes’ guys.  Holy Shishkabob, they are hysterical.

I wonder what sage tidbit Jimmy will seek from the Call Center this time?  Will Roger fail to deliver when he comes out of the back room and they go all “Slum Dog Millionaire” on his ass?  Will there be a new expert?  Will they do something entirely different and not be asked about jokes?  I guess we will find out tomorrow night.

If all your recording devices fail, you will still be able to see it.  After it airs, it will suddenly appear on youtube.  Now, should I program the satellite dish to change the station for Kimmel or bump Craig Ferguson off my VCR program and replace it with Kimmel?  Or can I get both Kimmel and Ferguson on the same night?  I’d better get busy, my electronics await…

Could the Kimmel Call Center Guys Have a Spin-off in the Works?

LOS ANGELES – May 14, 2010 – After their debut performance on the ABC talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! was such a hit on April 13th, South Asian actors Anjul Nigam and Pramod Kumar have become a staple on the show, appearing no less than four times in one month.  In fact, their skits posted on Youtube’s JimmyKimmelLive Channel, where each episode is segmented into sketches, have generated the most views for every night in which they have appeared on the show.

The ongoing setup is that Kimmel has outsourced a company in India for jokes for his show, and Nigam and Kumar portray two Indian men at the call center communicating via Skype, the online video-conferencing service.  Nigam plays the main role, “Sandeep”, who fields the calls from Kimmel with immense enthusiasm and charisma, inevitably having to correct himself when he learns that it’s the talk show host on the line: “Sorry, Mr. Kimmy.  Jimmy Kimmel Joke Hotline, how may I help you?”  Kumar plays “Roger” who, inaccurately dubbed by Sandeep as the “Number One Joke Teller”, is given the duty of announcing the jokes that Kimmel has requested by reading them from a paper.

On the first episode with Nigam and Kumar, Kimmel mentions that his writers are tired of writing Tiger Woods jokes, so they’ve outsourced to a company in India.  Kimmel Skypes the outsourced Indian Call Center to get a status on the jokes.

On the April 15th episode, Kimmel calls the call center seeking assistance with jokes regarding Tax Day and Larry King.

On the April 22nd episode, Kimmel calls the call center in India seeking jokes regarding “American Idol” contestant Tim Urban’s disqualification on the talent show.

On the May 13th episode, Kimmel calls the call center seeking a joke about Chinese astronauts recently reported to eat dog meat in space.  The talk show host’s call seems to have interrupted the guys who are in the midst of a birthday celebration.

Could there be an ABC spin-off television series in the works with Nigam and Kumar?  “Kimmy’s Angels” or “Skyping India” would be good titles.  As of this writing calls to ABC and the talent representatives of Nigam and Kumar seeking comment were not returned.

ABOUT THE ACTORS:

Anjul Nigam (www.imdb.com/name/nm0631413), a veteran character actor of South Asian descent who has appeared in over fifty American prime-time network shows, is best known for his recurring role as “Dr. Raj” the psych doctor on “Grey’s Anatomy” and the very popular MetroPCS’s “Tech and Talk with Ranjit and Chad” commercial campaign.

Pramod Kumar (www.imdb.com/name/nm1040577) is known for his appearances on prime-time shows such as “The Starter Wife”, “ER”, and “My Name Is Earl” in addition to appearing in over forty television commercials.

ABOUT JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!:

Emmy-winner Jimmy Kimmel serves as host and executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, ABC Television Network’s distinctive late-night talk show. The show features a diverse lineup of guests, including celebrities, athletes, comedians, politicians and human interest subjects. The show originates from Disney’s El Capitan Entertainment Center, located on Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of LA’s star studded Walk of Fame. This illustrious location is featured prominently in the show as Kimmel showcases the unique character of Hollywood. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” airs Weeknights, 12:05-1:05 a.m., ET.

Personally, I think Ranjit and Chad on the Metro PCS ads really should add an evil, jealous call center US competitor who frequently sends them ‘gifts’.  Gifts like Chinese lunch delivered … beef almond ding.  I’m a huge fan of these actors and their call center appearances.  I’ll keep you posted for what they get to do next.