Hasan Minhaj, Lena Khan & Prashanth Venkataramanujam: Inside the Making of Netflix’s Best of the Best — Bringing Bollywood to Hollywood
Six years ago, Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam asked a question: How has a movie about the South Asian college dance team experience not been made?
Together, they made Best of the Best — a coming-of-age comedy about two best friends — played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia — who join their college’s competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team — out Friday, September 18 on Netflix.
Simi speaks with Hasan Minhaj (comedian, producer, actor), Prashanth Venkataramanujam (producer, writer), and director Lena Khan about the journey to bringing Best of the Best — the first movie about the American collegiate Bollywood competitive dance scene — to the big screen.
Ultimately, they answer: Can South Asian stories be commercially viable in Hollywood? What does it take to make a story that feels authentic to the community, while still reaching mainstream audiences?
KEY TOPICS:
Building an all-Brown ensemble castHow they pushed this movie through the show business ecosystem
Why Maitreyi Ramakrishnan said this film was a first for her
Hasan Minhaj on collegiate Bollywood dance being "an American art form"
The moment Lena Khan knew the community had arrived
What Hasan learned from Dev Patel about chasing bold, audacious risks
ABOUT HASAN MINHAJ — Comedian, Writer, and Actor
Best known as the creator and host of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj and his OG special Homecoming King, He’s a former Daily Show correspondent and toured with shows: The King’s Jester, Off With His Head, and Hasan Hates Ronny. Through his production company, 186K Films, he wrote Best of the Best with longtime collaborator Prashanth and stars in the film as Professor Hamza Latif. He is an investor in Kolkata Chai Co — whose founders we had on the podcast last season!
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ABOUT LENA KHAN — Director
Known for films like Tiger Hunter, Flora & Ulysses, and directing episodes of Never Have I Ever, which featured Best of the Best star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, she is the director of Best of the Best.
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ABOUT PRASHANTH VENKATARAMANUJAM — Writer and Producer
Prashanth has been Hasan’s creative collaborator for over 15 years. He co-created Patriot Act, The King’s Jester, Off With His Head, and Hasan Hates Ronny. And he co-wrote and produced Best of the Best alongside Hasan under 186K Films. His credits include Billy Nye Saves the World and BAIT.
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