Movies

Golden Globes 2023: Who's The Woman In The Lehenga?

The South Asian outfit has sent social media into a spin.

The 2024 Golden Globes kicked off Hollywood's Awards season on January 7 (January 8 in Australia) with a star-studded ceremony at LA's Beverly Hilton hotel.

As well as celebrating the awards across various film and TV categories on the night, eyes were equally fixed on the array of stunning, and diverse, red carpet looks.

While there were no standalone South Asian nominees this year, there was still a gorgeous red and gold lehenga. But the question on everyone's lips was: Who was wearing it?

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Some South Asian viewers took to X (formerly known as Twitter) in a bid to discover the identity of the woman wearing the outfit.

"Who was the desi woman in a lehenga sitting next to Spielberg? #GoldenGlobes," wrote journalist S. Mitra Kalita, while another viewer penned, "need to know who wore a lehenga to the #GoldenGlobes… YOU GO QUEEN!".

After some sleuthing, we can share that the woman is Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer of Netflix. Bajaria was appointed this role in January 2023, after previously holding roles as Head of Global TV and VP of Content at the streaming platform where she managed all series across Europe, the Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, India, Asia, and Latin America. Bajaria is proof that the entertainment world is filled with incredible South Asian talent.

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Speaking of which, it was a proud moment for the brown community to see Utkarsh Ambudkar at the Golden Globes. The Never Have I Ever star appeared on-stage alongside Ghosts co-star Rose McIver to present the award for Best Picture - Non-English Language, which went to Anatomy of a Fall.

Last year's Golden Globes featured a few more familiar brown faces on the red carpet and in the room, with Telugu film RRR's smash hit, Naatu Naatu nominated for Best Original Song. It went on to win the category, becoming the first Asian song to receive a Golden Globe.

The song had garnered fans across South Asia and beyond, becoming a viral sensation on TikTok due to its fast pace and sensational dance moves performed by the movie's stars,  Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. The award was accepted on stage by composer-songwriter M.M. Keeravani.