The 2023 Logie nominations have been announced, and we're stoked to see three incredibly talented South Asian Australians in the running for an award.
Pallavi Sharda is nominated in the Most Outstanding Supporting Actress category for her performance in The Twelve, Arka Das is up for the Most Outstanding Supporting Actor for his role in Here Out West, and Heartbreak High's Ayesha Madon is in the running for the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent.
As a South Asian woman who's loved Australian TV's night of nights for a long time (I have my own #LogieswithLeeshie hashtag), I've been waiting for this day where plenty of brown representation on Aussie TV gets a great chance to shine... and so have these stars!
"Thank you to the incredible writers, directors and producers for giving me a chance to flesh out another character beyond token representation; to play a nuanced avatar of a South Asian woman on screen," Pallavi wrote on her Instagram account on Monday after nomination was announced.
She also added, "Little shout out to baby pallu who travelled the seas to Mumbai to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming an actress, then onto the UK and US…. who was once told it would never be possible return to Aussie shores and find herself some space on screen, let alone a #logie nominee."
Brown representation at the Logies has been sparse over the years. We've seen the likes of Nazeem Hussain and Sharon Johal nominated, and Dilruk Jayasinha won the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent in 2018. I recall attending the 2017 ceremony, where actor Leah Vandenberg and I were the only two Indian Australian women I can recall being on the red carpet. Nevertheless, we were brown and proud, even taking the opportunity to wear South Asian designers on the night.
Seeing three South Asian nominees is a small symbol of progress but still one to be celebrated. Good luck to Pallavi, Arka and Ayesha for Logies night on July 30.
Would've LOVED one of the 2022 #Logies red carpet broadcast hosts to be a POC. We're fashionable too 😅 Here's a throwback to Leah Vandenberg & I in South Asian designers at the 2017 Logies. Think we were the only 2 brown (or at least Indian Australian) women there pic.twitter.com/4qrrLUHc7g
— Alicia Vrajlal (@LeeshieV) June 19, 2022