iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
In the recently held 72nd Emmy Awards on Sunday, the list of winners included an Indian decent director, who won the Primetime Emmy Award for directing the Hunting episode of HBO’s drama series Succession.
Andrij Parekh, the director-cinematographer of Succession is of Ukranian and Indian descent, who has worked on shows like Half Belson, Sugar, Blue Valentine, The Zookeeper’s Wife, 13 Reasons Why, Madame Bovary and Show Me a Hero.
It was the second Emmys for the team of Succession after, writer Jesse Armstrong won it for writing the This Is Not for Tears episode. Succession won five awards, including Best Drama Series and Best Actor.
In an interview, Andrij Parekh said that his Gujarati roots make him good at business, and his Slavic soul infuses an emotional element to his creative work. He said that being of a mixed-race has led him to a cultural place of being an ”outsider” in Hollywood, and that sets him free from many prejudices.
He added, “That’s what makes me a good cinematographer and director – I simply watch without trying to interfere too much (with actors). And people can’t pin me down with stereotypes or prejudices. So in many ways I’m free.”
Apart from TV shows, Parekh has helmed short films like Dead Roosters and Zimove Vesilya. He directed three episodes of Succession, a satirical drama, which follows the lives of the Roy family as they contemplate their future once their aging father (essayed by Brian Cox) begins to step back from the media and entertainment conglomerate.
Andrij Parekh beat Benjamin Caron and Jessica Hobbs for The Crown, Lesli Linka Glatter for Homeland, Mimi Leder for The Morning Show, Alik Sakharov and Ben Semanoff for Ozark, and Mark Mylod for Succession to win Emmys 2020 in the category of Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards were originally slated to be held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was decided to have the ceremony virtually from the actors’ homes across the US. American television host Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Emmys this year.
