SAEA Awards

The South Asian Excellence Awards

July 2008

World Premiere of the First Annual South Asian Excellence Awards
To Be Broadcast!
Don’t Miss the World Premiere of the
South Asian Excellence Awards July 13th at 5:00 pm,
And Every Following Sunday night in July
Only on SET Asia!

New York: The first ever South Asian Excellence Awards is to be exclusively broadcast to Sony Entertainment Television’s audience of over one billion viewers in over 100 countries, premiering on July 13th at 5:00 pm. Created by Sony Entertainment Television Asia, the South Asian Excellence Awards was developed to honor the accomplishments and excellence of South Asian Americans in multiple categories.

The event took place at the historic Waldorf=Astoria in New York City on May 10th, 2008. With a full house of over 450 esteemed audience members, the event was a huge success and attracted some of the best from all walks of life. The much anticipated winners of the ten categories were announced on that evening. The big win of the night was the South Asian Personality of the Year Award. Other categories included entertainment, science, technology, social service, performing and visual arts, business, literature and sports, as well as a special award given to a young achiever demonstrating outstanding excellence in their field.

Celebrity guests in attendance included tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, Bollywood actress Pooja Batra, musician Mira Veda, American Idol sensation Sanjaya Malakar, Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi, Hollywood actress Janina Gavankar and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz, and many more. The host of the evening was Nitin Ganatra, the British actor famous for his roles in Bride and Prejudice and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The night was filled with performances by The Dhol Foundation, the NYC Bhangra Dancers, music sensation Raghav Sachar, Indian Idol 3 winner Prashant Tamang, and Jamaican reggae group, Chaka Demus & Pliers, famous for their hit Murder She Wrote.

The 2008 South Asian Excellence Awards is made possible with the support of the presenting sponsors Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, associate sponsors Western Union, Nationwide, Mpingi, Raja Foods, Raza Communications, Malani Jewelers, Tilda, Air India and Genesis Networks, along with media partners, Rediff India Abroad and Sony Entertainment Television.

The South Asian Excellence Awards is an extension of Sony Entertainment Television Asia’s other world renowned awards shows and events, including the British Asian Sports Awards, the Filmfare Awards, and Boogie Woogie International.

For more information about the South Asian Excellence Awards, please visit www.saea.tv. For press enquiries email Willow@Masala.com or call (732) 257-9600.

About the South Asian Excellence Awards
The South Asian Excellence Awards is a unique event honoring the accomplishments and excellence of South Asian Americans in multiple fields. Conceptualized as a TV event that will be broadcast to a worldwide community, the South Asian Excellence Awards will feature the crème de la crème of the South Asian community in the fields of business, entertainment, social and public service, education, science, sports, literature, technology and IT, and the performing and visual arts, with a special award given to a young achiever demonstrating outstanding excellence in their field. It is expected to become an annual event and a cultural landmark.

Winners Fact Sheet

Young Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Nationwide Insurance

Farah Taslima is a 12-year-old, New York City girl who was a student of the Very Young Composers program. Members of the New York Philharmonic orchestra performed one of her pieces, Serenity Unleashed, during their historic music diplomacy tour of North Korea in February of 2008.

Ishan Mandani is a 12-year-old boy from Florida whose passion for the poor, elderly, and sick has lead him to make exemplary commitments to charitable organizations like Hospice, a terminally ill nursing home.

Science Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Air India

Dr. Anil Kaul’s current research involves developing new diagnostic tools for early detection of cancer, osteoporosis and has recently filed a disclosure on wireless monitoring of pregnancy.

Performing and Visual Arts Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Malani Jewelers

Ms. Shazia Sikander was born in 1969 in Lahore, Pakistan. Sikander specializes in Indian and Persian miniature painting, a traditional style that is both highly stylized and disciplined.

Social Service Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Raja Foods

Ms. Purvi Shah has served as the Executive Director of Sakhi for South Asian Women since February 2002. Sakhi is an organization that for the past nineteen years has worked to bud community awareness and change attitudes that perpetuate violence towards women.

Sports Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Raza Communications
Ms. Mohini Bhardwaj is one of the US Olympic team silver medalists for women's gymnastics.

Business Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Western Union
Ms. Shafi Saxena is the mastermind behind the successful Dove Skin campaign and their mission to make more women feel beautiful everyday.

Technology and IT Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Mpingi
Dr. S. Somasegar is the senior vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft. S. Somasegar oversees the Microsoft India Development Center (IDC) in Hyderabad, India and the Microsoft Canada Development Center (MCDC) in Vancouver, Canada.

Entertainment Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Sony Entertainment Television

Ms. Lena Khan is a writer and director of several films, including, A Land Called Paradise, winner of the LinkTV's One Nation, Many Voices short film festival.

Literature Achiever of the Year Award Sponsored by Tilda
Mrs. Bapsi Sidhwa is one of South Asia's most distinguished writers. Her novels include The Crow Eaters, The Pakistani Bride, Cracking India, An American Brat, Water, and an anthology, City of Sin and Splendor: Writings in Lahore.

South Asian Personality of the Year Award Sponsored by Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club
Mr. Robin Raina is a leader in both the business and charity circles. On one end he is the Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Ebix, Inc. as well as the Founder and President of the Robin Raina Foundation, a charity carrying out the largest private charity initiative in the Indian sub-continent. His charity has carried out the building of 6,000 homes, free of cost, for the underprivileged.