The life of Indian-American rapper Himanshu Suri, better known as “Heems” of the hip-hop group Das Racist, may be coming to network television.
Fox recently gave a script commitment to a new show based on Suri's life entitled "Eat Pray Thug," named for Suri's debut album released earlier this year--Suri's first solo album since Das Racist disbanded in 2012.
In an email to NBC News, Suri confirmed that Fox reached out to "Fresh Off the Boat" co-executive producer Sanjay Shah to produce the new show.
“It's a show about an [Indian-American] rapper who chooses to hang out at home with his Indian parents because they're funny and maybe because they cook really well,” Suri said in an email.
He added that he will act as a producer and a consultant for the show. “I will make sure its as authentic as possible although I trust Sanjay completely since he’s South Asian and we’ve already discussed important reference points. I'm not too stressed about it.”
Actor Utkarsh Ambudkar, who has appeared on "The Mindy Project" as Mindy Kaling's younger brother, is attached to "Eat Pray Thug" as its star. Ambudkar has also appeared in "Pitch Perfect" and will star in "Barbershop 3."
According to Suri, Utkarash is a great choice for the lead because he represents an exciting facet of South Asian artists in American pop culture. “He transcends those pigeonholes the same way I do, being Indian yet a professional rapper. Most importantly, he knows his hip hop,” Suri said.