Quote

I grew up on a farm, and we didn't have cable and only limited radio stations, so I wasn't inundated with culture the way people in other parts of the country were. But I was really interested in it.

As much as I'd like to think and as much as people mistakenly think my audience is blue collar people in the heart of America, my audience is basically, in the States, an NPR audience. I play college towns in the summer because that's who comes to see me.

Most of the TV shows I've done have all been in the U.S.

The only TV I would be interested in exploring would be live television. There's no substitute for a team of artists performing at their peak live when failure is possible. It's a high-wire act. That excites me.

I am Indian, and my home is Kampala. My world is already diverse. But films are financed by those who want to see themselves on screen, and it is a white male world. Still, it does feel like America is waking up. Let's hope it's the start of an avalanche.

I had a holding deal with ABC to find me a show, and I was very clear about the kind of show I wanted to do, because Indian people have always been seen as - well, we've been put in a box, about who we should be like.

America is grappling with cultural diversity, and I just want to put a show on that represents the world in which I live.

It appalls me that the people who decide what Americans will be watching on the tube have never been to the United States. Not the real United States.

I believe America wants and needs the shared experience of television. We far too often see in crises how television brings us together.

Our legislation addresses broadcasts over the public airwaves, but I hope the cable and satellite industries see the importance of this issue and voluntarily create a family tier of programming and offer culturally responsible products.