Hot News Mix: Archie Panjabi on The Good Wife’s Kalinda, Parminder Nagra is The Blacklist’s Mole, and More

Archie Panjabi on Kalinda Sharma. The Good Wife’s Archie Panjabi talks to The Guardian about her Emmy-winning role on the show as bisexual investigator Kalinda Sharma. Read the full interview for why Panjabi thinks Kalinda’s “uniform” of tall boots, leather and hair almost always worn up is important, and her thoughts on the character of Kalinda.

“I like the fact that she is a woman of colour and that she’s bisexual. And one of the most rewarding things about playing her is that people see that’s an aspect of her, which is huge for TV and film. Kalinda is Kalinda. And I think that’s probably something I wanted to do without realising it. The purpose of that role is not her ‘culture’. And I think after that, there are more Indian women on TV in America – I don’t know about here – and it is slowly changing.” [The Guardian]

She’s the Mole. Last night, the character of CIA agent Meera Malik on Blacklisted, played by Parminder Nagra (Bend It Like Beckham, ER), took on a new twist in the series’ storyline. Viewers were left hanging as James Spader’s “Red” confronted her after finding out she was the mole in the FBI. Will the mole make a deal? Here’s what Nagra sad about her Blacklisted character in a recent interview:

Playing a badass character, I have to say I’m enjoying it, probably a bit too much sometimes. Can you just let me run around with it, and I’d be really happy. It’s very empowering; I love it. I really, really do enjoy playing such a strong female character. You don’t get a lot of those parts, especially on TV, for women, that are so strong. [TV Goodness]

Sarita Choudhury on Mandy Patinkin. On the red carpet at the SAG Awards, Sarita Choudhury (Mississippi Masala), who plays Mira Berenson on Homeland, talked about her co-star and onscreen husband Mandy Patinkin. [Popsugar]

Cyrus Mistry’s novel wins South Asian literature prize. The Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time reports that Indian playwright and novelist Cyrus Mistry won the $50,000 2014 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer. His novel tells the story of the Khandhias who are responsible for carrying the dead bodies of Mumbai’s small community of Parsis to the Towers of Silence where they are left to decompose or be devoured by vultures. Watch a video about the corpse bearers and read an excerpt from Cyrus’s novel.

Dhaka’s death river. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is among the fastest growing cities in the world, due in part to its proximity to a great river, the Buriganga. At one time the river was the city’s primary source of drinking water, but today “the Bangladesh government estimates that about 21,000 cubic meters of untreated industrial sewage is released into its waters every day.” Italian-born photojournalist Ugo Borga photographed and interviewed workers and people living near the Buriganga. The photo essay “Life on a Death River in Bangladesh” shares his work. [Time Lightbox]

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