Where Have I Seen Him Before? ‘New Girl’s’ Satya Bhabha

Fans of the Fox Sitcom “New Girl” may have been wondering where they’ve seen the guy playing fiancé to Hannah Simone’s Cece this season. Or that might have just been me.

The actor playing Shivrang is none other than British-born Satya Bhabha, son of Homi K. Bhabha, a highly-regarded academic in contemporary post-colonial studies from a Parsi family in Mumbai, and Jacqueline Bhaba, a legal academic who is the daughter of Jewish refugees who moved to India to escape Nazi Germany. And, at least where I’ve seen him before is in one of my favorite movies of 2010, Edgar Wright’s adaptation of “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” playing Matthew Patel (aka Evil Ex #1).

Meanwhile, on “New Girl,” the Cece-Shivrang relationship continues to bring multiracial desis to the small screen. (Like her TV fiancé, Simone has parents with Indian and European origins.) Bhabha initially auditioned for a one-episode appearance as one of many potential suitors for Cece but ended up staying on the show. He will continue to stay on at least through the nuptials (May 14), which just happen to take place during the show’s season finale, and will also feature a guest appearance by *groan* Taylor Swift.

If you like Bhabha, you’ll have a chance to see more of him in the lead role of Anglo-Indian Saleem Sinai in Deepa Mehta’s film adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children,” scheduled to be released in the US on April 26.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3zvf0R5UDQ&list=SPXd9aCB0yKujClUF2YTrhF1FYE2TByW2G&index=36