Sunny Tripathy
| Suneet Sunny Tripathy "Sunny T" | |
|---|---|
 Sunny T at the 2013 Mr. & Miss India America Pageant | |
| Born |
October 27, 1989 Brampton, Canada |
| Education | University of California Los Angeles (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor, Comedian, Writer, Producer |
| Years active | 2008—present |
| Height | 6' (1.82 m) |
| Website | http://sunnytfilms.com |
Sunny Tripathy (born October 27, 1989), also referred to as stage name ‘Sunny T, is an Indian-American actor, comedian, writer, producer, Mr. India Global and a former model.
Personal life
Tripathy, was born in Brampton, Canada to an Indian-American father and mother.[1] Tripathy currently resides in Los Angeles, California and is fluent in English, French, Hindi and Oriya.[2][3] After high school, Tripathy attended UCLA for engineering and applied for the undergraduate film program but was rejected twice.[4][5]
In 2005 Sunny was the victim of a hate crime on the day of his prom, where he was attacked by neo-Nazi gang members outside of Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, California. The attack on the 16-year-old, which was thought to be racially inclined, took place in broad daylight and left the Foothill High School student in the hospital with limited ability to walk.[3] Tripathy suffered a shattered clavicle, a damaged back, broken nose, a fractured arm and multiple bruises and cuts.
Career
Tripathy won the 1st season of Last Teen Comic Standing at the age of 17 and performed stand-up specials in Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.[1][5]
In 2011, Tripathy’s short film, Naked Innocence, won several awards. The short was also honored at Warner Bros. in June 2011.[2]
In 2012, he won the titles of Mr. Photogenic and Mr. India West Coast of the Miss India America Pageant. He went on to model for several brands including Mountain Dew, Adidas Collegiate, UCLA, HFDC Bank, Dreams Collection and BearWear.[1][6][7]
In fall 2012, Sunny produced a reality television pilot called The Grind featuring Sahil Punamia (Keeping Up With the Guptas), Michael Vayder, Shafic Tayara, pop-artist Vinita and Ron Artest (MettaWorld Peace) from the Los Angeles Lakers.[8] The show was never released to the public. [1][9]
In December 2012, Tripathy was named among the Top 50 Coolest Desis In The World, sharing the list with Mindy Kaling, Priyanka Chopra, and Malala Yousafzai.[6]
In July 2014 and at the age of 24, Tripathy sold his first pilot script and reached a development deal with 20th Century Fox Television,[10][11] to create a show based on him and his family.[4]
Charity work
Tripathy is an ambassador to The Hunger Project and is an active donor to the UCLA Ronald Reagan Children's Hospital. In November 2013, he hosted a birthday event to raise money and toys for the hospitals pediatric patients.[11][12][13]
Many of Tripathy's film projects often resonate themes of social justice issues. His project, Naked Innocence, was in response to several teen bullying and suicide cases in 2010. The Locket, was in tribute to the victims of the 2011 terrorist attack in Oslo, Norway.[1]
Sunny is involved with other non-profit organizations including Every 15 Minutes, Oriya Society of Americas, SEEDS, and the Sheila Kar Heart Foundation.[10]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Dance Flick | Club Victim | Paramount Pictures | |
| 2010 | Naked Innocence | Writer / Director | SunnyTFilms | |
| 2010 | Keeping Up With The Guptas | Writer / Director | SunnyTFilms | |
| 2011 | The Locket | Writer / Director | SunnyTFilms | |
| 2011 | Troublemaker | Sameer | Shetani Films | |
| 2012 | Sunset Strip | Marketing Agent | SpeakEasy Films | |
| 2014 | The Grind | Producer / Lead | SunnyTFilms | |
| 2014 | 5 Notes | Writer / Director | Visceral Entertainment | Filming |
| 2014 | Rajas of Rodeo | Lead | Lionsgate | In Development |
| 2015 | Untitled Sunny Tripathy Project | Writer / Supervising Producer | 20th Century Fox Television | In Development |
| TBD | Mahabharat | Writer / Executive Producer | TBA | In Development |
Awards and nominations
| Award | Event | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCAC Young Artists Award | PCAC | 2007 |
Won |
| Best Teen Comedian | Last Teen Comic Standing | 2008 |
Won |
| Best Drama | Campus Movie Festival UCLA | 2010 |
Won |
| AT&T Rethink Possible Award | Campus Movie Festival UCLA | 2010 |
Won |
| People's Choice Award | Campus Movie Festival UCLA | 2010 |
Won |
| Best Commercial | MoFilm Chevy Volt Competition | 2011 |
Won |
| Best Drama | Action on Film Festival | 2011 |
Nominated |
| Best Music Video | Action on Film Festival | 2011 |
Nominated |
| Award of Merit | Accolade Festival | 2011 |
Won |
| Mr. Photogenic | Mr. / Miss India America | 2012 |
Won |
| Mr. India Global | Mr. / Miss India America | 2012 |
Won |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "It's Always Sunny T in California" - Urban Asian - http://urbanasian.com/whats-happenin/2012/10/its-always-sunny-t-in-california-a-mysterious-man-on-a-mysterious-mission/
- 1 2 “US-based Odia Director plans Mahabharata for Big Screen” - The Times of India
- 1 2 “Teen Attacked At Stoneridge Mall” – Pleasanton Weekly - http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/story.php?story_id=561
- 1 2 “USA-based Odisha Boy Sunny Tripathy signs TV Deal with 20th Century Fox for a comedy TV series – Orissa Diary – http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=51265
- 1 2 “Behind-the-scenes with young, handsome, and talented Sunny Tripathy!” - Urban Asian - http://urbanasian.com/interviews/2011/08/sunnytripathy/
- 1 2 3 “Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2012” - DesiClub - http://www.desiclub.com/community/culture/culture_article.cfm?id=1071
- ↑ “Foothill grad hopes to make it big with TV pilot - Pleasanton Weekly - http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/2010/09/23/foothill-grad-hopes-to-make-it-big-with-tv-pilot
- ↑ “Exclusive Interview with OMG Vinita” - UrbanAsian - http://urbanasian.com/interviews/2013/01/exclusive-interview-with-omg-vinita/
- ↑ “Up Close With The ScriptWorm” – Sunday Post – http://www.orissapost.com/up-close-with-the-scriptworm/
- 1 2 “‘Keeping Up With the Guptas’ creator makes deal with 20th Century Fox” – Daily Bruin – http://dailybruin.com/2014/06/30/keeping-up-with-the-guptas-creator-makes-deal-with-20th-century-fox/
- 1 2 “‘Keeping Up with the Guptas’ May Come to FOX” – India West – http://www.indiawest.com/entertainment/global/keeping-up-with-the-guptas-may-come-to-fox/article_8b25420e-0dd9-11e4-bf1d-001a4bcf887a.html/
- ↑ "Keeping Up With The Guptas" creator hosts birthday charity! - Urban Asian - http://urbanasian.com/events-gigs/2013/11/keeping-up-with-the-guptas-creator-hosts-birthday-charity/
- ↑ "Mr. India Sunny Tripathy Hosts Charity Event" - India West - http://www.indiawest.com/news/14860-mr-india-sunny-tripathy-hosts-charity-event.html