Indian star Diljit Dosanjh misses out on Emmy as Spain’s Oriol Pla claims best actor prize

NEW YORK: Diljit Dosanjh’s Emmy dream ended in heartbreak on Monday night as Spain’s Oriol Pla walked away with the best performance by an actor trophy at the 53rd International Emmy Awards in New York City. The Punjabi superstar, nominated for his turn as folk legend Amar Singh Chamkila in Imtiaz Ali’s Netflix biopic, couldn’t crack a competitive field that included Britain’s David Mitchell for Ludwig and Colombia’s Diego Vasquez for One Hundred Years of Solitude.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences handed out 16 Emmy statuettes to winners from nine countries, with Britain’s television industry dominating the night. Rivals, the 1980s-set drama about corporate warfare in television, took the drama series prize, whilst Anna Maxwell Martin won best performance by an actress for Until I Kill You. British productions also swept comedy (Ludwig), current affairs (Dispatches: Kill Zone: Inside Gaza), documentary (Hell Jumper), and the TV movie/mini-series category—Lost Boys & Fairies, which beat Dosanjh’s Chamkila biopic.

Pla’s win came for his raw portrayal of a man battling addictions to drugs, alcohol and sex in Yo, Adicto, a Spanish drama about a voluntary stint in a Barcelona detox centre. His performance edged out Dosanjh’s widely praised embodiment of Chamkila, the Punjabi folk singer whose meteoric rise ended in assassination.
The ceremony, hosted by Live with Kelly and Mark presenters Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, saw wins spread across Australia (Bluey for kids’ animation), Turkey (Deha for telenovela), Japan (Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days for arts programming), and Qatar (Gaza, Search for Life for news). Denmark’s Shaolin Heroes claimed non-scripted entertainment, whilst Canada’s La Médiatrice took short-form series.

Special awards went to Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, who received the Founders Emmy for championing hits including 24, Glee and Grey’s Anatomy, and João Roberto Marinho, chairman and president of Grupo Globo, who was handed the Directorate Award.

Bruce Paisner, president and chief executive of the International Academy, called television “a powerful force for connection across cultures and borders” as he surveyed winners spanning continents from Turkey to Australia. Dosanjh, dressed in a glittering jacket and black turban, made his mark on the red carpet even without the trophy—a bittersweet consolation for Indian viewers who’d hoped to see him make Emmy history.