Yesterday I went on-line to check out all the hype behind the new movie that opens tomorrow, Snakes on a Plane. Not many reviews to go by so I don’t know how good it actually is. While watching the trailer however my sepia radar started howling as the following face splashed onto my computer screen. Who was that cute desi girl and how come I’ve never sat next to her on a plane?

Apple should totally make her a spokeswoman. She “speaks to me” at least.

Turns out that the name of her character in the movie is “Ipod girl.” The actress who plays her is Canada’s own Agam Darshi (born Agamdeep Darshi in Birmingham, UK):

She was born Agamdeep Darshi in Birmingham, England, but her family soon moved to Canada. At the age of 14 she moved to Calgary and began to pursue her dream of acting, a passion that, as a small child, would manifest itself as impromptu plays at any family gathering. She studied theatre at the University of Calgary as well the visual fine arts, earning a BFA in art and theatre in 2002. This passion for being on the other side of the camera has lead to several photographic shows and art publications. Besides acting on both stage and screen, Darshi has also written numerous plays and has recently work on several film scripts, producing two of her projects as independent films.

She is also an avid traveler and has backpacked through Europe and across Australia. [Link]

The Snakes on a Plane (SOAP) blog has an interview with her. Despite the fact that she is obviously going to be awesome in the film, she sounds like she’d rather put a bit of distance between it and her:

SoaB: From your resume, Snakes on a Plane appears to be your first major/feature film. How did you get involved with it?

AD: SOAP is a big budget film and I basically auditioned for the part like everyone else!

SoaB: How do you feel having a film as unique as Snakes on a Plane as your first major credit?

AD: Well it’s nice to have it on my resume, but to be honest, it’s not something I’m overtly proud of. I’ve worked on a bunch of other great roles and great shows. Like Supernatural, Tru-Calling, Final Destination 3, L-Word, Dead Zone etc… It’s great working on big budget films like this one, but sometimes it’s the smaller films that feel so much more important and interesting, because there is more heart involved. [Link]

Apparently there is already a t-shirt industry that has sprouted up to celebrate her character:

I’ve been looking for a co-pilot for a LONG time.

Really, that’s all I had planned to say about that. A cute South Asian girl is very Sepia-worthy in my opinion and after a rough week of activism I needed something to take the edge off. However, the ever sagacious Amardeep reminded me that we owe it to our readers to provide more than just fluff and eye candy. He said:

You might also mention that some of the snakes on the plane (i.e., the cobra) are mainly found in India.

Though actually some of the poisonous snakes they’re using also come from other places. There are even some American snakes!

Multicultural snakes on the multicultural plane.

Yes, once again Americans are going to see a movie where South Asian terrorists try to bring down an airplane. I guess until more of us stand up for ourselves desis will continue to get type-casted into such rolls. You think I am being oversensitive? Check it:

The most deadly serpent aboard fictional Pacific Air Flight 121 is the monocled cobra. Like many venomous snakes, the cobra’s poison affects its victim’s central nervous system. But monocled cobra venom is so powerful that the victim’s immune system goes into hyperdrive and actually begins to break down organs and muscles. Death is almost instantaneous. [Link]

And where is this terrorist from? You guessed it:

Found from northeastern India, across Myanmar and Indochina to southern China, and Malaysia and the Philippines. [Link]

If you still think I am being paranoid then how do you explain this?

Milk snakes are native to North America and normally grow up to 4.3 feet (1.3 meters) long…

Although they pose no threat to humans, milk snakes are often killed because people think they are dangerous—most likely one of the reasons the species landed a starring role in Snakes on a Plane. [Link]

Right. So the Indian snake is the most deadly terrorist on this fictional flight while the American milk snake (milk being a euphemism for “white”), “pose[s] no threat to humans.”

My peoples, this system is f*cked up! Please write your Congressman.