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Nobody from Hollywood can find Pakistan on the map: Kumail Nanjiani

Actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani with wife Emily Gordon during the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California on Monday. - Reuters
LOS ANGELES - Extending support to the dreamers in the US, Pakistan-origin comedian Kumail Nanjiani and actor Lupita Nyong’o from Kenya took a dig at their own immigrant status during the 90th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Monday. Before presenting the award for the Best Production Design, Nyong’o stated that Nanjiani and herself were the two actors whose names people have trouble pronouncing. Nanjiani joked, “Kumail Nanjiani is my stage name. My actual given Pakistani name is Chris Pine. So you can imagine how annoyed I was when the other - the white one - showed up - The real Chris Pine.” Nyong’o, whose latest release Black Panther is doing well at the box office, continued that she was an immigrant from Kenya. Nanjiani also snapped, “And I am from Pakistan and Iowa, two places that nobody from Hollywood can find on the map.” Nyong’o, who won the Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years A Slave in 2014, shared, “Like everyone in this room and everyone watching at home, we are dreamers. We grew up dreaming of one day working in the movies. Dreams are the foundation of Hollywood and dreams are the foundation of America.” Following this, The Big Sick actor then continued, “And so, to all the dreamers out there, we stand with you.” Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon missed out on winning an Oscar for their original screenplay for the film The Big Sick. - Agencies