Indian-origin actor to perform in US to raise funds

Indian-origin actor Minita Gandhi will peform her one-woman play "Muthaland" in a Chicago suburb on Sunday to raise funds for an Indian-American Heritage Museum, a report said.

A group of Indian Americans is trying to re-establish a heritage museum in Chicago by the end of the year after they were removed from their previous location, the Daily Herald newspaper reported on Thursday.

"A few years ago, the museum lost the small room in Chicago where it used to display artifacts when the organisation with which it was sharing space needed to expand," board member Raja Nadimpalli was quoted as saying.

The play will be performed in Naperville.

The group is now looking for a new location to showcase photos, cultural statues and other items that explain how and why Indians migrated to the US and what they have contributed since arriving.

"Anyone can read about Indian Americans in Google. What we try to give them is our unique perspective, what we faced and how have we struggled to establish ourselves and what are we doing," Nadimpalli said.

"Sunday's play is one effort to connect with suburban residents of Indian descent, inform them about plans to establish a museum and seek their support," Nadimpalli said.

Gandhi, 36, described her first solo play a "dark comedy". The play is based on a story of Gandhi's trip to India for her brother's arranged wedding.