Oscars 2023: Priyanka Chopra, NTR Jr. celebrate South Asian excellence at LA event. See photos

Actor Priyanka Chopra with celebrity manager Anjula Acharia at the LA event. (Getty images)

Actor Priyanka Chopra and writer-producer Mindy Kaling hosted a starry evening in Los Angeles on March 9 to celebrate South Asian talent, ahead of the 2023 Oscar awards next week.

The South Asian Excellence Pre-Oscars bash was organised by Paramount Pictures in honour of this year's South Asian Oscar nominees, including India's RRR, The Elephant Whisperers and All That Breathes. 

Among those who attended the event was Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. She is the executive producer of Joyland, the Pakistani film that made it to the Oscars shortlist but did not bag a nomination.

An Oscar pre event To Celebrate "South Asian Excellence" was held at LA yesterday having the likes of Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Saim Sadiq, Ali Sethi and Malala Yousafzai,Priyanka Chopra on board from the region and Sharmeen is all proud of the growing representation from the region pic.twitter.com/nCjOpSvGQN

— Pakistani Cinema (@PakistaniCinema) March 10, 2023

Actor NTR Jr., the star of the RRR, was also at the event.

(Credit: Getty Images)

Actor Preity Zinta was also in attendance.

In an interview at the event, Chopra said the event was an emotional one for her

"I mean, this is iconic" she told Entertainment Tonight. "And to be able to look around me, and see my peers and colleagues that have hustled and pounded the pavement for years, and to be able to have them receive a moment that's just theirs, makes me like, cry."

"This night is about the nominees, and you see a lot of them coming," she added. "This'll be about giving them the stage and giving them a moment. Showcasing a little bit of the movies and championing them as the Oscars come back."

India is having a big moment at the Oscars this year with three nominations and actor Deepika Padukone being one of the presenters.

RRR is nominated in the Best Song category, All That Breathes in Best Documentary Feature and The Elephant Whisperers as Best Documentary Short Film.

Oscar awards 2023 will air live from Los Angeles beginning 5.30 am on March 13, according to Indian time.