Senain Kheshgi is a

Pakistani-American Pakistani Americans () are citizens of the United States who have full or partial ancestry from Pakistan, or more simply, Pakistanis in America. They can be from different ethnic groups in Pakistan like Punjabis, Punjabi or Muhajir people, Muhaj ...

film director, writer and producer. She is best known for her documentary films, ''Project Kashmir'' and ''The Diplomat.''

Early life

Kheshgi was born in Karachi, Pakistan. Both her parents were born in India but moved to Pakistan after the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. Her father, Aman Khan Kheshgi was the first TV game show host on the state-run Pakistan Television. He hosted the popular quiz show ZEENA BA ZEENA. Her family emigrated to New York in the late 1960s. In 1971, Senain was cast on the

Children’s Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—includin ...

's groundbreaking show

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

. She was the first South Asian American to be cast as a ‘Regular’ on American television. She was on the show from 1971 to 1977.

Documentary film

Early in her career, Kheshgi worked as a co-producer of the Peabody-winning film, "The First Year", directed by

Davis Guggenheim Philip Davis Guggenheim is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Active in television and film's directions and productions since the 1990s, from 2006 Guggenheim has specialized in making documentaries, ranking the top 100 highest- ...

. She then went on to produce and direct her own films. Kheshgi co-directed the feature documentary '' Project Kashmir'' along with Geeta V. Patel. The film takes place in the beautiful, but embattled Kashmir. Kheshgi and Patel navigate the dangers and complexity of a country divided. Kheshgi then co-directed ''The Diplomat'' about the East German Olympic ice skater

Katarina Witt Katarina Witt (, ; born 3 December 1965) is a German former figure skater. A two-time Olympic champion, Witt is regarded as one of the greatest ladies' singles figure skaters of all time. Her Laureus profile states that "she is remembered mos ...

with Jennifer Arnold for

ESPN Films ESPN Films, formerly known as ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE), is an American production company which produces and distributes sports films and documentaries. It is owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which o ...

. It is a window into Witt's life, who as one of the world's greatest ice skaters, still could not break free from Communist East Germany.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kheshgi, Senain Pakistani emigrants to the United States Pakistani documentary filmmakers Peabody Award winners Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Muhajir people