Sethi’s cameo highlights modern storytelling using internal cultural language over Western validation
In an unexpected yet powerful scene on Hulu’s dark comedy, Deli Boys, classical vocalist and global music sensation Ali Sethi appears on screen to perform Amir Khusro’s centuries-old Qawwali, Chaap Tilak, marking a significant milestone for South Asian culture.
As Poorna Jagannathan’s character sways to the music, the scene transcends entertainment, emerging as a rare celebration of South Asian cultural heritage on a major Western platform.
Created by Abdullah Saeed, Deli Boys has built its reputation on a gritty, chaotic, and unapologetic portrayal of the Pakistani-American experience. Following brothers Mir and Raj Dar (Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh) as they navigate their late father’s convenience store and secret criminal underbelly, the series actively rejects the pressure to be a “model minority” narrative.
Sethi’s cameo isn’t just a clever nod to his massive global fanbase; it is a strategic move showcasing how modern storytelling uses internal cultural language, rather than Western validation, to define its own space.
When Sethi playfully warned his Instagram followers to spot the “fake qawwal” in the coming episodes, he highlighted the show’s brilliant irony. Sharing how Qawwali is a deeply spiritual, centuries-old Sufi devotional music form.
Placed within the hyper-modern, absurd, and occasionally illegal world of Deli Boys, the music isn’t there to make the show feel “mystical” or “oriental” to an outside viewer. Instead, it serves as a hilarious, deeply internal joke for the show itself that bridges between ancient heritage and modern American hustle.
Backed by executive influences like Riz Ahmed and boasting appearances by Fred Armisen, Kumail Nanjiani, and Lilly Singh, the project serves notice to the industry that South Asian narratives no longer need to be sanitised to be respected.
Ali Sethi’s brief, brilliant cameo on screen is the perfect musical entry for this new era, making it a self-assured declaration that South Asian culture is no longer explaining itself to the world; it is simply busy making great television.
