Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1536017
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAY CLENDENIN 26 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E he premise of the hit Hulu series "Deli Boys" could be the stuff of a tough-minded crime drama or gritty thriller. T h e s h o w r e v o l v e s around the exploits of Mir (Asif Ali) and Raj (Saagar Shaikh), the grown offspring of a Pakistani-American family that has settled and prospered in Philadelphia. T h e i r f a t h e r, k n o w n a s " B a b a" ( I q b a l Theba), presides over DarCo, a corporate behemoth that operates a deli chain and has provided a comfortable — perhaps too comfortable — lifestyle for his sons. Upon Baba's out-of-the-blue death, Mir and Raj reckon not only with the prospect of parental loss but their father's business dealings: As it turns out, Baba owed his wealth to his sideline as a drug kingpin. After his death, his sons find themselves not at the helm of a mere deli but a sprawling criminal enterprise. The show also stars Poorna Jaganna- than, Kevin Corrigan, and, as FBI officials, Alexandra Ruddy and Tim Baltz. "Deli Boys" might sound dark and com- plicated, but series creator Abdullah Saeed sought to use the plot as a vessel for com- edy — sometimes antic, often in the spirit of "The Sopranos," and always human and believable. For picture editors David Dean, ACE, Taichi Erskine, and Varun Viswanath, ACE, the challenge was to make the material as funny as possible. "If we had a list of priorities, the last thing to sacrifice is the joke," said Viswa- nath. "The writing was really sharp, so we didn't spend too much time explaining plot WHERE THE BOYS ARE: Saagar Shaikh, center, and Asif Ali in "Deli Boys." P H OT O : H U L U HOW THE EDITORS BEHIND HULU'S CROSS-CULTURAL SERIES BROKE INTO THE 'CRIMEDY' GENRE THE 'DELI' By Peter Tonguette T