Sunny Tripathy

Suneet "Sunny" Tripathy, also referred to as stage name 'Sunny T', is an Indian-American actor, comedian, writer, producer, Mr. India Global and a former model.

Personal life Suneet "Sunny Tripathy" was born on October 27, 1989, in Brampton, Canada to Indian immigrant parents. His passion for filmmaking began as a child, and he filmed various short films using a home camera.

In 2005, Sunny was the victim of a hate crime on the day of his prom, where he was attacked by neo-Nazi gang members outside of Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, California. The attack on the 16-year-old, which was thought to be racially inclined, took place in broad daylight and left the then Foothill High School student in the hospital with limited ability to walk. Tripathy suffered a shattered clavicle, a damaged back, broken nose, a fractured arm and multiple bruises and cuts.

Hoping to alleviate racial misunderstandings in his high school, Tripathy captained and choreographed a Bhangra dance performance at his high school's Multicultural Assembly. The dance was open to all ethnicities and included many of the school's popular athletes and cheerleaders. After graduating, Tripathy worked in UC Berkeley's biology department before transferring to UCLA where he got his bachelor's degree in 2012. Tripathy moved to Los Angeles full time and tried to pursue screenwriting and directing while working day jobs at Jamba Juice and a Yeshiva Gedolah.

He tried to find an agent and entered the Miss India America beauty pageant hoping to meet a judge that worked at CAA. Tripathy performed a fusion dance routine at the pageant and ended up winning Mr. Photogenic and Mr. India Global in 2012. He did not get signed to CAA for representation.

Career

Tripathy won the 1st season of Last Teen Comic Standing at the age of 17 and performed stand-up specials in Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Tripathy is fluent in Odia, English, Hindi, and French, and many of his performances were in different languages. Tripathy used some of his material in a low-budget web-series called Keeping Up With the Guptas and convinced his parents and friends to star in it. The web-series went relatively viral, grew a cult following, and got Tripathy representation.

In December 2012, Tripathy was named among the Top 50 Coolest Desis In The World, sharing the list with Mindy Kaling, Priyanka Chopra, and Malala Yousafzai.

His new agents sent him on his first general meeting at 20th Century FOX in 2014 and Tripathy walked out with a blind script deal to write a show about his family. The FOX pilot did not move forward. Despite a good response to the pilot, NewForm closed before the pilot could go to series.

Tripathy then wrote a dance comedy feature based on his experiences and Ivan Reitman and Amie Karp at The Montecito Picture Company came on board to produce. The script sold to Tristar in a notable sale and is now in development.

Tripathy met with Will Arnett's Electric Ave and landed a deal to put together an original TV series with Sony Television. The collaborative project reportedly sold in the room at multiple networks and landed at Amazon after a highly-competitive bidding war.

In 2023, Tripathy was hired by Disney to write a live-action IP project with a producer from Lord of the Rings.

In 2024, Tripathy was brought on to write a new animated feature based on a book that is in development at Dreamworks Animation. Plot details are under wraps but David Hoberman is attached as a producer.

The brand was also chosen out of 5000 brands to be in Target's Accelerator. Despite mixed reviews, their vegan ghee "Vhee" became an Amazon #1 New Release.

Tripathy's wife Sonia is a model, nutritionist, and scientist from the University of Pennsylvania. The couple are actively involved in various non-profits and travel the world advocating for nutrition equity, health and wellness, and environmental impact. They have also been seen working with 'The Good Karma' program to feed the unhoused in Los Angeles.

Filmography Year Film Role Company Notes 2009 Dance Flick Club Victim Paramount Pictures 2010 Naked Innocence Writer / Director SunnyTFilms 2010 Keeping Up With The Guptas Writer / Director SunnyTFilms 2011 The Locket Writer / Director SunnyTFilms 2011 Troublemaker Sameer Shetani Films 2012 Sunset Strip Marketing Agent SpeakEasy Films 2014 Rajas of RodeoLead Lionsgate Complete 2015 Untitled Sunny Tripathy ProjectWriter / Supervising Producer 20th Century Fox Television Status Unknown 2016 MahabharatWriter / Executive Producer Bazelevs Status Unknown 2023 Untitled Tripathy Dance ComedyWriter / Producer TriStar In Development 2023 The Other PatelsWriter / Creator Sony Pictures Television In Development 2023 Untitled Sunny Tripathy Savan Kotecha ProjectWriter Sony Pictures Animation Status Unknown 2024 Untitled Sunny Tripathy Court Five ProjectWriter Disney In Development 2024 Untitled Food SitcomWriter / Creator Jax Media Status Unknown 2025 Untitled Sunny Tripathy David Hoberman ProjectWriter DreamWorks Animation In Development 2025 The PrizeWriter / Producer Invention Studios In Development 2025 RealtorsWriter Unknown In Development

Awards and nominations Award Event Year ResultPCAC Young Artists Award PCAC 2007 Best Teen Comedian Last Teen Comic Standing 2008 Best Drama Campus Movie Festival UCLA 2010 AT&T Rethink Possible Award Campus Movie Festival UCLA 2010 People's Choice Award Campus Movie Festival UCLA 2010 Best Commercial MoFilm Chevy Volt Competition 2011 Best Drama Action on Film Festival 2011 Best Music Video Action on Film Festival 2011 Award of Merit Accolade Festival 2011 Mr. Photogenic Mr. / Miss India America 2012 Mr. India Global Mr. / Miss India America 2012