Although his standup has been so-so, nobody can deny that Aziz Ansari is one of the most versatile and clever comedic actors working right now.
Case in point being his Netflix series, Master of None, which is picking up all sorts of rave reviews and comparisons to the likes of Louis CK and Woody Allen. One particular episode sees Ansari's character, Dev, take his parents out for dinner as a way of thanking them for all their work. Ansari's real-life mother and father played his on-screen parents in the episode.
The episode's particularly emotional for children of immigrants and has really resonated with audiences both here and abroad. Just today, Ansari took to Instagram with a heartfelt message for both his parents and those maybe have an estranged relationship with their own parents.
As Ansari explains, his father "took off most of his vacation time for the year to act in Master of None. So I'm really relieved this all worked out. Tonight after we did Colbert together he said: "This is all fun and I liked acting in the show, but I really just did it so I could spend more time with you." I almost instantly collapsed into tears at the thought of how much this person cares about me and took care of me and gave me everything to give me the amazing life I have. I felt like a total piece of garbage for all the times I haven't visited my parents and told them I wanted to stay in New York cause I'd get bored in SC."
Ansari goes on, explaining that "in reality, I haven't always had the best, most open relationship with my parents because we are weirdly closed off emotionally sometimes. But we are getting better. And if you have something like that with your family - I urge you to work at it and get better because these are special people in your life and I get terrified when my dad tells me about friends of his, people close to his age, that are having serious health issues, etc. Enjoy and love these people while you can."
Shut up, you're crying. Call your Mam and Dad if you can, right now, and make plans with them. And then watch Master of None afterwards because you're missing out.
Via Instagram