Showing posts with label Mindy Kaling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mindy Kaling. Show all posts
Richa Chadha-Ali Fazal party with Mindy Kaling, on Instagram
8:13 AM
A Bollywood-themed virtual bash seemed like the perfect way to tackle the lockdown ennui as several stars around the globe logged in to congratulate Mindy Kaling on her latest offering
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 29, 2020)
As the world began bingeing on Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher's new creation, Never Have I Ever, British musician DJ Rekha and Poorna Jagannathan — who plays a pivotal role in the comedy — hosted a special Instagram party on Sunday to celebrate the series. A Bollywood-themed virtual bash seemed like the perfect way to tackle the Coronavirus lockdown ennui as several stars around the globe logged in to congratulate Kaling on her latest offering. Amongst the Bollywood stars to join the fanfare were Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal.A source reveals, "It was essentially a lockdown party with Mindy joining in from the US, and Richa and Ali logging online from Mumbai. Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali too attended the virtual do. Most of the stars had watched the show beforehand. While they loved how the slice-of-life series captured the joys and sorrows of a second-generation Indian teenager growing up in the US, the larger discussion was about how it beautifully highlighted the issues faced by people of different ethnicities through the protagonist and her diverse set of friends. DJ Rekha made sure that the party, though online, wasn't without its share of music as she belted out hits from her console."
Mahershala Ali
I feel like I married a version of my dad-Priyanka Chopra
8:30 AM
In an upcoming Spotify episode, 'daddy's lil girl' Priyanka Chopra Jonas draws parallels between husband Nick Jonas, late father Ashok Chopra
MID-DAY (March 19, 2020)
Her backyard may home the fanciest cars available in the market, but Priyanka Chopra Jonas was taught as early as in her teens that even without the accessories, she was among the privileged. "[I grew up in] India, where people are desensitised to poverty. And so was I, until my parents [made me aware]. In their hospital, there were always two beds that were [available], free of cost, for anyone who [needed] to come. My parents would go to villages to treat people who couldn't [travel]. And I'd go with them. I was taught [that I was] privileged; that though we may not have fancy cars, [I] was privileged because I had shelter, food, the [facility] to go to school, and parents who taught me that I have an opinion," Jonas told designer Diane von Furstenberg in Spotify's upcoming podcast, InCharge with DVF.
The 35-minute long episode has her spill details about those aspects of her life that led to the making of one among India's most successful crossover artistes. "I feel like there's a lot that I have to do in the US. I want my work to mean a lot more [than it does]. I don't think America has seen me do the [quantity] of work that I have [done] in India. That's something I'm striving for. I'm producing [projects], doing a movie for Universal with Mindy Kaling, and a reality show with Amazon, which Nick and I are producing." The Amazon show is inspired by Chopra's big, fat Indian wedding, which had sufficient fodder for the making of a show that could interest viewers in the West. However, it is the onset of her relationship with Jonas that tugs at heartstrings."He slid into my DMs and messaged me on Twitter," she says of their introduction. "A co-actor of mine had worked with him before. He texted me and said we should meet. It took us three years to go on a date, and we were engaged two months later."
Chopra can draw several parallels between her late father and her musician-husband. "He feels empowered when he sees me empowered. He'll stand on the side when [lensmen] take [my] pictures [on the red carpet]. He loves [my success]," she says, adding, "They say if you're close to your dad, you end up marrying someone who is like [him]. And Nick is. He's thoughtful, conscientious, and kind. I feel like I ended up marrying a version of [my dad]."
I had to walk into rooms and introduce myself-Priyanka Chopra
8:01 AM
Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas says it’s her dream to see Indian cinema take over the West
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 27, 2019)
To say that Priyanka Chopra Jonas is a household name across India, would be an understatement. She is perhaps our biggest name working abroad too, singing, acting and doing what not! After carving out a music career in the West with songs such as Exotic and In My City, she went on to star in films such as Baywatch (2017) and Isn’t It Romantic? The show Quantico, in which she played the lead role, remains her biggest achievement there.
However, it wasn’t easy for PeeCee. She tells us that it was all too new for her when she first went to try her luck in Hollywood. “When I went to America,” she begins, “there wasn’t a precedence. I didn’t have a road map to follow because there was no one who had done it before. I had to figure it out, walk into rooms, introduce myself, say ‘I am an Indian actor, my name is Priyanka Chopra, these are the kind of films I want to do’. I demanded playing leading roles, instead of settling for parts which were the stereotype of what a Bollywood actor would usually get. Those also came to me, but I was very clear about what I wanted to do.”
The 37-year-old adds that such was the perception then, that Bollywood was reduced to a ‘genre’ on streaming platforms. Says Priyanka, “I dug my feet in, persevered and did what I needed to do. It’s my dream that Indian cinema becomes global. We are one of the biggest movie industries in the world, and we have been reduced to a genre. If you look at streaming services, you will see genres such as ‘horror’, ‘comedy’, ‘drama’ and ‘Bollywood’. Bollywood is not a genre, it’s an entire industry! It’s my life’s dream to see Indian cinema and artistes take over the West.”
Many Indian actors such as Ali Fazal and Radhika Apte have been getting work abroad lately. Does Priyanka see a positive shift?
She agrees. “Somewhere, people don’t see Bollywood with the lens that they saw it with when I started working in America. I got a lot of ‘So you must be a good dancer?’ and I used to be like ‘Ya, I can sing, dance and act, I am a triple threat!’ So, you have to stop people in tracks and say ‘I am not just one thing’... It took a lot of work, I am so glad. I hope beyond what we are seeing, I want to see Indian actors and movies become mainstream global entertainers. That’s what I have done with Quantico, Baywatch and the movies I am doing like The White Tiger and We Can Be Heroes. We need to see more Indian talent,” says Priyanka, who was recently seen in the Hindi film The Sky is Pink after a break of three years from Bollywood.
And that is what exactly happened when Priyanka and actor Mindy Kaling got themselves the chance of a lifetime. Priyanka tells us, “To me, it was a massive achievement when Mindy and I walked into Universal Studios, came out with a deal for an all-Indian starcast in a Hollywood movie, in a romantic comedy! That’s never happened in a mainstream rom-com! I remember, we came out, held our hands, and we couldn’t believe it. It took us fighting the fight. I am hoping to be able to create so many more opportunities for Indian actors in my small way. I am obviously not saying I can change everything. But in my small way… that’s my quest.”
In some ways, the film with Mindy Kaling is inspired by my own wedding-Priyanka Chopra
8:13 AM
Priyanka Chopra Jonas spills details on her next production that sees her team up with the comedian Mindy Kaling
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 13, 2019)
Ever since its announcement in April, the wedding comedy that sees Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Mindy Kaling join forces, has generated tremendous buzz. After all, it is a moment of pride for Indians globally as the two most prominent faces of Indian origin unite for the project.
Even as Kaling and Dan Goor—the co-creator and executive producer of Brooklyn Nine-Nine—will write the comedy, Chopra reveals that they did not have to look too far for inspiration. The actor explains that the idea of the project took root as she shared her own wedding plans with Kaling. "We met for lunch and amidst all the random chatter, we spoke about my wedding and her connect with India. It instantly became a concept that could be turned into an interesting project for us to work on. In some ways, the film is inspired by my own wedding," says Chopra.
To be shot across the US and India, the buddy comedy is likely to roll next year. "Mindy and Dan Goor have just begun writing the script. It will be a while before it is approved. We will start shopping for it in the latter half of next year," adds Chopra, who will co-produce and act in the movie.
People want to be shaken, stirred and moved while watching a film-Priyanka Chopra
8:24 AM
Priyanka Chopra on her comeback Hindi film, The Sky Is Pink, her production plans and making her long-distance marriage with Nick Jonas work
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 6, 2019)
From becoming the face for desi talent in the US by headlining the ABC show, Quantico, to her marriage to pop star Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is evidently in a content space. And yet, for anyone who knows her well enough, she is always hungry for more.
We catch up with her at Mehboob Studios, Bandra, and chat about why film sets need to go plastic-free given the alarming state of the environment, but soon enough, we nosedive into a conversation about what made her choose a fairly non-commercial filmmaker Shonali Bose's The Sky Is Pink even when industry bigwigs were lining up at her doorstep.
"I have never picked up conventional or mainstream films. To me, a good story matters the most. I am a movie buff and this was a story that sucked me in. Be it a Bajirao Mastani or a Mary Kom or Barfi! they aren't conventional. Of course, I do tentpole films but that's not the only thing I depend on. Now, the audience is different. A few years ago, when we were marketing our films we would say, 'leave your brains at home and watch the movie'. People don't want to leave their brains behind at home anymore. I understand that people want to shaken, stirred and moved while watching a film," starts off Chopra.
She admits that she has not watched Bose's films. "She keeps telling me, 'How did you say yes to me without seeing my work?'" Chopra says that the story moved her to bits. The Sky Is Pink, in Shonali's words, is the love story of Niren and Aditi Chaudhury, the parents of Aisha, an author and motivational speaker who died of pulmonary fibrosis.
"This story is profound and funny. It hits your heart. I have been acting for 16 years. I have worked with many new filmmakers. When I talk to a filmmaker, I can sense how much they know a subject. The script spoke to me. When I met her in New York, I knew instinctively that I wanted to be directed by her. There are filmmakers I have worked with and have not been able to trust. I wanted an immersive experience and Shonali had clarity. She told me how she lost her child. There is a certain lightness about death. She told me that people go when their work on Earth is done. You shouldn't mourn their death but celebrate their life. I hadn't dealt with my father's death as well. But she made me realise that I didn't need to mourn him. People who love us don't want us to grieve. This film discusses a heavy subject but is told by Aisha who is light-hearted. Her parents decided to give her every kind of adventure and love that they could think of. I was amazed that these real-life people who created an extraordinary life for their daughter. It was incredibly inspiring for me as an actor. I went through a roller-coaster of emotions, laughing my guts out and crying a little through it. The film made me call up those I love and tell them how much I cherish them."
Chopra was attracted to the story of enduring love of Niren and Aditi who met as high school sweethearts. Now, at 55 they still hold hands, give each other a peck and survived the loss of two children. "Their chemistry is overpowering, 70 per cent of couples separate after the death of their children. To be happy and have compassion is hard in such scenarios. Life is not a pursuit of rage but happiness. When my dad was suffering, I remember the toll it took on mom [Madhu]."
She derived the character from her mother as much as she did from Aditi and Shonali. "My mother is similar to Aditi, fiercely protective and her own person. We are taught as girls to have that kind of independence, have opinions and have a voice. I want the world to see that a free-spirited family can be well-knit and doesn't take away from sanskars."
Though Chopra is back with a Bollywood film after a gap, she says, "I always had films coming my way. But during Quantico, I had to give 11 months of my year to them. This is why I did Baywatch, A Kid Like Jake and Isn't It Romantic because one month is not enough to finish a feature. Post-Quantico, I knew what kind of film I was looking for. I knew Alex Parish so well that I needed a role to scare me. I wanted to be on my toes, get sleepless nights. I knew I wanted to be fed as an artiste. It's a responsibility to play a real-life person. I had to play a mother which I am not yet. I remember a scene required me to go so deep into me that once cameras stopped, I held Shonali and cried. I was getting married when I was shooting, so there was no time to plan the wedding in between the film."
With The Sky Is Pink, Chopra also turns a Hindi film producer too. "I want to do web series and features across languages. I am an EP on the Netflix film, The White Tiger. I am producing the Mindy Kaling film as well as web shows. I like taking chance on new talent because I never had that."
'We Inform Each Other Of Every Tiny Detail'
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and husband Nick Jonas lead hectic lives thanks to their professional commitments. PeeCee says, "We have rules. We don't go two weeks without meeting each other, no matter where we are in the world. We have to stay in touch. We have to inform each other of every tiny detail. Our schedules are opposite when we are in different time zones, but we FaceTime our way through this. It's a modern-day long distance relationship, which is hinged on how much we want to make it work. We love each other's company and we are each other's best friends. Sometimes, I wake him in the middle of the night and shriek out something that happened with me and he's there. We get how important our work is to us. We are ambitious and driven and in love in equal parts."
Priyanka Chopra wants Indian actors in supporting roles for her wedding comedy with Mindy Kaling
8:18 AM
While Poorna Jagannathan has joined the cast of the Netflix original film, buzz is that closer home, Priyanka Chopra has hired three casting agencies to finalise 20 Indian actors for supporting roles in the movie.
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 20, 2019)
Work on Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Mindy Kaling's (right) untitled wedding comedy is moving at a brisk pace. While Poorna Jagannathan (below) has joined the cast of the Netflix original film, buzz is that closer home, Chopra has hired three casting agencies to finalise 20 Indian actors for supporting roles in the movie.An actor, vying for a part, reveals, "Since the film is a cross-cultural comedy, it requires characters that depict the diversity of India. The story has been written such that they are not cardboard characters; instead it delves deep into the ethnicity of each character. There are few key roles for which they are essentially seeking Tamil actors."
Since Chopra is a co-producer on the project, her team at Purple Pebble is shouldering the line production work in India. "The team is closely working with the three well-known casting directors to zero in on the artistes. The production team will fly down to India post-October to conduct an extensive recce before the project rolls by year-end." mid-day reached out to Chopra, who remained unavailable for comment.
Priyanka Chopra's wedding comedy with Mindy Kaling to be shot in Delhi and Rajasthan?
7:59 AM
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 18, 2019)
Only days after Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Mindy Kaling announced that they are joining forces for a wedding comedy, mid-day has learnt that the groundwork has begun for an elaborate India schedule. While it is known that the comedy will be shot across the US and India, sources reveal that Delhi and Rajasthan are among the two Indian venues in consideration.
The source informs, "Since the script revolves around a desi wedding, the makers are looking at unexplored venues in Delhi and Rajasthan as the two places beautifully capture the essence of India. A luxury villa in Ranthambore has also caught their attention. For now, the team is working on the screenplay. Once the script has been locked by August, a production team will fly down to do a recce across North India. Since there are a few similar themed films in production at the moment, including Mira Nair's series A Suitable Boy, the team will have to scout for unique locations in the cities."
If all goes as planned, the film will go on floors by November. "Priyanka will be caught up with the promotions of The Sky Is Pink, starring Farhan Akhtar and Zaira Wasim, till October. Only after the Shonali Bose-directed film hits the marquee will the actor be able to dive headlong into the comedy."
The film will be written by Kaling in collaboration with Dan Goor, the co-creator and executive producer of the popular sitcom, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
I would not say the president's DDLJ line was my idea. It was his idea-Kal Penn
8:04 AM
Kal Penn won't tell if using SRK's line in Obama's Delhi town hall speech was his idea. What he will tell is that he's loving how Indian-origin actors Aziz, Mindy, PC - are crushing it in Hollywood
Aarushi Nigam (BOMBAY TIMES; May 13, 2016)
When Hollywood actor Kal
Penn came to Delhi, the two ques tions he fielded the most were 'When
are you doing Harold & Kumar 4?' and what he thought of the US
presidential race, especially Donald Trump's ascent. That a crazy stoner
film and the election were on the same platform for the press didn't
strike anyone as odd (maybe because, well, they're not that different?).
But actually, because he's juggled both - his most-loved movie role and
his most significant real-life role quite comfortably. He's worked
full time for the Obama administration for two-and-a-half years, gone
back to acting, returned to the White House, and then taken turns with
each. Questions about being an Indian-American in Hollywood took second
place as BT quizzed him about accompanying Obama to India on his visit
last year, and about that line yes, Obama's “Senorita, bade bade
deshon mein...“ at his town hall address at Siri Fort. Was including the
dialogue that had Twitter swooning, his idea? Read on!
Most of the Indian press realised you were in Obama's team during his 2015 visit only after you left, from your tweets. Why did you keep such a low profile?
I didn't! I tweeted at like four o'clock in the morning when we were getting on Air Force One, at Andrews Air Force base right outside of DC. I tweeted a picture of the plane and I wrote, 'Honoured to be accompanying President Obama on this historic trip.' I didn't realise till after that people didn't think that it was happening in real time. Also, I'm sorry, you have President Obama and Prime Minister Modi - that's what the focus should be on. And when we were gone, people must have been like, 'Oh yeah, there were other people too'.
When it was part of your job to brief President Obama, anything interesting you informed him about?
One of the things I remember briefing the president on was Diwali. He was the first US president to celebrate Diwali in person at the White House. And that was his choice. He'd celebrated it before and he has friends who celebrated it from the time he was a kid, so none of it was news to him. But it was interesting because he wanted to make sure there was a cross-section of the community there. Not just wealthy Indian doctors and CEOs, but people who work with battered-women shelters, and the taxi workers' alliance and folks like that also. So, having a chance to sit down with him after we've put the invite list together and share who's there and what the ceremony would be like, was really cool. And he knew most of it already.
Obama's 'senorita' line in Delhi where did that come from? Whose idea was it?
We may have talked about it a little bit (winks)!
Was that your idea?
We mayyy have talked about it a bit.
So it was your idea?
It was a group effort. It was a group effort!
Yeah it was your idea...
Well no, I think one of the things we wanted to do was... film is such a huge, iconic part of Indian culture, and the president is a huge arts and culture fan. And he's a huge movie buff. Really, if you ask him a whole bunch of different things, from art films to dumb comedies to action movies, he watches a lot of them. So I think he was looking for that connection. Particularly as that event was a people event. He wanted something that was authentic and would show a love for the arts, and that people-to-people diplomacy ... so I would not say it was my idea, it was the president's idea!
Your 'Main hoon Don (ald Trump)' dubsmash with Trump's face on yours, saying 'Don ka intezaar toh gyarah mulkon ki police kar rahi hai'... why?!
I just (laughs)... I don't know! I saw that it was on dubsmash and I was like, this seems like the most ridiculous thing to be able to do. And that's when I still thought it was funny. Now the Trump rhetoric is getting a little scary.
You've been called the most famous Indian-American actor in the world at one point. The last few years have seen pretty major strides for so many actors of Indian descent - Aziz Ansari, Dev Patel... Do you have any favourites?
I think they're all great. This is what I love about the community there... that it's always existed. I mean, there are tons of very, very talented actors of Indian-American descent who do regional theatre, who are writers, who do TV here and there. So there's really no shortage of talent. And I love that there are so many actors who're having opportunities now that weren't there before. If you just look at Mindy Kaling, and the show that she's created, it's phenomenal, right? It was on the big network before, now it's on a digital platform. I think that also says a lot about how much the industry is changing. Obviously, Aziz is just crushing it. It's amazing, I love Master Of None. Two episodes are my favourites - the one about his parents, and then one about auditions and what it's like being an Indian-American actor. It's really part of great TV, period. It's really well done. And then even the big networks I'm doing a show for ABC this fall called Designated Survivor, and they've got quite a bit of diversity on their network as a whole. And Quantico is on ABC, so they've also got Priyanka on. (She's great, she's phenomenal.) So, I think just in the last ten years, the way that American TV has changed, it's much more inclusive. I think it's because audiences want the types of stories and characters that they haven't observed or seen before.
How did the auditions episode resonate with you, given your own experiences with bad auditions, where you've been told to fake an Indian accent or a south Indian accent?
What I like about those episodes on Master Of None, particularly the parents episode, is when I hear people talking about it, they seem to talk about it in a similar way to The Namesake. Which is to say, you have a race-cultural specificity if you're south Indian, or a Bengali, whether it's Master Of None or The Namesake. So there is an authentic cultural specificity, but most audiences identify with it more universally. So you don't have to be of that background, you don't even have to be Indian-American to enjoy both of those. And that's what's really remarkable, that they're both only-American stories. A lot of people can relate to them, whether they have recent immigrants in their family or not. And as far as his interpretation of what it's like going out on auditions it's pretty accurate. Yeah, I don't know what to say, I'm certainly not gonna defend a casting director who behaves that way. You encounter that very, very regularly, unfortunately. But like I said, it's changed a lot in the last ten years and I'm hoping it continues to change.
Most of the Indian press realised you were in Obama's team during his 2015 visit only after you left, from your tweets. Why did you keep such a low profile?
I didn't! I tweeted at like four o'clock in the morning when we were getting on Air Force One, at Andrews Air Force base right outside of DC. I tweeted a picture of the plane and I wrote, 'Honoured to be accompanying President Obama on this historic trip.' I didn't realise till after that people didn't think that it was happening in real time. Also, I'm sorry, you have President Obama and Prime Minister Modi - that's what the focus should be on. And when we were gone, people must have been like, 'Oh yeah, there were other people too'.
When it was part of your job to brief President Obama, anything interesting you informed him about?
One of the things I remember briefing the president on was Diwali. He was the first US president to celebrate Diwali in person at the White House. And that was his choice. He'd celebrated it before and he has friends who celebrated it from the time he was a kid, so none of it was news to him. But it was interesting because he wanted to make sure there was a cross-section of the community there. Not just wealthy Indian doctors and CEOs, but people who work with battered-women shelters, and the taxi workers' alliance and folks like that also. So, having a chance to sit down with him after we've put the invite list together and share who's there and what the ceremony would be like, was really cool. And he knew most of it already.
Obama's 'senorita' line in Delhi where did that come from? Whose idea was it?
We may have talked about it a little bit (winks)!
Was that your idea?
We mayyy have talked about it a bit.
So it was your idea?
It was a group effort. It was a group effort!
Yeah it was your idea...
Well no, I think one of the things we wanted to do was... film is such a huge, iconic part of Indian culture, and the president is a huge arts and culture fan. And he's a huge movie buff. Really, if you ask him a whole bunch of different things, from art films to dumb comedies to action movies, he watches a lot of them. So I think he was looking for that connection. Particularly as that event was a people event. He wanted something that was authentic and would show a love for the arts, and that people-to-people diplomacy ... so I would not say it was my idea, it was the president's idea!
Your 'Main hoon Don (ald Trump)' dubsmash with Trump's face on yours, saying 'Don ka intezaar toh gyarah mulkon ki police kar rahi hai'... why?!
I just (laughs)... I don't know! I saw that it was on dubsmash and I was like, this seems like the most ridiculous thing to be able to do. And that's when I still thought it was funny. Now the Trump rhetoric is getting a little scary.
You've been called the most famous Indian-American actor in the world at one point. The last few years have seen pretty major strides for so many actors of Indian descent - Aziz Ansari, Dev Patel... Do you have any favourites?
I think they're all great. This is what I love about the community there... that it's always existed. I mean, there are tons of very, very talented actors of Indian-American descent who do regional theatre, who are writers, who do TV here and there. So there's really no shortage of talent. And I love that there are so many actors who're having opportunities now that weren't there before. If you just look at Mindy Kaling, and the show that she's created, it's phenomenal, right? It was on the big network before, now it's on a digital platform. I think that also says a lot about how much the industry is changing. Obviously, Aziz is just crushing it. It's amazing, I love Master Of None. Two episodes are my favourites - the one about his parents, and then one about auditions and what it's like being an Indian-American actor. It's really part of great TV, period. It's really well done. And then even the big networks I'm doing a show for ABC this fall called Designated Survivor, and they've got quite a bit of diversity on their network as a whole. And Quantico is on ABC, so they've also got Priyanka on. (She's great, she's phenomenal.) So, I think just in the last ten years, the way that American TV has changed, it's much more inclusive. I think it's because audiences want the types of stories and characters that they haven't observed or seen before.
How did the auditions episode resonate with you, given your own experiences with bad auditions, where you've been told to fake an Indian accent or a south Indian accent?
What I like about those episodes on Master Of None, particularly the parents episode, is when I hear people talking about it, they seem to talk about it in a similar way to The Namesake. Which is to say, you have a race-cultural specificity if you're south Indian, or a Bengali, whether it's Master Of None or The Namesake. So there is an authentic cultural specificity, but most audiences identify with it more universally. So you don't have to be of that background, you don't even have to be Indian-American to enjoy both of those. And that's what's really remarkable, that they're both only-American stories. A lot of people can relate to them, whether they have recent immigrants in their family or not. And as far as his interpretation of what it's like going out on auditions it's pretty accurate. Yeah, I don't know what to say, I'm certainly not gonna defend a casting director who behaves that way. You encounter that very, very regularly, unfortunately. But like I said, it's changed a lot in the last ten years and I'm hoping it continues to change.
Irrfan Khan to feature in Mindy Kaling’s next venture?
7:47 AM
Anirban Das (MID-DAY; May 11, 2016)
Hollywood offers seem to be incessantly falling into Irrfan’s lap, making him the country’s biggest acting export. He starred in the 2015 hit Jurassic World and will next be seen in Tom Hanks’s upcoming film, Inferno. Now, if sources close to the actor are to be believed, he has agreed “in principle” to be part of American actress-writer Mindy Kaling’s comedy drama.
“Last year, Mindy spoke to Irrfan about this comedy film and he had shown interest in collaborating with her. She is writing the script keeping Irrfan in mind. They are constantly in touch and also follow each other on Twitter,” says a source.
Recently, when Mindy was asked to name an actor she cannot wait to work with, pat came the reply: “Irrfan”, perhaps hinting at their imminent collaboration.
Born to Indian parents, the actress is best known for her TV show, The Mindy Project, and played the character of Kelly Kapoor on US telly series The Office for which she was also one of the writers and
executive producers.
We hear Irrfan will be flying to the US next month to meet her and sign on the dotted line. The actor remained unavailable for comment. A source close to him informs, “An official announcement on the film is expected after the meeting takes place. Irrfan has also been approached for a few other Hollywood films and a TV show, but he has turned down the television offer since he would have to invest more time into it. However, he is interested to do this comedy film with Mindy.”
Freida Pinto makes a brief appearance in the Season 4 premiere of The Mindy Project
5:06 PM
Bryan Durham (DNA; September 20, 2015)
Freida Pinto has appeared on television several times,
but it has always been on talk shows or documentaries. With the very
popular The Mindy Project, however, that has changed. She has gone ahead
and made her acting debut in a comedy series headlined by an actor of
Indian origin herself: Mindy Kaling.
Freida will be seen in the premiere episode of the fourth season of TMP. But don’t expect her to be a series regular. She appears in Mindy’s dream as her ‘doppelganger’ (don’t bother, it’s an inside joke), who is seen dining with Mindy’s boyfriend Danny Castellano (played by Chris Messina).
In all certainty, this might well have been a one-off, given that Freida has a full slate of releases and upcoming films this year. Moreover, the actress has maintained in several interviews that while she is keen on pursuing a television career sometime soon, it won’t be this year. But as they say, never say never. It might just happen.
So, why debut on a show that revolves around an Indian, in an episode that offers more screen time to her parents and prospective suitor, played by Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory’s Raj Koothrappali), in a dream sequence, no less? And on a show that’s only available online right now (earlier seasons are being aired in India, but there’s no final word on this season).
The answer might be a relatively simple one. Says a source, “Freida has had an interesting (if not entirely successful) film career and has been extremely careful about the roles she picks on the big screen. She seemingly knows what she wants and at this time, going by her statements to the press, is far keener on a film career. Television takes up far more time, comes with far more pressure and requires far more commitment from an actor, leaving her time for little else.”
In any case, something is better than nothing, right?
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