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Patti (grandma in Tamil, played by Ranjita Chakravarty).
Thats been on my bucket list right alongside playing an immigrant mom.
To play a role that came from Mindys and Lang Fishers points of view,thatwas huge.
Their very particular sense of humor is so unexpected, lively, and irreverent.
I was so excited to play an immigrant mom.
TV immigrant moms are always the foil to their kids.
So playing a three-dimensional immigrant mom has always been on my bucket list.
Its a very intensely personal journey.
You insert yourself in unconscious ways into that family dynamic onscreen.
I do believe all the women are different versions of the same woman in different stages of life.
Everyone looks for those kinds of relationships.
Its a subtle little moment in the middle of a chaotic family meeting.
Nalini has this realization that she doesnt leave her grief behind; grief decides to unlatch from her.
It will go away when the time comes.
Those little things about what grief actually looks like are so beautiful to me.
Their dialogue was in my dialogue, things they wanted to say and never said.
Its like chewing gum; it just feels effortless.
Devi isnt the only one who graduated.
What do you make of the state of South Asian actors in American television and film?
There has been a giant leap in terms of representation, in terms of sheer numbers.
The depth of talent out there is staggering.
I love these stories.
I cant wait for that story to come out.
The truth is life happens to everyone, not only to white people.
We have to show that aspect for South Asian characters, too.
That comes from really investing in a character in that ecosystem.
Tell me about playing Rehan, the bad guy inThe Out-Laws.
How did you figure out what volume that character needed to be at?
She just takes the disco and the bullets wherever she goes.
Rehan does a lot of her most important communicating and talking in cars while shooting.
It had to convey that shes killed ten people and hasnt even had breakfast yet.
Did you improvise dialogue on set, too?
She plays Judy onThe Righteous Gemstonesand is pure id in that role!
She taught me how to take an idea on the page and blow it up into absurdity really fast.
I could work on that set for the rest of my life.
