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Tag: Mindy Kaling

  • Dev Patel and Mindy Kaling board To Kill a Tiger as executive producers

    By Express News Service

    Indian American actors Mindy Kaling and Dev Patel have come on board the upcoming doc To Kill a Tiger, as executive producers. The collaboration comes ahead of the film’s scheduled release on October 20. 

    The upcoming doc feature is helmed by Nisha Pahuja, who has previously directed The World Before Her (2012). The documentary, which dealt with the tension between modern and traditional beliefs and values in India, was screened at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and earned three Canadian Screen Awards. 

    The official synopsis of the upcoming documentary feature, To Kill a Tiger reads, “Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.”

    Notice Pictures is producing To Kill a Tiger along with the National Film Board of Canada. Along with Patel and Kaling, Andy Cohen, Anita Lee, Atul Gawande, Andrew Dragoumis, Samarth Sahni, Deepa Mehta, and Shivani Rawat are also executive producing. 

    As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Kaling said in an official statement, “I feel so lucky to be part of this remarkable film by the gifted filmmaker, Nisha Pahuja. The story is heart-wrenching but triumphant and stays with you long after you’ve seen it. To Kill a Tiger shows you not only the power of a father’s love but the strength of a young woman who faced the unimaginable, and chose to fight.”

    Further, Patel adds, “I had a visceral reaction whilst watching Nisha Pahuja’s tender and powerful story of a father’s love, and his determination to support his teenage daughter’s quest for justice. A David and Goliath story to the highest extent, To Kill a Tiger is not only a rallying cry to dismantle the patriarchal system but also an inspiring anthem about the unwavering courage, resilience, and undeniable power of women. In my opinion, this film is one of the most important in modern Indian history.”

    With an initial theatrical release on October 20 at Film Forum in New York, To Kill a Tiger will continue to expand to major cities.

    (This story originally appeared on Cinema Xpress)

    Indian American actors Mindy Kaling and Dev Patel have come on board the upcoming doc To Kill a Tiger, as executive producers. The collaboration comes ahead of the film’s scheduled release on October 20. 

    The upcoming doc feature is helmed by Nisha Pahuja, who has previously directed The World Before Her (2012). The documentary, which dealt with the tension between modern and traditional beliefs and values in India, was screened at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and earned three Canadian Screen Awards. 

    The official synopsis of the upcoming documentary feature, To Kill a Tiger reads, “Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Notice Pictures is producing To Kill a Tiger along with the National Film Board of Canada. Along with Patel and Kaling, Andy Cohen, Anita Lee, Atul Gawande, Andrew Dragoumis, Samarth Sahni, Deepa Mehta, and Shivani Rawat are also executive producing. 

    As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Kaling said in an official statement, “I feel so lucky to be part of this remarkable film by the gifted filmmaker, Nisha Pahuja. The story is heart-wrenching but triumphant and stays with you long after you’ve seen it. To Kill a Tiger shows you not only the power of a father’s love but the strength of a young woman who faced the unimaginable, and chose to fight.”

    Further, Patel adds, “I had a visceral reaction whilst watching Nisha Pahuja’s tender and powerful story of a father’s love, and his determination to support his teenage daughter’s quest for justice. A David and Goliath story to the highest extent, To Kill a Tiger is not only a rallying cry to dismantle the patriarchal system but also an inspiring anthem about the unwavering courage, resilience, and undeniable power of women. In my opinion, this film is one of the most important in modern Indian history.”

    With an initial theatrical release on October 20 at Film Forum in New York, To Kill a Tiger will continue to expand to major cities.

    (This story originally appeared on Cinema Xpress)

  • Reese Witherspoon’s son Deacon Phillippe to make acting debut 

    By Express News Service

    Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s 18-year-old musician son Deacon Phillippe will make his acting debut in the third season of the Netflix comedy, Never Have I Ever.

    Created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, Never Have I Ever follows Indian American teenager Devi Vishwakumar as she navigates the ups and downs of high school life.

    Deacon will guest star as Parker, a newcomer in the orbit of Devi. According to a release from Netflix, Parker is a member of a rival debate team from a rich private school. His lifestyle offers him certain advantages that allow him to coast as a student, so he’s always ready to party.

    Never Have I Ever was renewed for two more seasons, with the fourth season planned to be released in 2023. The third season is set to premiere on August 12. 

    Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s 18-year-old musician son Deacon Phillippe will make his acting debut in the third season of the Netflix comedy, Never Have I Ever.

    Created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, Never Have I Ever follows Indian American teenager Devi Vishwakumar as she navigates the ups and downs of high school life.

    Deacon will guest star as Parker, a newcomer in the orbit of Devi. According to a release from Netflix, Parker is a member of a rival debate team from a rich private school. His lifestyle offers him certain advantages that allow him to coast as a student, so he’s always ready to party.

    Never Have I Ever was renewed for two more seasons, with the fourth season planned to be released in 2023. The third season is set to premiere on August 12.
     

  • Never Have I Ever  Season 3 premiere date revealed

    By Express News Service

    Devi and her goof-ups will continue as the third season of Never Have I Ever is returning to Netflix soon. The streaming giant announced that the show will premiere on August 12. The successful coming-of-age drama, created by Mindy Kaling of The Office fame, chronicles the struggles of Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), an Indian-American student grappling with the sudden loss of her father.

    The second season ended with Paxton (Barnet) and Devi patching things up and dancing at the prom. According to season three stills, it appears that the couple is doing well. Netflix also released new photos featuring cast Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Darren Barnet, Jaren Lewison, Richa Moorjani, Poorna Jagannathan, Lee Rodriguez, and Ramona Young.

    Created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, the fourth and final season is expected to premiere sometime in 2023. The show also has tennis great John McEnroe as the narrator. Never Have I Ever is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with 3 Arts Entertainment, Original Langster, and Kaling International.

  • Mindy Kaling recalls body-shaming experience by fellow writer, says remarks shattered confidence

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Actress Mindy Kaling says her body confidence was shattered when a fellow writer made fun of her weight and joked about her dropping 6.8 kgs (15lbs).

    “This is my greatest insecurity and someone just called it out. It’s really devastating,” Kaling said, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

    The actress had felt like she had really been putting in the work with her body and so was disappointed by the remarks.

    “I had a reckoning where I’m like, ‘People are scrutinising me, and not only are they scrutinising me, they’re verbalising their displeasure with how I look because I don’t look a certain way,” she said.

    The 42-year-old actress added: “That kind of dissonance has really affected so much of what I write about and the kind of characters I play. Almost all of those kinds of things (in my work) come from something really real.”

    ALSO READ | Mindy Kaling adapting ‘Hana Khan Carries On’ novel as Amazon film

    Kaling says that there were not many opportunities for women who looked like her when she first started out in the industry.

    She told Good Morning America: “On TV, if you were really thin, then you could be the lead. Otherwise, you had to be like 250 pounds, and you had to be the slapstick comic relief,’ she explained.”

    Kaling added: “But what was crazy, what was left out, is just like this range of people which is a majority of American women over the age of 24. What if you’re like a size 12 and you want to just live your life and look cute and date? At that time, when I wrote Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? in 2011 it was like a no man’s land. That has really changed, I think.”

  • ‘Never Have I Ever’ renewed for season three at Netflix

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Netflix has handed a season three order for popular series “Never Have I Ever”.

    Created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, “Never Have I Ever” features Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, who is trying to catch the eye of the school heartthrob while secretly grieving the sudden death of her father.

    “We are so grateful to Netflix and Universal Television for letting us continue to tell this story, and to the fans around the world who clamoured to see more of this badly behaved Indian teenager,” Kaling and Fisher said in a joint statement to Variety.

    ALSO READ: ‘Never Have I ever’ star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan second person of South Asian descent on Teen Vogue cover

    The show’s second season, which debuted in July, saw Devi tackling boy troubles, teenage desperation, and competition from a new Indian student.

    When choosing between Paxton (Darren Barnet) and Ben (Jaren Lewison) becomes too much of a conflict, she decides to take on both boys as significant others.

    The show also features Poorna Jagannathan, Richa Moorjani, Jaren Lewison, Darren Barnet, Lee Rodriguez, Ramona Young, while John McEnroe serves as the narrator.

    “Never Have I Ever” is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with 3 Arts Entertainment, Original Langster, and Kaling International. 

  • Mindy Kaling adapting ‘Hana Khan Carries On’ novel as Amazon film

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Actor-writer Mindy Kaling and Amazon Studios are working on a feature film adaptation of the novel “Hana Khan Carries On” by Uzma Jalaluddin.

    According to Variety, the story puts a modern Muslim spin on a premise first made famous by the Ernst Lubitsch classic “The Shop Around the Corner”, which was later updated with Nora Ephron’s “You’ve Got Mail”.

    The book revolves around two competing Halal shops.

    Hana’s family owns a restaurant called Three Sisters in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood of Toronto, and its business is threatened when a more commercial, fusion-based eatery moves in down the street.

    The catch is that Hana and Aydin, the owner of the other restaurant, have an instant romantic connection.

    Sahar Jahani will write the script of the film, while Kaling and Jessica Kumai Scott will produce under their banner Kaling International.

    The second season of the Netflix series “Never Have I Ever”, co-created and executive produced by Kaling, started streaming in July. 

  • We need more representation, there’s a market for it: ‘Never Have I Ever’ star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: “Never Have I Ever” star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan says the popularity of the young-adult Netflix series, co-created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, proves that there is a growing market for stories with South Asians in the lead roles.

    Ramakrishnan, a Sri Lankan-Canadian, became the breakout star of the series when she beat out competition from 15,000 others in 2019 to land the character of Devi Vishwakumar, an overachieving Indian-American teenager growing up in Southern California, US, and navigating life as a teenager with best friends Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez).

    The streamer released the second season of “Never Have I Ever” on Thursday. After a successful debut, the actor, now 19, said she was initially under a lot of pressure to not let down the fans and creators with season two but eventually decided to enjoy the process.

    “I think the reason why people like the show is because we haven’t seen South Asians take the lead role as often as they should. It’s happened before, I’m sure, and most of the time it’s because they make that space for themselves,” she said, citing the example of show’s co-creator Kaling, who also wrote and starred in “The Mindy Project” and “Late Night”.

    “But that’s not enough. We need more representation and need to see more South Asians take those lead roles because clearly there is a market for it, and a want for it,” Ramakrishnan told PTI in a Zoom interview.

    In the first season, Devi was shown as a teenager with anger issues as she grapple with the sudden death of her father. She is nursing a crush on fellow student Paxton Hall Yoshida (Darren Barnett). But at the end of the first season, she is caught in a love-triangle with her nemesis at school, Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).

    In the second season of the series, narrated by tennis player John McEnroe, Devi is trying to double date Ben and Paxton as her mother Dr Nalini (played by Poorna Jagannathan) prepares to shift base to India. Devi, Ramakrishnan said, is maturing “just a little bit” in the second season.

    She tries to be a good child but is not always successful. “I think she’s grown up a little bit and she understands that there are consequences to her actions. Listening to the voice mails that her dad left, she realises that she can’t just be angry anymore. Season one Devi would probably punch a wall, but now she’s trying to keep it controlled and be a good person. Now Devi tries to take the mature route, even if it doesn’t work out in the end,” the actor said.

    Life has changed in a lot of ways for Ramakrishnan but staying with her parents due to the pandemic has ensured that it’s not too drastic. “My life has changed in a lot of ways because I’m now doing interviews, that’s something I wouldn’t have done before. But then it’s also stayed the same in other ways, like staying still at home and being with my family, still bothering my dog, and that’s probably because of quarantine. It’s helped me stay true to who I am, which I’m very thankful for,” she said.

    The young star, whose parents migrated to Canada from Sri Lanka, said she would have opted for a theatre degree had she not landed the show. She credited her mother for encouraging her to pursue higher studies in the arts as she could see “how much I enjoyed acting, directing, writing and just being a part of the creative space”.

    According to Ramakrishnan, the show may revolve around teens and school life but it resonates with people of all ages as it is relatable, funny, and represents many of them. “It’s slightly different because it’s not necessarily the immigrant story but rather the children of immigrants, that’s what I lived my entire life. I understood the narrative that Devi goes through because that was me. And here’s why I think other people like it, and not just high school kids because it’s really relatable and funny. It’s also a show that hasn’t happened (before). People have been waiting for this representation. They’ve been waiting for this story and see themselves in Devi, even if they’re not 15 or 22,” she said.

    Ramakrishnan has also booked her first film role with “The Netherfield Girls”, a Netflix romantic comedy.

  • LA Lakers front office comedy series in the works at Netflix with Mindy Kaling, Elaine Ko

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Streaming platform Netflix has given a straight-to-series order to a workplace comedy inspired by the front office of American basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

    The 10-episode show will be penned by “The Modern Family” alum Elaine Ko, while Mindy Kaling, who has previously starred in and backed workplace comedy series “The Office”, will executive produce.

    According to Variety, the untitled series is inspired by the personal and professional dynamic between the family owners and front office team that together run one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports — the Los Angeles Lakers.

    The workplace comedy follows fictional team governor Eliza Reed as she navigates National Basketball Association (NBA) ownership and family drama with her best friend by her side.

    Ko will also serve as showrunner and executive producer on the series.

    President of the Lakers Jeanie Buss, Lakers executive director Linda Rambis as well as Howard Klein of 3 Arts will be executive producing.

    Warner Bros Television, where Kaling’s eponymous banner is under an overall deal, will produce.

  • Mindy Kaling learnt a lot from pregnancy during COVID-19 pandemic

    By IANS
    LOS ANGELES: Actress Mindy Kaling has talked about hiding her pregnancy during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying although she learned a lot from the experience it is not something she wishes to experience again.

    “I don’t know if I recommend everyone having a secret pregnancy during a worldwide pandemic, but I will say I learnt a lot from it. Definitely like a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing,” Kaling said at #WOW2021, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

    As for her parenting technique, Kaling, a mother of two, said the best parents are able to keep their cool and not “blow their top”.

    She added how she is “inspired by parenting where the parents don’t scream. If you can not scream at your children, I think you’re a good parent. To me, people who do not blow their top and also can stay on a consistent message. That to me — I’m the most impressed by those people”.

    Kaling is a single parent but has help at hand from friends and family when it comes to raising her two kids. She says motherhood has helped her stint as a scriptwriter.

    “If anything, (parenthood) has given me this flooding of memories of my childhood, I feel like I’m able to write even more. That has been one of the most unexpected pleasures of having children, is being able to tap back into my own youth,” she said.

  • ‘Sickening’, ‘hate crime’: Hollywood celebs react to Georgia massage parlour shootings

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Several Hollywood celebrities, including Steven Yeun, Mindy Kaling, Simu Liu, and Lulu Wang, have condemned the shootings in two massage parlours in Atlanta and one in the suburbs, left eight people dead, many of them women of Asian descent.

    A 21-year-old man suspected in the shootings was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt, the police said.

    The killings came amid a recent wave of attacks against Asian Americans that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the US.

    Yeun, who this week became the first Asian American to be nominated for a best actor Oscar for his performance in “Minari”, shared a message from Asians for Mental Health collective on his Instagram Stories.

    The post appealed to fellow community members to “turn off your phones and turn inward toward those you love”.

    “Please give your weary breath time to breathe and catch up…Please grieve, cry, wail, and exhale.

    Give your body the space to acknowledge the pain that you have been carrying for so long,” it read.

    Kaling, who is one of the most prominent Asian-American names in Hollywood, termed the shooting incidents as “sickening”.

    Using the hashtag #StopAsianHate, the actor-writer tweeted, “The targeting of our Asian brothers and sisters is sickening, but not surprising given the normalising of anti-Asian hate speech in the past year…Enough is enough!” Liu said he felt “overwhelming grief” over the shootings, which were clearly targeted at the Asian-American community in the US.

    “Still much we don’t know, but it’s clear to me that the shooter specifically targeted Asian women,” the “Shang Chi” actor wrote.

    Wang, the director behind critically-acclaimed movie “The Farewell”, responded to a tweet by former NPR reporter Kat Chow that said: “I want to know their names, who and what they loved, the people they had waiting for them at home, everything they hoped for. I want to know the fabric of their days and the contexts of their lives.”

    In her reply, the director said, “I know these women. The ones working themselves to the bone to send their kids to school, to send money back home.

    In too much pain to know what else to say so I’ll just leave this here.

    ” Condor, known for starring in Netflix’s “To All the Boys” trilogy”, said Asian people are “deeply scared, horrified, sick to their stomachs and wildly angry” after the shootings.

    “Please please please check in on us, please please please stand with us. Please. Your Asian friend needs you, even if they aren’t publicly grieving on social media,” she added.

    Veteran actor George Takei and “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi criticised former US president Donald Trump and the Republican Party members for their role in spreading hate against the Asian-Americans following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Call a hate crime what it is. And GOP leaders, stop fanning violence with anti-Asian rhetoric. You should be ashamed at what you have unleashed,” the “Star Trek” veteran tweeted.

    “Three days ago, the leader of the House GOP called it the ‘China Virus’ again. Words have consequences, especially those from our leaders.

    Reporters: Ask politicians who trade in racism if they feel responsible or remorseful for violence committed in the wake of their words,” he said in another post.

    Terming the shootings as “deeply saddening”, Lakshmi criticised Trump for calling coronavirus as “China Virus” and “Kung Flu” in his previous press appearances.

    “While he continues to spread hatred against Asian Americans, people like this shooter are listening,” she added.

    Others from Hollywood who offered their condolences and criticised the hateful rhetoric against the Asian-American community, included actors Olivia Munn, Ike Barinholtz, comedian Dewayne Perkins and director Jay Duplass.

    “The violent attacks and murders against Asians are still happening. Please help us. We need help to be safe in our country. #StopAsianHate. Please,” Munn tweeted.

    Barinholtz said: “My heart goes out to the families of these people.

    What’s happening to our Asian brothers and sisters is disgusting and appalling and it needs to end #StopAsianHate.”

    Perkins said the anti-Asian hate must stop.”I know what anxiety and fear murders like this bring to a community.

    Please protect yourself and each other. I’m so sorry. Sending love and strength to the Asian community,” he added.

    Duplass tweeted, “Sending out love to my Asian American countrymen tonight – I’m so sorry, I appreciate you and I want you here.”