A New Mindy Project

Mindy Kaling has been juggling a (September surprise!) new baby boy and a few new projects. (Did anyone tell her that there was a global pandemic going on by the way?) Lately and luckily for us, she’s been forced to re-assess her “kind of Hindu”-ness in her latest series of short personal essays released for Amazon.

”I had to grapple with questions I could ignore when it was just me, like:

’How Indian do I want my daughter to be? Should I start being more Indian really quick, like right now, so I can trick her into believing this has always been my deal?’”

Yep, Mindy Kaling is back at it, delivering her funniest, “most(ly) confident”, comedic best. Six insightful & giggle-worthy personal essays infused with her signature brand of honesty and hilarity from the always original OBG Mindy Kaling herself.

I love this Good Morning America segment where she shares her thoughts on her daughter’s resilience during climate change in California, and her cross-cultural defying choice of B.J. Novak as her daughter’s Jewish godfather – a tradition normally reserved for Christians. As a single, modern Hindi mom who continues to disrupt religious and cultural norms, Kaling delivers laughs and political, pop culture levity on all fronts. Her next project in the works? Re-imagining Reese Witherspoon as a 41-year old Elle Woods for a re-boot of Legally Blonde.

With a refreshing contemporary take on single motherhood, Mindy Kaling has always been a shining example for diversifying immigrant stories and modernizing the New American dream. Take her latest Netflix hit comedy series Never Have I Ever, based on Kaling’s own blended heritage childhood.

Casting Canadian newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in the lead role – landing it after submissions from 15,000 applicants – Ramakrishnan plays overachieving high school sophomore Devi. With a colorful personality and short fuse that lures her into difficult (and always funny) situations, Kaling creates refreshing content showcasing Devi’s life as a modern-day first generation Indian American teenage girl.

“‘Never Have I Ever’ is the L.A. immigrant tale I never thought I’d see on TV: My own.”

In an earlier Variety interview, Kaling shares how the series was born. “Netflix approached me about doing a series on young Mindy,” she explained.

“I wasn’t as interested in telling a period piece about an Indian girl growing up in the ’80s, but I told them I’d love to do a show about a 15 year old Indian girl now.”

You can read or listen for free with Prime. This is Kaling’s much anticipated third memoir, sold individually on Amazon Original Stories. Looking forward to checking these out soon! How ‘bout you?

”I had to grapple with questions I could ignore when it was just me, like: ’How Indian do I want my daughter to be? Should I start being more Indian really quick, like right now, so I can trick her into believing this has always been my deal?’”

“‘Never Have I Ever’ is the L.A. immigrant tale I never thought I’d see on TV: My own.”

“I wasn’t as interested in telling a period piece about an Indian girl growing up in the ’80s, but I told them I’d love to do a show about a 15 year old Indian girl now.”

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”I had to grapple with questions I could ignore when it was just me, like:

’How Indian do I want my daughter to be? Should I start being more Indian really quick, like right now, so I can trick her into believing this has always been my deal?’”