Actor, comedian and radio-television-film alum Sahana Srinivasan plays Bhanu, the eldest child and daughter, in “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh,” a comedy show on Amazon Prime Video following an Indian immigrant family as they adjust to life in the United States. The Daily Texan spoke with Srinivasan about the show’s creation process and South Asian representation in media.
The Daily Texan: When creating the show, how did the cast and crew maintain accuracy when highlighting the Indian immigrant experience?
Sahana Srinivasan: It was a very collaborative experience. If I felt like there was a joke or a line that didn’t feel accurate or wouldn’t land, I would pitch alternative options. It felt like we were allowed to do that. Most of (the cast is) South Indian, which is interesting because we’re playing a Gujarati (North Indian) family. That was something I really wanted to get right, including the accent, some of the way that we dress and some of the cultural references we have.
DT: Did you relate to Bhanu in any way?
SS: Bhanu is very sarcastic and wry, and I have those qualities in me. For the most part, she really holds her ground and speaks up for herself. She’s very opinionated and not in a “caricature teen” way. It feels warranted because we see how misunderstood she must feel. You see why she’s kind of acting out, especially since she had no choice in moving to America, which is something I can’t relate to but I can relate to the idea of feeling like a fish out of water.
DT: Do you have advice for young South Asian Americans who want to pursue a creative career or career in the film industry?
SS: I think there’s a fear of repeating the stories that have already been told. Like, “I don’t want to tell my smelly lunchbox story again,” (but) I think we should do it anyway because it’s so relatable and real and it’s going to be different based on who’s telling the story. There’s a mentality within South Asian culture of, “What will other people think,” and I think we should do the thing and not worry about that. It’s hard not to because it’s so ingrained by us, by our parents … ignore that and do what you want to do.
DT: Is there anything else you would like to add?
SS: We need to have more shows like (“The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh”). When people are like “Oh great this is another version of (the show) “Fresh Off The Boat”’… it’s like ‘So? And?’ There (are) so many white-led (movies) … with white people as leads and no one says anything about that. But there’s so much pressure on people of color to constantly innovate like crazy … Let us chill and tell a feel-good story.
