In a new Prime Video series, the Pradeeps revisit Pittsburgh and our hearts

Posted by Kai Curry
NORTH NORTH ASIA WEEKLY

“The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh,” which opens Oct. 17 on Prime Video, it’s a great show. It’s one of the few TV shows that I look forward to watching every new episode. These people live in my brain, rent free, as the saying goes. I love them. An Indian family moves to Pittsburgh to start over and is embroiled in a scandal involving their white Christian neighbors.

It’s funny, weird and dark, explained Sahana Srinivasan, who plays Pradeep’s daughter Bhanu, and I couldn’t agree more. The best thing about this show is that it shows us the life of a family that has just moved in—and it’s not afraid to take serious challenges that are funny, and also bad. Importantly, “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh,” with its creator, Vijal Patel, is not afraid to make anyone – including anyone from other countries – funny and dark. It mocks everyone while simultaneously driving it home everyone the story has obstacles and real life issues.

Patel, who came to the United States as a child, told the Asian Weekly newspaper, Patel: “The merits of this program depend a lot on the people who were there in my life when I lived in Pittsburgh. The Mills family – mother “Janice” (Megan Hilty), father “Jimbo” (Ethan Suplee, the talented and mysterious actor known from “My Name Is Earl”), and “Stu” (Nicholas Hamilton) are described by Patel jointly. “of all the families that surrounded me.” They were different from his family, yet they got along with the other neighbors so much that he came to the conclusion that hunting, Steelers football and Christianity were “a normal part of life. ” He didn’t want to make Mills the “other” in the story. They are just “different”. Of course, for comedic effect, everything is exaggerated. The Mills are the enemies of Pradeep’s family—especially, the two mothers (Pradeep’s mother, “Sudha,” played wonderfully by Sindhu Vee).

Asian Weekly asked Vee and Srinivasan about their favorite part of being on the show. For Vee, who has had a successful career in the United Kingdom, it was new and exciting to play an Indian who had just arrived as opposed to someone who had settled there. It’s something he still remembers and he appreciated the show’s efforts to show the experiences of each individual family member. For Vee, the moment Pradeeps arrives at the Pittsburgh airport, and stands outside without winter clothes, is symbolic and perfect. This was even proven by him when he was leaving a film set in Toronto and saw a South Asian family outside the airport, dressed in traditional clothes, without a jacket for the cold weather scary.

For them, Srinivasan loved the opportunity to play a child and, thanks to the actors playing their two brothers, Arjun Siriam and Ashwin Sakthivel, he felt like a child too.

“We were always little cartoon characters. I felt weak in the best way.” Siriam plays “Kamal” (not named “camel”), who has an excessive amount of mental problems (perhaps), aggravated by the move. Sakthivel plays “Vinod,” who Patel went to share with him, who is most like him – optimistic and happy. He arrives in the United States with “the brightest eyes,” said Patel, who described himself as ” the country’s greatest supporter.” Through this series, Patel, who is now a parent himself, also had the opportunity to see the world through the story’s adults — Pradeep’s parents based on his own.

The show is based on a smart and fun design. Each event is called an “interrogation.” The Pradeeps and Mills are under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security. We’re talking slowly and dramatically, with each episode, we’ve said more of what went down – from both sides, and each side is overstating their point of view. “When you’re in trouble, you start exaggerating,” Patel said. “You want to paint yourself in a good way.” The exaggeration works wonderfully to provide humor but at no point do you feel that their worries are not real. Pradeep’s father, “Mahesh” (Naveen Andrews), is really struggling to start a business in order to support his family. Pradeep’s mother, Sudha, is struggling to adjust to a life she didn’t ask for – including the very real immigrant experience of having to pretend to be a doctor. Pradeep’s children really struggle to adapt in any way of their kind, be it rebelliousness, extreme anxiety, or enthusiastic immersion.

The cast is excellent, complemented by two investigators, played by Pete Holmes and Romy Rosemont (they never have names but only “dark suit” and “light suit”). The dialogue is beautifully done, humorously showing that in reality, nothing is dark and light. For example, the “dark suit” has a Chinese woman, which causes the “light suit” to wonder—what? How can one work while Homeland Security is investigating immigrants and remarry? The Pradeeps experience a lot of racial discrimination, such as being called “dot heads” or Bhanu being asked, “Why don’t you change your name to Bonnie?” (so that people can call you). At the same time, they have their prejudices to overcome, such as against the religion of their neighbors (which, it is true, is sometimes violent), or the Halloween holiday, which falls on Sudha’s birthday, and makes it not so. the end of the shenanigans that night.

Above all, every part is played with an infectious joy that makes “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” irresistible. They obviously enjoy being on this show, and you will too.

Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.

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