{"id":28494,"date":"2021-07-28T17:56:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T17:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=28494"},"modified":"2021-07-29T14:28:08","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T14:28:08","slug":"richa-moorjani-feature-education","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/richa-moorjani-feature-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Richa Moorjani Wants to Use Her Plaform to Educate Herself \u2014 and Others"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Whether it’s staying comfortable in Harem pants or being on set for the hit Netflix coming of age show, Never Have I Ever<\/em>, Richa Shukla Moorjani lives an identity that serves at the intersection of entertainment and activism. As someone with a platform, she believes utilizing her visibility is not only a responsibility, but an opportunity to educate herself and others.<\/p>\n

But Moorjani’s love for storytelling and performance started not on the screen, but as a dancer. Moorjani started learning Indian classical dancing when she was five years old, and it is something that has followed her throughout her life.<\/p>\n

“A big aspect of Indian classical dance is storytelling and expression. Through that, I started to develop a love for dancing and storytelling,” Moorjani said in an interview with GRAZIA. “That was something that really connected me to my culture throughout my life. It\u2019s something that\u2019s so much apart of who I am as a South Asian American.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Moorjani’s television career began in 2011 when she made a debut as “party girl” in the show\u00a0Mark at the Movies<\/em>. But in 2020, she made a splash when she nailed the role of Kamala on the Mindy Kaling produced Netflix show, Never Have I Ever<\/em>.\u00a0Never Have I Ever\u00a0<\/em>follows the story of a first-generation Indian American high school student Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). Moorjani’s character, Kamala, is a PhD student at Caltech who lives with her cousin Devi.<\/p>\n

On working with Mindy Kaling, Moorjani said that Kaling is a “powerhouse,” and takes the time to ensure that the cast and crew of Never Have I Ever <\/em>are cared for. “I\u2019m just lucky to have a boss like Mindy Kaling, because she truly is just a dream boss,” Moorjani said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The character of Kamala, Moorjani says, is a role that we have never really seen on American television before and that she is somebody that many audiences can connect with. As a woman of color in STEM, Kamala represents a series of experiences and struggles that Moorjani says she is grateful to bring to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Doing this role is really such an honor and a dream come true,” Moorjani said in an interview with GRAZIA. “I get to show so much of myself in this character, something that I really haven\u2019t been able to do in the past and bring my culture and my background to it, so I\u2019m really excited about that. This season too, it\u2019s a lot more about what she deals with while pursuing her Ph.D. at Cal Tech.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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“One story is great, but we need so much more authentic representation.”<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Like any good actor, Moorjani looked to sources of inspiration in order to illuminate and embody the role of Kamala. She opened conversations with people she knew personally who moved to the United States from India to study, listening to their experiences and perceptions in order to manifest a character that was authentic and personal. In\u00a0Never Have I Ever<\/em>, Moorjani speaks with an accent that she draws from time spent with family in India.<\/p>\n

“It was something that was very personal to me,” Moorjani said. “I have a lot of people in my life who speak with that accent and when I\u2019m in India and speak to my relatives that is the accent I use. It\u2019s drawing from people in my life and also developing a character I thought was accurate to her experiences.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Movies and television, in the 21st century, are important elements to consider when discussing representation in media. For Moorjani, representation in media shapes how we see ourselves, especially when we\u2019re growing up. She said that a show like\u00a0Never Have I Ever\u00a0<\/em>is something she wishes she had growing up as a young Indian American. She felt invisible due to the lack of representation, and hopes shows like\u00a0Never Have I Ever\u00a0<\/em>can act as a reparative form of media for kids who don’t see themselves reflected in white-centric stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A post shared by Richa Shukla Moorjani (@richamoorjani)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n