Hi Hannah! First and foremost, thanks for doing this AMA. Between you and Aziz showing up a couple days ago, it's been a very cool week for Desis on reddit :)
My mom is Southeast Asian and my dad is Desi. I grew up feeling like I wasn't Asian or Desi enough for either side. On top of how racially ambiguous I look, my first name sounds pretty standard American. Early life was like a cultural identity crisis where I thought I couldn't be SE Asian, Desi, and American at the same time, as if being associated with any one of those cultures meant I permanently disqualified myself from the others. I know more now, but I'm still treated this way by people who take for granted what it's like to be biethnic or a POC in general.
I know you're half Desi as well. Did you ever feel like you weren't Indian or white enough to land fair roles? How much does it matter to you that you play an Indian woman on such a popular show? Because to me and many other POC, it matters a whole lot!
redtalker421 karma
Hi Hannah! First and foremost, thanks for doing this AMA. Between you and Aziz showing up a couple days ago, it's been a very cool week for Desis on reddit :)
My mom is Southeast Asian and my dad is Desi. I grew up feeling like I wasn't Asian or Desi enough for either side. On top of how racially ambiguous I look, my first name sounds pretty standard American. Early life was like a cultural identity crisis where I thought I couldn't be SE Asian, Desi, and American at the same time, as if being associated with any one of those cultures meant I permanently disqualified myself from the others. I know more now, but I'm still treated this way by people who take for granted what it's like to be biethnic or a POC in general.
I know you're half Desi as well. Did you ever feel like you weren't Indian or white enough to land fair roles? How much does it matter to you that you play an Indian woman on such a popular show? Because to me and many other POC, it matters a whole lot!
Thanks again. Keep rocking! Happy Diwali!
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