The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh star talk subversive family comedy and work with Naveen Andrews

The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh Offers a unique take on the family sitcom with Rashomon-style serialized storytelling and a delightful disregard for the “rules” of traditional sitcoms. The series follows the Pradeep family, Indian immigrants looking for a new life in America. However, when their neighbors’ house is mysteriously burned to the ground, a pair of federal agents show up and investigate everyone involved in an effort to uncover the truth, no matter how hilarious the truth may be.

While Lost The star Naveen Andrey plays Mahesh, the patriarch of the Pradeep family, the real power rests, as usual, in the hands of the wife. Towards the end, Sindhu Vee plays Sudha Pradeep; A brain surgeon in India, she is frustrated that she cannot get her medical license in America, which puts pressure on her marriage to Mahesh. Meanwhile, Sahana Srinivasan plays Bhanu, the eldest of the three Pradeep children. Bhanu, a boy-crazy teenager eager to grow up faster than her parents would prefer.

Screen Rant Interviewed Sindhu Vee and Sahana Srinivasan about their work on The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh. They talked about shooting in the cold weather of Toronto, and how the unfriendly temperature led to the actors spending more time together than they would have otherwise. They also praised creator Vijal Patel, and like The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh is relatable to a wider demographic beyond Indian-American immigrants, despite being specifically about an Indian family moving to America.

Sindhu Vee & Sahana Srinivasan explain the family dynamics of Pittsburgh’s Pradeps

“We really get along like a family” on and off set.

Screen Rant: I love this show. It’s warm and cozy, but not afraid to get a little nasty.

Sindhu Vee: Yes, exactly. Exactly.

I get the sense that Naveen Andrews is a really generous scene partner, but your characters have such a shorthand where there are jokes in the show about how he can communicate complex ideas just by saying your name. Does it take a lot of work to make the shorthand work, or is it just a natural thing that comes with being scene partners?

Sindhu Vee: You know, I have to give it to the writers. They put it in there and made it so clear. And then, when you’re in the scene and you both know your characters and can act, it works just like that. So yeah, it was fantastic writing that they put that in and they had it throughout the show. So by the next time it rolls around, you’re like, okay, I get it. So you can just click right in that.

Sahana, do you have opportunities to get together and hang out to prevent mother and child stuff and family bonding, or are you just like, “I’ll be in my trailer. Call me when it’s time for my closeup.”

Sahana Srinivasan: No way! I mean, it’s like summer camp, especially because we were all in Toronto filming… and it was so cold. We weren’t really motivated to go places, so we would just hang out at the hotel together. We would have pizza night and just hang out and fry. And there’s this one photo, it’s an overhead photo that a cashman took of me and Sindhu and Arjun and Ashwin, where it really looks like a family hanging out. Ashwin is playing video games or something and I am laughing and Arjun is also in the back. It’s so cute. We really get along like a family.

I think I saw this on your Instagram.

Sahana Srinivasan: Yes, it was very natural to get along with them.

That’s fantastic. And the first time I heard Toronto described as summer camp.

Sahana Srinivasan: Well, winter camp.

Are you ever like, “Hey, what if next season the Pradeeps go to Hawaii?” I mean, Naveen had to do six seasons of Lost Down there, why not you guys?

Sahana Srinivasan: That would be awesome. The Pradeeps in Hawaii, which would sell really well, I think!

“You have the freedom to see the show from your point of view.”

Tell me a little about working with Vij. I got to talk to him this morning and he just seems like such a cheerful, kind person. Tell me about the trust you have to have in each other to tell his story, which he has been waiting so long to tell?

Sahana Srinivasan: It’s based on his story, but there’s also the whole crazy mystery element. Initially, I was like, oh my god, okay, this is his baby, this is his story. But then, the absurdity of it relieved some of the pressure. And especially because it’s a comedy, it felt very collaborative. And if we wanted to experiment with a different line, I felt like we felt comfortable doing that. And especially because Sindhu and I stand up and have experience in writing, we’re able to make suggestions, like, “Let’s maybe try this.” And then a lot of the stuff made it to the show and feels very, like, “us.” It feels very real.

Sinhu V: Yes. I mean, exactly what she said. No, no, exactly what she said. I can’t add anything more to this!

I love how authentic it feels without the 1980s sitcom moments where everyone sits around and the piano music starts playing for a very important issue. It’s subtle enough that nobody stands on a soapbox and explains the true meaning of Christmas, so to speak.

Sindhu Vee: I feel as a viewer, you have the freedom to watch the show from your point of view. You want to watch a mystery? It is there. You want to see a comedy? It is there. You want to think about immigrants and how it is for them? It is there. It just so happens that everyone is brown. If you don’t want to ‘deep’ it, don’t deep it because the story is really funny. And that, for me, was very valuable.

I think it’s artificial as a South Asian to have a TV show that’s like, “Look at me, look at me. I’m South Asian!” Because one of the things we do is we integrate, we go on in our real life, and that’s how it should be portrayed. Yes, so Sahana’s character is Indian and she does not appreciate a lot of things, but she will still continue with him and become part of the world, but with her own edge.

It feels relatable in a way, like I’m mixed race myself, but I’m Latino. My Latina mama will love this show, I think she will really relate to it and really enjoy it, even though she is not South Asian. But the immigrant experience is so universal among anyone who has come and taken such a chance.

Sindhu Vee: Yes, absolutely. And I think that’s the beauty of it. And even if you’re not an immigrant, if you have a teen, you’re going to watch the show and be like, “Teens are hard.” You know what I mean?

Your mom is the demographic of this show. She will love it on every level.

You talked a little bit about the mystery of the show. We won’t spoil anything about how the season shakes out, but there’s still more to the story. This is not a miniseries. This is not a one-and-done. When it comes to your characters and their place in this mystery, do you know where your arcs will go in future seasons? Or you ask Vij, and he says, “I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet.”

Sindhu Vee: I feel like Vij knows everything and we know nothing.

Sahana Srinivasan: Yeah, so it will probably be one of those things like Game of Thrones. Like, at the table reading, being like “wait, this, what?” Yes.

And if you want to give a quick shout out, for people like me, who will have to wait a whole year, where else can we see you? What are some projects you’d like to scream and be like, oh, “If you love me in this, then watch this.”

Sindhu Vee: Oh, well, if you love me in this, I will be streaming my comedy special very soon. That’s coming up. And there’s a film next year, it should be out, called Picture This. And I think that’s on Amazon too. This will be published next year. And if you’re in London, come watch me do a stand up, anytime!

Sahana Srinivasan: Yes. I run a show called The Gay Gay Game Show with my friend Danny, and we set it in LA at the Elysian. It’s in Frogtown. So if you are in LA, please come to this. It’s every few months. And it’s super fun. It’s a game show, it’s a stand-up show. It is everything. And you can also follow me on Instagram because I like posting on my story.

I saw it! My only request is more cat pictures.

Sahana Srinivasan: Yes! Oh, my God. She now sleeps on my cat tower. She is my pride and joy.

More on The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh Season 1

The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh follows the Pradeep family and the events of their lives in America after moving from India. Told through hilarious (and often conflicting) flashbacks of an interrogation room, the Pradeeps quickly find themselves embroiled — romantically, personally and professionally — with a polar-opposite neighborhood family, leading to a predicament with many surprising twists.

Check out our others The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh Interview here: