Naveen Andrews, Sindhu Vee On Their Comedy Hit ‘The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh’

Photo: From Left: Ashwin Sakthivel, Sahana Srinivasan, Naveen Andrews, Sindhu Vee and Arjun Sriram star in “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.” Photos: Prime Video

BY REENA RATHORE

LOS ANGELES, CA – Amazon’s latest series, “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh,” is a comedy that is anchored in the immigrant ethos and highlights both the challenges and joys of families navigating a new world while retaining their cultural identity.

Told through flashbacks from an interrogation room, the series, starring Naveen Andrews, Sindhu Vee, Arjun Sriram, Sahana Srinivasan, Ashwin Sakthivel, Nicholas Hamilton and Ethan Suplee, is peppered with enough humor and heart to stand out.

Andrews plays Mahesh, an engineer who after landing a Space X contract, uproots his thriving family from India, for Pittsburgh. Vee stars as Sudha, a surgeon who is made to jump through hoops before she can obtain her license; Srinivasan is the eldest but very opinionated daughter who believes in living her life on her own terms in America; Sriram plays the anxious and introverted middle child Kamal; and Sakthivel as the youngest child Vinod is an eternal optimist who worships the garbage man.

The Pradeeps quickly find themselves embroiled in a hilarious feud with their quirky neighbors, leading to escalating misunderstandings and comedic chaos.

Created by Emmy-nominated Indian American writer/producer Vijal Patel (“Black-ish” and “The Middle”), the series, featuring eight half-hour episodes, combines comedy with poignant reflections on identity, belonging, and the challenges of making a new home in a foreign land.

For Andrews, who is widely known for his versatility across genres, the role marked a refreshing shift as the character faces the obstacles of immigrant life with relentless good cheer. “Apart from the script having great writing and being anarchic in a way that I couldn’t really predict, it was the role of Mahesh because I’ve never played a character that was so optimistic, almost irritatingly optimistic,” the “Lost” actor told India-West, adding that Mahesh’s character “lacked the bitterness or rancor” often associated with immigrant struggles.

He was immediately drawn to the project when Michael Showalter, an executive producer on this sitcom who also produced his hit Hulu mini-series, “The Dropout,” presented the script to him. “There’s a kind of purity about these people, not just with Mahesh’s family, but with the neighbors, too. There’s a kind of gentleness and tolerance that is very attractive,” he said.

Andrews found this portrayal particularly compelling, noting how his parents’ experiences influenced his perception of the role. “Especially when I consider what life was like for my parents coming to England in the ‘60s and growing up there in the ‘70s. So this was a fresh perspective, using humor, of course,” he added.

Indeed, humor serves as the backbone of “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh,” softening what might otherwise be hard-hitting realities. According to Andrews, comedy offers the opportunity to “suggest or achieve certain things” without overwhelming the audience. “We can get away with things that perhaps you wouldn’t be able to get away with if we weren’t using comedy,” he said.

British Indian comedian/actor Sindhu Vee, who plays the formidable Sudha Pradeep, echoed this sentiment, saying comedy offers a way to make difficult subjects more palatable “at least for the moment in which you’re laughing.”

“A lot of experiences, you can’t change them, but you can make them less difficult by making them humorous,” she told India-West, drawing on her Indian background and how humor often serves as a coping mechanism in families, particularly when dealing with challenges like arranged marriages.

This authenticity in storytelling is the series’ strength, and much of it comes from Patel’s personal experiences, having grown up in a Gujarati family. Both Andrews and Vee spoke highly of Patel’s involvement.

Patel’s connection to the story deeply informed Andrews’ performance. “Mahesh is based on Vijal’s dad, his whole family, with certain embellishments here and there,” Andrews said. “His father, it seems, genuinely had this sense of goodwill in his heart. And I guess the challenge is to make that a reality in terms of how you approach playing a character.”

The creative process involved stretching himself to inhabit the character’s world — one that is free of bitterness and full of curiosity about others. This approach also allowed him to reflect on his parents’ immigrant journey. “It allowed me, personally, to have a lot more empathy for my parents and what they went through because I had no conception of it whatsoever,” he shared. “I look back now, you know, they both passed on. And I know that if they were here, I would have loved to have had that kind of conversation with them.” For now, he knows his aunt will “dig this show.”

Vee, who swapped a career in investment banking for comedy a decade ago, connected with Patel on a cultural level. “We had a certain shorthand because I understand a bit of Gujarati, and that understanding really infused the show,” she said, adding that Patel’s Gujarati roots provided a rich tapestry of cultural references, from language to food to familial dynamics and added a layer of relatability.

Right from the start, Vee’s enthusiasm for the project was palpable. Laughter, after all, has long been her language, a tool she wields with precision, and one that has now found a perfect home in “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.”

“I burst out laughing a few times reading just even the sides that I had been sent,” she recalled to India-West.

But there was also the unpredictability in the plotline that called to her. “It’s a mystery. You don’t know what’s happening. Lots of crazy stuff that attracted me,” she said. This delightful chaos, coupled with the fact that the cast was predominantly Indian, made her jump at the opportunity. “What is there not to love in this?” she quipped.

On stage, as a stand-up comedian, Vee is in complete control. “I’ve done the writing, it’s me…And I have to be very aware,” she said. But when acting someone else, her approach shifts. Her job is to step into the character and trust the director to guide her timing and delivery. “I have to just be in character and listen to what is expected of me, be with my scene partner, and the rest takes care of itself,” she stated.

Her character Sudha is not a “diffident, nervous immigrant who’s running from terrible circumstances and is so grateful to be in America but is highly educated and not desperate to be in the U.S.,” a distinction that resonated deeply with Vee, who also moved to the West for work.

“I didn’t think I would live here my whole life,” she said. “I always thought I’d go home to India and live there…A lot of immigrant stories represented on Western television are very different. They have left a horrible life and come to the bright West to make a better life. That’s not always the case.”

Andrews said a show like this does more than entertain it contributes to the broader conversation around immigration and inclusion and encourages to “not take things at face value and have genuine curiosity about your fellow beings.”

Despite the gravity of the themes, working on the show was a joyful experience for him. His camaraderie with co-star Ethan Suplee, who plays Jimbo, stands out as one of the highlights. “He’s a great actor. And when things happen organically, between actors, not necessarily on the page, it makes it worthwhile. I mean, it’s the reason why I still do this job,” said Andrews.

At its heart, “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” is more than just a family sitcom; it’s a celebration of diversity within diversity, Vee said.

“When people say South Asian immigrants, it’s not the same monolith. People are coming for all kinds of different reasons. We’re not just one big South Asian community that’s all the same,” she emphasized. “There are modern Indian mothers who can talk about sex and traditional values, and those things can coexist.”

As a mother herself, Vee connected with the dynamic between Sudha and her children, particularly her daughter Bhanu, who embraces Western culture in ways that challenge Sudha’s more traditional values. “Her daughter Bhanu is going to drive her crazy because she’s doing all these things Sudha thinks are inappropriate,” Vee laughed, adding, “I know what that feels like because I have teens!”

Patel serves as creator, writer, showrunner, and executive producer, alongside Showalter, Emmy winner Sara Gilbert, Mandy Summers, Emmy winner Tom Werner, and Jordana Mollick as executive producers.

“The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.