Janina Gavankar doesn’t want to be exoticized on film: ‘I am just truly the girl next door’

Actress Janina Gavankar discusses her new short horror film, "Stucco", returning for season 2 of the Apple TV+ hit, "The Morning Show" and tokenism in Hollywood.

Video Transcript

MONET X CHANGE: Hey, guys. It's your girl, Monét, and I'm about to get into it with one of my mother tucking faves, currently starring on Apple TV's The Morning Show. Please welcome the fabulous Janina.

JANINA GAVANKAR: Hello. Hi.

MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE], my dear. How are you? What's going on?

JANINA GAVANKAR: Well, you know. We're all in a pandemic, and it's, you know, in some ways, I feel like I was made for this. So let's just be honest about that.

MONET X CHANGE: But Hollywood is obviously picking up again. How have you been keeping yourself busy throughout all of those crazy months of the coronavirus?

JANINA GAVANKAR: My creative partner Russo and I, we shot a short film here in this house, and we didn't get to go to any festivals because everything was virtual, but also we watched the view count rise while we were home. It's been seen 27 million times.

MONET X CHANGE: I was one of those views. "Stucco"-- so when I watched it, I was like, this is so eerie.

JANINA GAVANKAR: We definitely released a short film about a woman locking herself in her home and coughing and waiting for the Amazon person to leave before getting the package. I mean, like, down to those details, it is exactly what we're living through right now.

MONET X CHANGE: It fit the time. When that tongue came out the wall, I was like, Janina, I am going to light a candle. I'm going to pray. This is some crazy shit.

JANINA GAVANKAR: Yeah. We never thought that we would be here. We never thought that many people would watch it or that we would be Oscar qualified, but it's pretty cool.

MONET X CHANGE: One last question I want to ask because I'm obsessed with the relationship. I know that you and Meghan Markle are besties. And obviously, it's tough when there was so many famous cameos. Do you have any interest in directing Meghan in any, you know, anything coming up soon or maybe in the future?

JANINA GAVANKAR: That's hilarious. You know, I'll ask her. If she wants that, of course. Anything she needs, I'm going to be there for her.

MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]. Let's shift gears a little bit to "The Morning Show." And congrats on season two.

JANINA GAVANKAR: Thank you.

MONET X CHANGE: Starring you, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon. What was it like being, you know, working with these two iconic lovely ladies and yourself?

JANINA GAVANKAR: If you get to work over the age of 40 as a woman, you are an extraordinary person, and you know, both of them are executive producers. Both of them are the reason that it's even being made at all, so they are, ostensibly, my bosses, and you're working with these people who are not only incredible actresses, but you know, they are bosses.

MONET X CHANGE: You once said before this, you didn't want to be, like, taken as the token brown girl on set. So why, so why did you agree to do "Morning Show?"

JANINA GAVANKAR: Because they talk about tokenism. The show is very open about the idiocies of representation in many different ways. You know, because it doesn't just start with the color of your skin or your gender. It is deep. And they cover a lot of it.

MONET X CHANGE: It's kind of this, like, dichotomy of being on set and trying to represent for the community, they may think it's easier to just not include you as opposed to having you on to cause a stir, so how do you balance that.

JANINA GAVANKAR: Yeah, most people are working, especially now, in a place of fear, which is, again why you're like, well, I'd rather not even hire her than put up with being scared, you know, like are we misstepping. But the truth is, if you're casting me to put some Indian wedding in an episode because you like the colors, I'm not to do it. I'm not, don't exoticize me. I am just, truly, the girl next door just like everybody else.