How Indian-American-born Mindy Kaling is transforming the platform for South-Asian showrunner

It wasn't easy for Mindy Kaling to become the first woman of color to join an all-white male writers team in the American sitcom ‘The Office’, but she's brave. For someone who started her career at the age of 24, the writer, producer, actress, and director has gone a long way, with numerous critically acclaimed shows and films under her belt.

Underrepresented ethnicities are finding a voice and visibility in American pop culture because of Kaling. So much so that on every media platform accessible, the Indian American has become the poster girl for South Asian arts, culture, and even oddities.

The amazing path of the 42-year-old hasn't been easy.

An overlooked teenager finds solace in comedy

Kaling, an Indian actor born Vera Mindy Chokalingam in Massachusetts to a Tamil architect father and a Bengali doctor mother, had a difficult time at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School since she was an "average unnoticed" student, according to her. She took refuge in comedy shows on American television because she had no "cool" people to hang out with. Her interest in comedy was aroused by Comedy Central, Monty Python jokes, and Saturday Night Live reruns.

But it was at Dartmouth College that this wallflower bloomed. Mindy extended her wings as she graduated with a degree in playwriting, from writing plays to appearing in campus dramas to singing.

She landed a summer internship at Late Night With Conan O'Brien when she was 19 years old. She considers herself to be the worst intern the program has ever had. "I used my internship as a free ticket to see my hero sing live on stage every day," she wrote in her memoir, "rather than as a method to help the performance run smoothly by performing errands."

The role that landed Kaling on ‘The Office’

Although the internship may have been a ruse, Kaling was certain that comedy was her genuine calling. She quickly packed her belongings and relocated to Brooklyn. Things began to move for Kaling in 2002 when her comic play Matt and Ben premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival. The play was so popular that it was quickly shifted to an Off-Broadway location in the East Village. Greg Daniels, an American screenwriter, and producer, saw Kaling perform and offered her a writing job on The Office's first season.

Kaling was only 24 years old when she joined eight other writers on the Emmy-nominated sitcom as the sole woman and only person of color. Kaling made her TV debut as an extremely sassy and bold Kelly Kapoor in the hit American sitcom along with her writing credits. In one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, Kaling fully expressed her Indianness with all of its peculiarities. Kaling rose up the ranks of the show to become an executive producer and director, in addition to writing 24 episodes.

When sexism rocked her boat

Kaling encountered sexism early on in the show. After ‘The Office’ was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, the Television Academy informed Kaling that she, along with the rest of the cast, would not be eligible for an Emmy because the show had too many producers.

The ascension of a pop-culture figure

While ‘The Office’ provided Kaling with many possibilities, it was The Mindy Project that brought her greater exposure and popularity. Kaling became the first woman of color to get her own network show with her six-season sitcom in 2012. She quickly transcended racial barriers to become an international pop culture phenomenon. Kaling's program was so popular that when it moved from Fox TV to Hulu in 2016, he was earning an estimated $140,000 each episode. She was placed third on Forbes' list of the highest-paid actresses on television in 2017.

Mindy Kaling, a well-known television personality, dabbled in Hollywood with films such as A Wrinkle in Time, Ocean's 8, and Late Night.