Im so affected by Bela, and like, Can I take a picture?
Im very privileged and lucky that I get to play characters like this.
I think the job of an excellent actor is to reveal all the parts of humanity without judgment.
Image via LevelK, TIFF
I still carry too much judgment.
The way I have judgment about the homeland.
The way that I think Imbetterthan the homeland.
Image via Paramount+
My resistance to my sexuality, she says, while giving herself pause.
And maybe that can give us empathy towards each other, towards our mothers.
But it hasnt come without its fair share of challenges.
Image via HBO
I spent a lot of time talking about other peoples racism, but to talk about my own racism?
Thats also important, she says softly.
Its at this moment that Kaur pauses and gives herself a moment to really get vulnerable.
I bought into the belief that my nose had to be different.
I had teachers who told me to look at nose-contouring videos.
I had those physical things, but the problem was also that I bought it.
Image Via HBO Max
I bought the lie, she says dejectedly.
Thats where my culpability comes in.
I bought the lie.
Image courtesy of Gracemoon Arts
My intelligence has to acknowledge that people will treat me differently.
They will treat me less than sometimes in any sort of environment, she says.
Its why Kaur loves being the extremely sex-positive and hyper-memeable character, Bela inThe Sex Lives of College Girls.
But it wasnt easy at first.
But I think thats problematic, she admits.
There are two billion South Asians in the world were sexual!
There are so many different stories.
Not everyones sexual, but theres a big population that is highly into embracing their sexuality.
And yes, everybody is sexual to an extent, to a different degree.
As it goes, Kaur wasnt entirely upfront with her parents about the Max series, for good reason.
Well, at first I didnt tell them the show is calledSex Lives of College Girls.
South Asians dont really talk about that.
I mean, maybe thats a unique family scenario.
Kaur admits theres a legitimate fear from her parents about possibly being pigeonholed into one specific kind of role.
They get scared that Im going to be typecasted into this.
There will be words, like, Dont keep doing sexual characters.
You dont want to be typecast.
Any character I do will be sexual because South Asians have sex.
Shes a woman first.
I think Bela is phenomenally intelligent in that way.
She thinks shes awesome God created something awesome, and I love that.
I think that is really,really important mentorship and really important activism.
We go back to the facts.
If we wrote down on paper, I am less than because I am South Asian.
I am less than because Im a woman, that is unintelligent thinking.
That is so unintelligent.
Whoever created that is so unintelligent.
So Bela is completely intelligent in that regard, and I love that about her.
She has mentored me in that foreground.
She has come a long way.
Ive done that in my life.
Its just like, This is the person Im supposed to date.
This is the person that will make my family happy.
I behaved so badly last year.
How do I be a better person?
And I dont even know if I actually want to be a better person.
I just want to erase everything I did before.
I think the thing from Season 1 people love about Bela is she is a peoples person.
She loves people and shes matured from Season 1.
That is a bones thing about her.
Thats one of her root qualities.
She wants to check that everybodys happy.
She wants to verify everybodys okay.
When it comes to who Bela is to Kaur, its also a rather personal journey for the actress.
All of the characters I play, I play from myself.
Im not separate from my characters.
Its fantastic, she says.
We get amazing speeches, we get activism, we get great art.
Put it in the wrong way, very close to criminal!
Very close to criminal.
Would I like to fuck a mascot?
Absolutely, she laughs.
But we dont actually do it the way Bela does it, right?
We go into our bedrooms with our partners and play dress up in secret.
But shes like, I dont need to do it in secret.
Ill say it in public!
I dont know what you look like.
In fact, stay that way!
I wish more South Asians werent so hard on her and actually were harder on the system.
But Kaur doesnt see it that way.
Theres this expectation that Mindy has to tell everybodys stories, but shes an artist.
Her responsibility is to tell the stories she wants to tell.
Shes doing that excellently.
You cant possibly expect one person to do that.
Thats a testament to reaching excellence and greatness and success.
Kaurs vision extends beyond the traditional theater.
You feel like youre in this situation.
As one of the companys primary investors, Kaur calls it home in every understanding of the word.
I get to practice my muscles.
Then we can have a conversation about it, a real conversation about it.
I think thats what good acting does, good filmmaking does it creates conversation when done at its excellence.
Gracemoon Arts is my home.
Im very proud of it.
But its not all just drama that the actress engages in.
In fact, audiences can also expect some more lighthearted fare to keep viewers glued.
The art form of stand-up is so disrespected.
Its very hard to do, and we dont respect that enough.
Their spaces need to be respected.
I think thats an amazing play, and Im looking forward to this.
Thats the next thing youll see me in.
Its all the same thing, she says, beaming with pride about the company.
Its something Ive put my heart and soul into.
I have invested in it.
This is a place, this is the home where Im doing it now.
The Sex Lives of College Girlsis streaming on Max.
Watch on Max
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