RUSHI KOTA IS REPPING FOR INDIA

Photos by Mitch Stone

Enthusiastic, passionate, hardworking, and clearly very talented. Rushi Kota is a Queens-raised actor born in India gunning for protagonism and representation at every turn. He rose to great notoriety for his role as Dr. Vik Roy in the acclaimed ABC's drama "Grey's Anatomy" and Grey's "Anatomy B-Team". And you can also take in his performance as Billy McNerny in the the recently released thriller anthology indie film "Phobias". More recently, Rushi is killing it as Prashant in Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher's "Never Have I ever".

Interviewing  Rushi was kind of a treat, the man's bursting with positive vibes and energy that's easy to gleam even through text, he's full of compelling things to say and he's more than happy to share them with us today:

How close do you feel to your character in Never Have I Ever? Does he align with your own experience somewhat?

I am very different from my character in Never Have I Ever. I am not nearly as educated or as well dressed as he is. I mean the guy has a doctorate from MIT in Aeronautical Engineering. Like whoa! Even my family values are night and day compared to “Prashant”. He leads a more traditional way of life and I am anything but. It’s been exciting to live in the shoes of someone that I aspire to be, someone that is very in touch with their culture. I am just now learning about the many gods in the Hindu Pantheon… and there are hundreds.

Most of your credits seem to come from down-to-earth dramas -and with good reason, Dr. Roy!- but what other sort of roles would you like to be given a chance in? Let's say a suave thief in a heist movie or a voice role as a megalomaniacal Pixar villain, go wild!

Let’s see… a brooding bad boy in a sexy romantic drama like in 50 shades of Gray or Sex/Life because when do you ever see someone that looks like me in an erotic drama showing skin in every other take? I want to get my feet wet as a hitman trying to make his way in world with articulate physical and weapons choreography like in John Wick and Hitman’s bodyguard. I want the opportunity to play an anti-hero that has to shoot across space to save the world in The Guardians of the Galaxy. And even a broken fighter dealing with his dark past like Tom Hardy in the Warrior. And of course, my dream roles are not complete without some fast street-racing like in the Fast and Furious franchise. Which I would

like to point out by the way, there’s not a single Indian person in the nine movies they have made so far. What, you think we can’t drive fast? Anyway, this is really fun, fantasizing about the different lives I can create.

Indian culture is riding a great wave right now as the country evolves economically and socially to a position of greater prominence on the world stage, do you think people in your position find themselves as ambassadors of sorts regardless of where you were born and/or raised?

It’s true India and the Indian people are going through a lot right now, with the devastating covid crisis that’s decimating the population and lack of proper resources to deal with an already unstable economy of over 1.4 Billion people. Meanwhile, stateside Indian people have been painted in such a negative light in Hollywood for such a long time, as only working at 7 eleven, or at gas stations or as taxi drivers or being the nerdy loser friend who can never get the girl. Being represented as less than with a comical accent. Everyone thinks we look and speak like “Apu” from The Simpsons that they fail to see how many CEO’s of major corporations across the world are Indian. Indian people run the freaking world. So, the short answer to your question is, yes, people in my positions are most definitely ambassadors whether they want to be or not. And with “Never Have I Ever” becoming number ONE globally on Netflix, AGAIN is such a huge win. We finally get to be seen in a positive light as complex individuals that are relatable to all humans.

I've read that your mother brought you to America to achieve the American dream. Do you feel like that's been the case for you? if so, what does that mean today in all the turmoil?

She did. And yes, a hundred percent, achieving the American Dream is so very ingrained in me because that’s all I knew growing up. To seize every opportunity and work hard to be better and afford more for my future children than what my mother was able to afford for me. The turmoil we face is with the younger people. They don’t understand the value of hard work, because of social media. Yes, it’s opened up so many more career opportunities, but it’s all about being insta-famous and living for the likes and follows and showing off the grandeur of their lives than actually living it. Social media fame doesn’t equate to wealth, and that’s the grave they are digging themselves into. Living to this unrealistic view of perfection rather than just doing the do’s and working toward building an actual career. I just don’t understand the amount of millionaires and billionaires popping out of thin air who haven’t earned it, it’s making us all wonder when and how to get in on this new get rich quick scheme. I think the American Dream is lost and we need to find our way back to it.

The amazing Mindy Kaling is basically at the vanguard of a new, more diverse Hollywood, do you ever feel like you could follow in her steps by writing and/or producing spaces for representation like she does?

Omg, Mindy is absolutely crushing it. One show and after another and even her philanthropic work. She is THE beacon of change in Hollywood for not just brown folk but representation for all marginalized people. I mean have you seen the amount of representation in just one her of shows? It’s is mind-boggling. Why aren’t more shows this inclusive? Do they not want to appease a global audience and break the all the charts? I mean I don’t know how this industry works. I don’t know what these “Execs” are thinking. Anyway, Mindy is exactly who I aspire to be but I don’t have the brains to do what she does. Haha, it’s taking me ten years to finish my first screenplay, something she can already did in her sleep.

Won't ask you to pick favorites, but what role do you think helped you the most to grow as an actor so far?

Everything single character I played has helped me grow exponentially but if I really had to pick, then I would say my role of “Louis” in “Useless Humans”. It was my first lead in a movie and the character had such an amazing arc from beginning to end that I really got a chance to relax into the role. I wasn’t stressed out about “getting it right” all in one scene. The character had so many highs and lows and I got a chance to navigate when to go big and when to go internal. It has really taught me not to miss the forest for the trees in all of the work I do now.

You're very interested in Crypto and Day trading, what's one piece of advice you wish you had paid attention to starting out? 

Haha, to be patient and understand the highs and lows of the market, and to never buy the dip because the dip keeps getting dippier. Also, to buy in small increments at variable purchase prices instead of going all in. And mainly to follow my gut. There were so many times I didn’t follow my gut out of fear and I paid for it.

What can you say to those who are still hesitant to give crypto a chance?

Look, I was very hesitant about Crypto in the beginning that I scoffed at all my friends who were into, mainly because I didn’t understand it. I mean, how do you understand something that is created out of thin air with no actual intrinsic value and only exists because we give it value? I tell myself not to fight the change because it’s inevitable. Either you get in at the bottom and ride the wave or the wave is going to wave bye-bye to you. It’s as simple as that.

Finally: Is it true that you have a tattoo of your dog? he must be very special. Tell us a bit about him.

I do and I freaking love it! I was thinking about watercolors for such a long time and then Instagram started populating my feed with tattoo artists. Go figure. I found this amazing artist Aj Pehowski, handle @viewfromthisguy who specializes in watercolors. He did a phenomenal job of capturing the essence of who Oscar is.

Okay so, my wife and I got Oscar when he was eight weeks old from Cuddly Canines Rescue. His mom was abandoned right after she had them. He’s the runt of the litter. We were told he is a terrier mix and when we ended up doing a DNA test on him, he was anything but. Mostly German Shepard, Siberian Husky, Doberman Pincher, and of course a Chihuahua. He weighs about sixteen pounds. The perfect size to travel with. He’s very shy, doesn’t take to people or dogs very easily. Gives the best kisses, gets carsick, likes to sniff random corners and every blade of grass rather than other dogs butts, is very spoiled and he’s a pro traveler. He’s logged more travel miles than me. He also very smart. Currently, we are teaching him how to talk through the use of recordable buttons. We are at the stage where he knows the action but still hasn’t associated it as a form of communication.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.