Desi Girl

Shetty plays Divya Katdare — who assists the protagonist Henry “Hank” Lawson,a concierge doctor in the Hamptons — on the dramedy that is being shown on Star World in India till January-end. While Divya herself is focused on her career as Hank’s invaluable assistant physician,she’s decided to keep it a secret from her conservative parents,who,incidentally,have forced her into an arranged betrothal. So the young medic has the threat of forced marriage looming over her — a cliche that is increasingly uncommon even in urban India,but which has found its way onto a mainstream US show. Shetty admits she was wary of falling prey to the usual stereotypes which plague Indian characters on American television. But she assures,“I sat down with the producers and writers and made this very clear. I am happy to say that in Season Two,a lot of the stereotypes have been updated and Divya truly becomes just a character.”

Coming from a family of doctors,Shetty had,at one point,studied medicine — a phase that she says did help her,since it’s easier to pronounce difficult medical terms when she’s working on Royal Pains. But she soon found out that her true calling was performing. “I had played musical instruments from the age of seven and started singing in my late teens,” she informs,recalling her childhood,when she grew up listening to Bollywood soundtracks such as Ram Lakhan and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.

Her penchant for music led to acting in musicals,which eventually led to her majoring in music at the University of Kentucky,before she joined Conservatory of Music where she studied Opera. She informs,“I chose opera because I had a naturally high voice. I have to say I also knew opera was colourblind and there might be more opportunities.” The British-born’s first big opportunity — the lead role in AR Rahman’s Broadway musical Bombay Dreams — came when she moved to New York City after graduation. This was followed by roles in an off-broadway play,Rafta Rafta,TV show 30 Rock and an independent US movie Steam. Then Royal Pains came her way and she quickly became a household name in the United States.

The 33-year-old is among the growing number of actors of Indian origin who’re finding themselves in more and more prominent roles on American TV shows. American television was not exactly known for being multicultural. Some of the most prominent shows of our times such as Friends,Seinfeld,Monk,Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives have shied from showing ethnic minorities in major,or even recurring,roles. On the other hand,there have been shows like Lost,Heroes,The Big Bang Theory,The Office,The Good Wife and Glee,which have had more diverse casts. So can American television be called truly multi-cultural now? Shetty thinks there’s still some way to go. “I recently talked on an NBC panel in Los Angeles about this very topic. The panel was named The South Asian Explosion. Alongside my peers Sendhil Ramamurthy from Heroes and Danny Pudi from Community,we talked about the progress,but also the still evident type-casting problem we face.” In spite of that,she emphasises on the fact that there are many Asian faces in entertainment now that 10 years ago. “America is multi-cultural,but we have to move away from the stereotypes that come along with that,” she adds.