With the release of the comedy series, The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, on Prime Video and Freevee, Dorkaholics was invited to speak with series creator Vijal Patel. He shared details about his family’s own journey moving from India to Pittsburgh which inspired this series.
Neil Bui: Hi Vijal, my name is Neil. I’m with Dorkaholics, where we believe that there’s a dork in everyone and it’s our job to bring that dork out into the world.
Vijal Patel: Yes, I agree with this.
Neil Bui: Tell me where the inspiration was for you to create this series around this dorky family called the Pradeeps.
Vijal Patel: It is because we too, like the Pradeeps, moved from India to Pittsburgh when I was just a little dork.
And the experience was so traumatic and dramatic that it just became comedic. And we draw from that story and I want to tell an immigrant story because the other, interesting thing about that experience was that everybody in my family had a different view on the journey to Pittsburgh.
I wanted to represent that as an ensemble of a family that all have a comedic point of view, that all have their own stories, that have their own individual dreams within the family dream that sometimes get upended by a story like this. And In doing so, this is where the Rashomon-style storytelling comes from.
Neil Bui: It feels distinct, yet very familiar the way the story was told through these different perspectives, through the lens of an interrogation. I’m curious, which character in the family are you most similar to?
Vijal Patel: I think I’m most similar to Vinod Pradeep, the little boy, because he is loosely based off of my wide-eyed doofish optimism when we moved to America.
I kind of fell in love with it. You know, the whole scene with the garbage truck is pretty much ripped from my life. And that idea of somebody who fully embraces a place where all new experiences could happen because he didn’t see himself as like an Indian boy. He just saw himself as a little boy, who’s like yay America, new playground for me, new friends, new opportunities. At the same time, I also relate to the parents, because I’m now a parent, and therefore, those experiences, even though they’re not immigrant experiences, but they are parenting experiences, they are spousal experiences, I see a lot, and I never anticipated that as much when I started writing the show, because I saw the parent characters as my parents, but now I’m like, no, I’m also them.
Neil Bui: I love that people will be able to revisit the series years from now and kind of see themselves in different roles. How else do you want viewers to feel or what takeaways do you want this series to have for them?
Vijal Patel: Most of all, I want them to laugh. And the reason I want them to laugh is because I want them to see themselves in the show, right?
I want them to connect in a way of when they’re watching the Pradeeps, they’re watching their own family. If they’re immigrants or not, they’re watching their own family with struggles. They’re watching their own family who often become their own obstacles And the solution to their obstacles, which is kind of what the family experience is. Everybody, even if they don’t have a family, comes from a family.
So that’s why I know this show will absolutely relate to everybody. And I want them to also see that the immigrant experience is a very universal experience, right? This isn’t just about immigrants because it’s really about a family that just has their own issues, that has their own conflicts.
And then last of all, I want them to be surprised. We have so many twists and turns in the show that I want them to want 10 more seasons of this series being like, ‘oh my God’, because that type of storytelling keeps you hooked and you want to keep coming back and falling in love with this family.
Neil Bui: I couldn’t stop. I was watching three episodes at a time, just losing track of time, watching each episode. Thank you so much for your time today, Vijal. I’m really excited to share The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh with Dorkaholics.
Vijal Patel: Thank you. Stay dorky, everyone at Dorkaholics. Uh, it’s important. Thank you, Neil.
Catch The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh on Prime Video and Freevee now!
