Richa Moorjani

Richa Moorjani is an American actress who is best known for her role as Kamala in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever.

Richa Shukla Moorjani
NationalityAmerican
Other namesRicha Shukla
EducationUniversity of California, Davis
Occupations
  • Actress
  • dancer
Years active2011–present
Known forNever Have I Ever
Spouse
Bharat Rishi Moorjani
​
​
(m. 2019)​

Early life and family

Moorjani was born and raised in an Indian family settled in the United States. She attended the University of California, Davis, where she majored in communications. She graduated in 2011.[1]

For the past 25 years, Moorjani has been a student of Srimati Anuradha Nag (Tarangini School of Kathak Dance) and has been trained in various styles of western and Indian dance. She told The Hindu, "I will dance until I cannot. Basically, until I die!"[2]

Moorjani's family managed a Bollywood music band.[3]

Career

Moorjani's early years as an actress saw her playing guest roles in several television shows includingThe Mindy Project (directed by Mindy Kaling), NCIS: Los Angeles and 9-1-1. She also voice-acted in Fallout 76, a 2018 online action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.

Between 2020 and 2023, Moorjani portrayed one of the lead characters in Netflix original series Never Have I Ever, which was also co-written by Kaling.[4] She auditioned for Never Have I Ever through an open casting call.[5] Richa plays main character Devi's cousin, Kamala Nandiawada, in the series. As of 2020, Kamala is a PhD student in biology at Caltech.[6] Speaking on playing a woman of colour in STEM, she tells The Hindu, "I learned about how much women of colour in STEM go through. It's a real systemic problem where their names are taken off research papers. Granted we see what Kamala goes through in the lab via a comedic lens, but I was keen to show this storyline".[7]

As of late-2021, Moorjani's next project Broken Drawer, directed by Rippin Sindher, has been in post-production. The film is loosely inspired by true events, following a young Sikh mother who was killed while working at her family-owned convenience store in rural California. "Rippin called me and told me how special this role was to her, being based on her mother, and that she couldn't see anyone playing it but me. It turned out to be such a lovely and fulfilling experience," Moorjani told The Hindu.[7]

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
2011Love FoolSheelaShort
2015For Here or to Go?Journalist at Speed Date
2015X: Past Is PresentSanjana
2019WolfArtiShort
2020Invisible Brown ManSeema DesaiShort

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2011Mark at the MoviesParty girlOne episode on 28 May 2011
2012Big Time RushPalmwoods Girl #2Episode: "Big Time Surprise"
2012The Mindy ProjectGeetaEpisode: "Thanksgiving"
2013Sullivan & SonGirl #1Episode: "Ladies Night"
2016The New Yorker: Shorts & MurmursEpisode: "What I Imagine My Boyfriend's Ex-Girlfriends Are Doing Right Now"
2017NCIS: Los AngelesRaynaEpisode: "Unleashed"
20189-1-1JennaEpisode: "Merry X-mas"
2020-2023Never Have I EverKamalaMain role
2021Home EconomicsEpisode: "Bottle Service, $800 Plus Tip (25% Suggested)"
2021Immoral CompassMollyEpisode: "Part 8: Nostalgia"
2022True StoryFenalEpisode: "Abishek's Story"
2023 Fargo Indira Olmstead Upcoming fifth season set to premiere on November 21, 2023[8]

Video games

References
  1. Anonymous (2021-01-05). "Never Have I Ever". One Aggie Network. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  2. Bhavani, Divya-Kala (15 May 2020). "'Never Have I Ever' is changing the conversation about South Asian women in the entertainment industry, says actor Richa Moorjani". The Hindu.
  3. Bhavani, Divya Kala (May 11, 2020). "Richa Moorjani of 'Never Have I Ever' live on Instagram @thehinduweekend". The Hindu.
  4. "Richa Moorjani Biography/Wiki, Age, Height, Career, अनदेखी Photos और कुछ दिलचस्प किस्से". April 17, 2023.
  5. "Who Plays Kamala On 'Never Have I Ever'? Meet Richa Moorjani, Star Of Mindy Kaling's New Netflix Show". YourTango. April 30, 2020.
  6. Bhavani, Divya Kala (2020-04-20). "'Never Have I Ever' review: Netflix's latest teen comedy by Mindy Kaling is a nuanced coming-of-age offering". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  7. Bhavani, Divya-Kala (22 July 2021). "The modern brown woman experience in America: Richa Moorjani and Poorna Jagannathan on Netflix's 'Never Have I Ever' season two". The Hindu.
  8. Nemetz, Dave (2023-08-17). "Fargo Season 5 Premiere Date Set at FX — Oh Yah, We've Got First-Look Photos". TVLine. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
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