Mindy Kaling — born Vera Mindy Chokalingam — shot into the spotlight as Kelly Kapoor in the hit sitcom The Office. Today, the 36-year-old actress-writer with Tamil and Bengali roots (her father Avu Chokalingam is an architect and her late mother Swati Roy Sircar was a doctor) is the talent behind The Mindy Project, a single-camera comedy that follows the personal and professional lives of a gynaecologist called Mindy Lahiri, played by her. In Inside Out, Mindy voices Disgust....

How did you come on board for Inside Out?

I got involved in Inside Out in a very traditional way, which was that I was offered the part and then I flew up to meet (director) Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera in Emeryville. That was unusual for me… and a real treat...  I have been a part of creating most of my roles.

We cannot stop talking about the film and have already named it as an Oscar hopeful. What do you think are the unique elements of the film? 

What I love is that it is a big summer adventure movie that all takes place inside a young girl’s mind. I love that the two lead emotions (Joy and Sadness) are also played by women (Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith). You don’t see this very often and I think people are responding to how fresh that feels.

You have voiced quite a few animated films like Despicable Me and Wreck-It Ralph. Is there any particular reason behind choosing these roles?

I think it helps that I have the voice of a 12-year-old girl!

We’ve seen you mostly on television. Will we see you in a full-fledged film role any time soon?

I love movies and really want to direct one that I write. Because I am the show-runner of my show (The Mindy Project), it’s hard to find a lot of time to do other things, especially with 26 episodes in Season 4. But I am working on a film script now.

A lot of Indian-origin actors who get projects in the West feel that Indian actors have limited scope in Hollywood. Do you think it’s a myth?

I know Indian actors often feel pigeonholed in certain roles, and I feel bad about that. I’ve been lucky enough to escape that, probably because I create my own roles. 

Do you have any Bollywood plans?

I would absolutely love to! I am so impressed by Rani Mukerji. I would love to act with her or write something for her.