The world premiere of House of India by San Diego playwright Deepak Kumar,and directed by Zi Alikhan, takes audiences to a struggling Indian restaurant in a Cleveland strip mall, where family, food, and the future are all on the menu. At its center is Ananya, a widow trying to keep her late husband’s dream alive while navigating modern pressures from her cook, Jacob, and her opinionated adult children, who have their own ideas.

Mahira Kakkar, a seasoned Old Globe presence fresh off last season’s “Henry 6”, and Supriya Ganesh, who is making her professional theatrical debut here following the breakout success of her TV series “The Pitt” reflect on what drew them to this timely play, the layered characters they portray, and how House of India explores the messy, funny, and deeply personal pursuit of legacy—and the American Dream.

Photo Credit: Artwork by Cristina Byvik.

Mahira Kakkar plays Ananya, the mother of the South Indian midwestern family, who is trying to save the restaurant and the dreams her late husband founded it with. Sapriya Ganesh plays her daughter Vaidehi, who struggles because she had a close relationship with her father and really misses him. Mahira says, “It's a play about food, family, and love.”

Written by Deepak Kumar, both Kakkar and Ganesh say that the incredible specificity of this story and these people was part of the draw for them to this project, as Supriya explains.

“ I really responded to its specificity. I think a lot of times, the scripts or plays that I read are just like, it's just an Indian family. As someone who grew up in India and as someone who's South Asian, that's really frustrating to me because I'm like, what kind of South Asian? Where in India do they fit in? When I saw that, not only was the playwright Tamil, but it was also about a Tamil family, there was Tamil in the play, and the food was so specific - it was things that my mom made for me.

I just had to be a part of this because the specificity is really important to me as an artist.”

Mahira is no stranger to The Old Globe stage, but one of her first appearances here was playing the daughter in the family comedy ‘Rafta Rafta,” and says it is great to come full circle in this show as the mother in another family comedy.

“It's great! When I was playing the bride in” Rafta Rafta,” you were like, ‘why don't the parents understand us?’ It's the dynamic that kids and parents go through, and when you get to the age that the parents are, it's ‘Oh, now I understand things.’

Now I understand stuff about longevity and sustainability and, you know, about how to build and have a good life and what that looks like.

So it's lovely to be in the position of the parent this go round.”

Since the show is a world premiere, the rehearsal period has been filled with changes as the show starts to take shape, leaping from page to stage. This can be enjoyable, if overwhelming, but Supriya says the process has been informative for her and her character.

“The play that I came in with is not the play that I've ended up with, and I mean that in the best way. I also think the things that I found very interesting about this character just sort of naturally came through in performance, and I think that ended up informing how the play ends up having its arc.

That was very new to me because by the time you're shooting film or TV, there's very little that changes by the time you're shooting.

Initially, I felt overwhelmed, and I almost wondered, ' Was I doing something wrong?’ Everyone said, ‘No, this is a new play. That's what it's like. You're developing it together. '

So, yeah, it's very different than what it used to be, but I think that's just so cool and so interesting how we're all allowed to be part of that intellectual process. I think it's so cool that I get to build this character. That's great.”

Mahira finds that all this change is the exciting part of working on a new work.

“There have been a lot of new pages that have come in every day, which is exciting because it means the playwright is clarifying his vision, and many of those new pages have involved Supriya.”

Even with all of the changes and work that go into this process, Mahira says that it, like the play, has been filled with love and her admiration for her colleagues in this show.

“I want to do a little shout-out for Supriya. She's such a smart actor, and it's such a joy to play opposite her, and she's so present always.

Because the play is so specific, I think it'll be universal. I love that Deepak wrote this as an homage to his mom and was able to write with such keenness about their parents' generation.

I love the director, Zi Alikhan, whom I've wanted to work with for a long time. I love The Old Globe as a place that puts artists and stories front and center.”

Supriya is equally complimentary to Mahira on how she has inspired her throughout this process.

“ Mahira is so skilled at her craft! It's amazing to watch her deal with all the challenges that come with making a new play, and she's on top of it every day. I feel like I'm learning so much just by watching her work.

Plus, to have a place like The Old Globe for my theater debut is just crazy, and I feel very lucky that they've welcomed me with such open arms.”

While this play's specificity may not reflect everyone's experiences, Mahira is confident that its core themes of love and positivity are ones that all audiences can relate to.

"I feel like this play is an invitation to San Diego audiences and to anyone who has a strong connection to food and to their families. One of the things that both the playwright and the director stressed, they were like, this play is about leading with positivity and it's about love.

It's so that, you know, it's inclusive in that way. We live in interesting times, and I really want to shout out to the fact that it's about love and about people coming together."