If
a
show
about
Gujaratis
or
Indians
in
the
US
had
to
be
made,
it
could
have
been
more
authentic,
sighs
Deepa
Gahlot.
The
Pradeeps
Of
Pittsburgh
has
been
made
for
a
Western
audience,
who
would
not
wonder
why
a
Gujarati
family
from
Ahmedabad
does
not
have
even
a
hint
of
a
Gujarati
accent.
The
first
Gujarati
word
uttered
by
anybody
is
much
later
in
the
series,
when
an
American
says
‘Kemcho‘
in
greeting.
The
actors
in
the
family
comedy,
created
by
Vijal
Patel,
speak
with
a
vaguely
Tamil
accent,
maybe
because,
going
by
their
surnames,
some
of
them
are
of
South
Indian
origin.
Anyone
with
a
nodding
acquaintance
with
a
Gujarati
family
would
know
that
anywhere
in
the
US,
there
will
be
a
distant
Kaka,
Maasi,
Mama
or
Phui
and
a
mandal
that
organises
poojas
and
dandiyas.
If
a
show
about
Gujaratis
or
Indians
in
the
US
(the
eight
episodes
are
written
and
directed
by
multiple
people)
had
to
be
made,
it
could
have
been
more
authentic.
For
instance,
how
likely
is
it
for
an
Indian
kid,
brought
up
with
the
notion
of
caste
directly
or
indirectly
drilled
into
his
head,
to
be
enamoured
of
the
garbageman,
and
his
parents
allowing
him
to
ride
to
school
in
the
garbage
truck!
With
the
American
immigration
system
so
mingy
about
granting
even
tourist
visas,
would
they
give
an
Indian
man
a
contract
to
manufacture
rocket
components
and
then
let
him
loose
in
Pittsburgh
with
his
family,
with
no
follow
up
contact
or
supervision?
Would
a
well-regarded
Indian
surgeon
just
land
up
in
the
US
without
checking
out
regulations,
and
expect
to
be
hired
in
a
hospital?
One
positive
thing
is
that
The
Pradeeps
Of
Pittsburgh
is
not
about
racism.
But
then
again,
is
it
possible
for
a
school
to
have
only
white
students?
When
the
Indian
girl
steps
into
the
school
bus,
she
is
‘blinded
by
the
Caucasians’.
How
is
it
that
there
is
no
single
Black,
Brown
or
Asian
face?!
The
two
older
Pradeep
kids
are
portrayed
as
horny
American
teens,
and
in
a
case
of
stereotyping,
an
American
girl
is
seen
giving
a
handjob
to
a
boy
in
the
bus.
The
Pradeep
family
is
being
interrogated
by
immigration
agents,
following
an
arson
incident.
Isn’t
it
a
job
for
the
police?
Anyway,
if
it
is
proved
that
one
of
them
set
fire
to
their
neighbour’s
house,
they
will
be
deported.
Various
points
of
view
are
explored
by
the
two
agents
identified
as
Dark
Suit
and
White
Suit,
and
every
time
they
hear
a
version
of
the
same
story,
they
get
more
confused.
Mahesh
Pradeep
(Naveen
Andrews)
his
wife
Sudha
(Sindhu
Vee),
kids
Bhanu
(Sahana
Srivinasan),
Kamal
(Arjun
Sriram)
and
Vinod
(Ashwin
Sakhtivel)
arrive
in
freezing
Pittsburgh,
and
the
teenager
immediately
starts
‘grinding’
(their
word)
with
Stu
(Nicholas
Hamilton),
the
hunk
next
door.
While
the
family
has
not
even
had
time
to
settle
into
their
unfurnished
house,
Bhanu
(who
wants
to
fit
in
but
wears
a
bindi)
has
set
up
a
drug-dealing
business
with
Stu.
Kamal,
who
is
traumatised
by
the
move
to
the
US,
has
one
look
at
his
teacher’s
cleavage
and
gets
turned
on.
The
chirpy
Vinod
can
only
befriend
two
‘outcasts’
(their
word),
a
boy
who
walks
with
the
help
of
canes,
and
a
girl
with
a
stutter.
All
three
kids
talk
like
they
were
in
elocution
class.
The
cleavage-flashing
teacher
Janice
Mills
(Megan
Hilty)
and
her
husband
Jimbo
(Ethan
Suplee)
happen
to
be
the
neighbours
and
Stu’s
parents.
There
are
no
other
neighbours
around
the
Pradeeps’
home.
The
feud
between
the
two
families
starts
when
dead
rabbits
are
left
outside
the
Pradeeps’
door
and
Sudha
is
sure
Stu
did
it.
Meanwhile,
the
teens
are
having
dialogue
like
this:
Bhanu:
Let’s
go
commit
interstate
crime
with
the
naivete
of
dumb
youth.
Stu:
Oh,
your
disregard
for
the
law
turns
me
on.
Sudha
crashes
into
Janice’s
circle
of
bored,
junkie
women,
and
sells
more
vitamin
supplements
than
she
does,
making
the
latter
angry.
Their
children
getting
close
romantically
bothers
both
mothers
for
their
own
reasons.
Jimbo
offers
to
get
an
investor
for
Mahesh’s
factory
(that
still
has
sex
toys
lying
around
from
the
previous
tenant’s
stock),
which
ends
in
disaster.
Amidst
the
general
corniness,
there
are
moments
of
humour
in
some
throwaway
lines
and
genuine
warmth.
Like
Sudha
being
able
to
understand
what
her
husband
wants
to
tell
her
just
by
the
way
he
says
her
name
or
the
mood-enhancing
magic
of
eating
pani
puri,
dressed
in
Indian
finery.
Sindu
Vee
holds
the
show
together
with
her
spirited
performance,
making
the
others
look
like
amateurs.
The
deal
breaker
for
an
Indian
viewer?
Sudha
exaggerating
(‘We
Indians
add
masala
to
everything’),
a
car
exploding
accident
to
the
immigration
agents
and
saying,
it
was
like
a
Michael
Bay
movie.
Which
asli
desi
has
not
heard
of
Rohit
Shetty?
The
Pradeeps
Of
Pittsburgh
streams
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.
The
Pradeeps
Of
Pittsburgh
Review
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