Mindy Kaling on her TV show, new book and more

Mindy Kaling

Q. Creator, actor and executive producer of a show. How difficult or easy is it to be unbiased?
A. I'm never unbiased towards, and I would not think to put a big premium on that. I figure that if you're watching this show, you probably subscribe to my taste and my world view. In terms of my performance, our editors are talented and always find my best takes to put into the episodes.

Mindy Kaling at the premiere of the film, Inside Out at the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival. Pic/Getty

Q. The fourth season was picked up by a different medium. Did you feel like changing the way the show was made because of this?
A. There are some subtle but important changes; hopefully, done seamlessly so that the viewer would not notice. The episodes are all a few minutes longer, which allows the scenes to breathe, and for us to put in more material from our talented and hilarious supporting cast. The show is also about 15% edgier, but I don't think people will really notice that. We have a little more freedom to express things in real ways on Hulu (a streaming service), which I love.

Q. Tell us about your new book, Why Not Me?
A. My life has changed a lot in the last five years. I'm in a rare and great position to be doing interviews like this one fairly frequently. People seemed to be asking the same questions, and I had so many new experiences. It's hard to convey everything you want in a short interview, so, Why Not Me? lets me tell my stories at my own pace. I loved the experience of writing it.

Q. What sort of Indian-centric stereotypes do you experience?
A. I think the single most common assumption is that I am as interested in my ‘otherness' as journalists are. I'm not. I do understand why people are interested in it though. So, I end up talking about it a lot more than I think about it.

Q. What would your dream cast for a TV show be?
A. I'm pretty happy with the cast I have now!

The Mindy Project airs Monday to Friday at 9.30 pm on Comedy Central.