Nisha Ganatra's On-screen Comeback

by Suzanne Corson from After Ellen June 27, 2007

Ganatra had originally written the part of Reena for another actress, but the parents of that woman had religious objections to their daughter playing a lesbian character...

...Rehearsals for the movie had already begun, with Ganatra standing in to play Reena. Just before filming was set to begin, Jill Hennessy suggested that Ganatra play the role on-screen...

...Ganatra, who recently moved to Santa Monica, Calif., continues to explore the intersections of cultures in her most recent projects.

"I just finished writing another New York story," she said. "It takes place in Jackson Heights, which is very Indian with Little India there, and Italians and Latinos. It's sort of the crossing of these three cultures. I guess everything like that takes place in New York because Los Angeles doesn't have the space issues; you don't really have ethnic groups right on top of each other, and because you don't have them on top of each other, there isn't the desperation or need to carve out the space, you know?" ...