Richa Moorjani is stepping into a new chapter in the latest season of FX's 'Fargo'. The actress latest role in the award nominated FX series is a far departure from her breakout role in Netflix's 'Never Have I Ever' and is hardly recognizable as officer Indira Olmstead who finds herself in the middle of kidnapping case unlike any other in her small Minnesota town.
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00:00 you walk onto that set and immediately you feel like you are part of a family and that was so special.
00:07 Richa Murjani is stepping into a new chapter in the latest installment of FX's Fargo.
00:12 The actress' latest role in the award-nominated series is a far departure from her breakout role in Netflix's Never Have I Ever
00:19 and is hardly recognizable as Officer Indra Olmsted, who finds herself in the middle of a kidnapping case unlike any other in her small Minnesota town.
00:27 The latest installment is set in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2019 and stars Juno Temple as Dorothy "Dot" Lyon,
00:35 a midwestern housewife whose past comes back to haunt her after she lands in hot water with the authorities.
00:40 The all-star cast is rounded out by Jon Hamm, Joe Keery, Lamorne Morris and Jennifer Jason Leigh, among others.
00:47 Murjani caught up with a Hollywood reporter to chat about her new role, facing imposter syndrome and graduating from the halls of Sherman Oaks.
00:55 I was filming the last season of Never Have I Ever when I got the audition for this.
01:00 I was so scared when I got this audition because I had actually never seen Fargo before and I didn't know what a Minnesota accent was
01:09 and it was just so far beyond anything I thought I could do.
01:15 The actress noted that coming off of a popular YA show like the Netflix hit almost felt like graduation.
01:21 It really felt like we all grew up together on that show and just as baby was graduating in season four,
01:27 it felt like a graduation for all of us as actors to be honest.
01:29 However, the actress shared that she did struggle with imposter syndrome when first going out for her role in Fargo
01:35 and confided in her Never Have I Ever co-star Poorna Jagannathan.
01:38 I almost turned down the audition but luckily my manager and Poorna, who was on set with me, did not allow me to do that.
01:46 Fargo has always been defined by these powerful women and mostly plain cops.
01:54 Everyone from Frances McDormand in the movie to Alison Tolman in season one and you know in subsequent seasons after that
02:02 and none of them looked like me and so I just when I saw the audition I was like,
02:09 "Well, I don't think I'm right for this role. I've never seen anybody play this role that looks like me."
02:15 But the role was actually specifically written for an Indian-American woman to play, which I was so fascinated by.
02:24 An extensive conversation with creator and showrunner Noah Hawley also put her mind at ease.
02:29 Before I even got the role, it was after I sent in my tape, I had a meeting with him and I asked him,
02:35 "Why did you write this role as Indian-American?"
02:37 Because I hadn't read all the scripts yet. I'd only gotten maybe the first script at that point.
02:41 So her culture didn't come into play and I loved his answer. He said that it has nothing to do with her storyline.
02:48 It's just, you know, I speaking as Noah, he said, "I grew up in Texas where you know Indian people are very much part of the fabric of society
02:54 and you see them in every industry and I wanted my world and my show to reflect that."
02:58 So my question was, "Why?" And his answer was, "Why not?"
03:01 Working on a critically acclaimed show is no small feat and that also means working with some heavy hitters,
03:06 including Temple, Ham and Lee among others.
03:09 It feels surreal to even think about it, to be honest. Each and every person in the cast just, I mean,
03:15 I learned so much from every single person, but I have several incredible scenes with Jennifer
03:21 and she was such a wonderful scene partner and I was very intimidated when I got the scripts
03:28 because I saw that I had these scenes with her and I was like, "Oh my God, what's it going to be like to work with her?
03:32 I really have to bring, you know, I really have to bring it. I can't phone it in."
03:36 And one thing that just was so, I don't know, it just meant so much to me was the nights before the scenes I'd be shooting with her,
03:46 she would call me and want to run lines with me and that was a huge deal because I didn't know what to expect.
03:52 I was like, "Do I just show up and be prepared or is she somebody that wants to rehearse before?"
03:57 And I just learned so much from that.
03:58 Rajani also teased a big moment for the character coming up in episode 6.
04:03 She's, you know, drowning in financial debt. Her life is a mess and we see a lot more of that unfold in episode 6.
04:09 And there's a scene in the beginning where she's about to go to work and her husband just lays a bomb on her and tells her, "I want a wife."
04:20 And I won't say too much about it, but it's a very disturbing scene, but also it's a powerful scene.
04:30 The latest installment was also recently nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award.
04:35 Yeah, you know, it's my first time being a part of a show that's getting this kind of critical acclaim and I feel very humbled.
04:41 Watch the latest episode of Fargo out now on FX and Hulu.
04:45 And for more entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.
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