FOBia
FOBia (2019)
Created and written by: Priya Mohanty
Directed by: Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke
Not every immigrant story is traumatic. At a time when threats to immigration were rising but not yet as acute as they became in mid-2020s, Priya Mohanty created FOBia a romantic comedy starring herself as Kanika Khandayat (Kay), a graduate student who moved to the U.S. from India.
Her entry to the U.S. is not without challenges. When she arrives, her roommate has absconded to Hollywood with everything in the apartment. She’s confronted with some of the peculiarities of the U.S., like the fact her initials spell out the name of a hate group. But there’s lovely serendipity where Kay who immediately meets friends and supporters, including a replacement roommate.
Here she has a lovely date with Gabe (Joe Lino), where they meet cute and a date that goes, perhaps predictably, a little sidewise, but in an adorable way. Particularly when it’s revealed he’s no stranger!
FOBia works because of Priya Mohanty’s crispy, breezy writing and natural screen presence. Romantic comedy is much more challenging to get right than critics think, especially when managing multiple cultural perspectives, not only India versus America, but also the diversity within the U.S. that Priya shows. Like many OTV programs, the program shows how intersectionality invites diverse casting and writing, showing how our differences make life and art more interesting. The pilot invites viewers into a world that is real, cozy, and exciting.