Anjali Khurana Gets Into The Holiday Spirit with ‘The Snowball Effect’
As a part of their Snowed in Christmas weekend, UPTV presents The Snowball Effect starring Anjali Khurana and Landon Moss. The film follows the story of two rival meteorologists, Tara Washington (Khurana) and Sam Parish (Moss), both competing for the same job in Boston, who find themselves snowed in and stranded in the quaint town of Mistletoe. Although the name rings holiday cheer, the Christmas spirit in the town does not. Somewhere along the town’s history, the community had lost it’s spirit, so when these rival reporters find themselves sharing a room at the local inn, it soon becomes clear that saving Mistletoe is bigger than their personal issues — if they can just find a way to work together.
We got the chance to chat with the Anjali Khurana who plays Tara Washington. Here’s what she had to say:
Q. Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? How’d you get into acting?
A. I was born and raised in Cambridge, MA. Growing up with Punjabi parents who had immigrated from Delhi, I was first exposed to film through our family film nights, when we would watch Hindi films. For my parents, it was a way to bring the family together while also giving us a sense of our cultural background and language. For me, it was a window into the world of imagination.
Growing up, my first exposure to the arts was in dance. I trained in jazz and tap and then when I first saw my sister performing Indian classical dance, I decided that I too wanted to train in bharat natyam and kuchipudi. The beautiful thing about Indian classical is that it is a combination of theatre and dance, as many of the pieces tell a story based in Hindu mythology. I also watched my sister and brother both perform in school theatre performances and loved seeing them on stage. I was shy, however, and never thought that I would myself perform. I did my first skit in class in the 6th grade and that was where my first acting bug bit. I loved it. Dance continued to bring me out of my shell as I performed on stage often. I also enrolled in theatre classes and productions. In college, I started my own dance company, choreographed for hip-hop, bhangra, and South Asian fusion shows, and participated in several plays. My plan was to apply to med school after college, but life had its own plans. I moved to India to work with a healthcare NGO but also ended up auditioning for dance projects. I began choreographing for music videos and shows. Eventually, I realized my passion was in entertainment. I started acting, dancing, and doing voice work full time.
Q. How’d this project (‘The Snowball Effect’) land on your table? What were your initial reactions upon reading the script?
A. Boston Casting was holding auditions for this film back in March of 2022 and I submitted an audition for it. I was still living in Boston but I had just put in a deposit for an apartment rental in LA starting on April 1st. But again, life had other plans. About a week and a half later, I got cast in the film and it was to start shooting in the 2nd week of April. Twelve days of shoot and by the end of April, I had already shot my first lead role for a feature film! It was a crazy ride!
When I first read the script, I loved it. It was a feel-good Christmas film but not quite as cheesy as we think of them to be. Just the right amount of cheese!
Q. Tell us about making the film. How was it like working alongside your cast and crew?
A. The film was shot on the outskirts of Boston – a farmhouse and Spencer Inn. The cast and crew was incredible. As an indie film, you could just feel that everyone was excited and passionate about being there. So it really felt like an instant family. The director, Christopher Lang is such a sweet and kind person. He knew exactly what he wanted so he was efficient but also allowed us, or in fact, encouraged us, to play around and just have fun with bringing our own ideas and personalities to the characters. We could just hear him snickering behind the camera when he found something we did funny. Or he’d come up to us afterwards and just tell us how cute it was.
Landon and I met for the first time on our zoom table read just 3 days before shooting and then we decided to meet in person for brunch 2 days before filming. We got along instantly, sharing laughs and a friendly and supportive rapport. Honestly, it was the same with every other cast member – Russell, Samantha (whom I knew from our previous shoots together, Dick, Leta, and Jenn). Teddy, the first AD, whom I just called “the Bear” had all the energy to pump us up for the long shoot days. Our slogan for the film became “I love that for us” because Teddy would say that whenever someone on set did something great. We had a photo circle app going where we shared the thousands of set photos we were taking. The beautiful ladies of hair/makeup/wardobe, Emily, Dimanne, and Christina, also known on set as the Glam Squad, started photoshopping (and taught me how to) hilarious images that we uploaded on there. We caught Landon sleeping on set and photoshopped him into a whirling tornado. Most of the photoshopped images made fun of Landon sleeping on set and played on him being an inaccurate weather forecaster in the film.
Q. What was something you learned while making this film?
A. I think I learned a lot from this film. I think it reminded me how much I love what I am doing, since we would shoot 12-14 hour days and then have to drive home an hour afterwards and I would never feel the exhaustion of long days. I also had a superstar AD, Cassie, who would drop me to and from set, though and really saved me by allowing me some rest time to and from set during those hour-long drives. We would joke that it felt like she was dropping me off at school every morning, since she would tell me to have a great day on my way out of the car! I also learned to trust myself to play around and bring my personality to a script, probably because we were in such a supportive environment to do so!
Q. Toughest part about playing your character, Tara?
A. I think the toughest part about playing Tara is that she is so darn serious in life for the first half of the film! So, I was watching Landon play around and be goofy with his character and was like, man, he gets to have all the fun! lol. But, Chris, the director, reminded me that Tara cools off and become fun in the second half. And he definitely allowed me to play up the silliness wherever I could. I think what was tricky initially but something I hope I tapped into eventually, was finding Tara’s charm, even within her laser focus and competitiveness in life. I hope the audience feels I was able to do so!
Q. We don’t get to see too many Indian Americans in Christmas movies, tell us what it means to you to be a part of a project with such a diverse cast and lead?
A. I was so stoked to be leading this film as a South Asian American. I absolutely love Christmas films and even more than that, I love seeing diversity in films and TV in the US. It’s really interesting but when the script was sent to me for review, I had already been cast in the film by this point, but while reading it, my mind still imagined two white leads playing mine and Landon’s parts. I caught myself doing that and was struck by how ingrained what we see on TV/film is in our minds. Even knowing that I was in the film, most (I won’t say all) of the Christmas films I’d watched had not cast POCs as their leads. I was super excited about the opportunity to be part of that change moving forward. I also was sure that the male lead opposite me would have to be white, since I had already been cast. So, when I saw that Landon had been cast opposite me, I was both floored and super excited! I think it is just so important for us to see people who look like us on TV/Film and not just doing roles that are specific to our ethnic background, but also ones that are just as much a part of the American fabric.
Q. What were some of your favorite Christmas movies to watch while growing up?
A. My all time favorite Christmas film will forever be the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, originally released in 1964. I watched it every Christmas growing up and it just brings me right back to childhood, Christmas tree in the living room, hot chocolate, and holidays with the family.
Q. A message you’d like to share with audiences.
A. One thing I love about the two lead characters in the film is that they are opposites who attract each other but they also complement each other and make each other better for it. Neither one changes the core of who they are, but they both adapt and learn how to more fully live and enjoy life. I hope the audiences enjoy this film and see a bit of themselves in it as well as how they can also take moments to stop and smell the roses even while working hard at this thing called life. Most of all though, I hope that audiences feel as good watching it as I did making it!
