Get ready to have a new fave holiday film.
Actors and real-life best friends Surina Jindal and Melanie Chandra are starring in Comedy Central's Hot Mess Holiday, which will premiere on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. ET.
But don't expect this to be your typical holiday flick, as the dynamic duo exclusively tells E! News that they wanted to steer clear of clichés and highlight "the boldness of a strong female friendship."
The two also wanted to put a spotlight on their community, as the film takes place during Diwali, a festival that usually lasts five days and is recognized during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika.
According to Surina, Hot Mess Holiday is also making history. She previously shared on Instagram, "We can't wait for you to watch the FIRST BUDDY COMEDY STARRING SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN ever!"
But before you mark your calendars and set your alarms for your movie night, Surina and Melanie opened up about working on the project, why it means so much to them and more. Read our exclusive interview below!
E! News: Why is a holiday movie centered around Diwali important, especially now?
Melanie Chandra: Americans never see a movie about Diwali. Diwali's a very special time of year for us and our community, and so we wanted to show America how special Diwali is and also give a little nod to our community. We're in a position to do something really special here, so we wanted to make them proud.
E!: At the same time, the movie is a buddy movie. What made you want to focus on the friendship as opposed to the romances?
Surina Jindal: We think of it as a rom-com for our friendship. We wanted to turn it on its head as much as possible. There's so many buddy comedy movies, so many rom-coms, so many "chick flicks." What can we do to make this about something other than trope-ness that other plots can fall into? And how do we want to see these characters moving forward? Would it be about Mel just getting with a guy? We didn't want to do that. We wanted very much to make it about Serena and Mel and our journey together. Keep it in line with the boldness of a strong female friendship.
E!: How much of the film was based on the truth? Were you two inspired by anything that's happened in your lives?
MC: The friendship and the characters are very much us but heightened. This all stems back from Surina and I—our real-life friendship dating back since 2011. I'm very much Type A and very much a planner, and Surina is very free-spirited and speaks her mind without hesitation. We complement each other really well and we just wanted to capitalize on that. It's very honest to us.
SJ: The one part that's super-real is the dry-humping. That is legitimately, for years, how I greet Melanie even in high, upscale social functions.
MC: Even at my wedding. She was my bridesmaid...Everyone's posing so sweetly and nicely, and she comes up to me and my photo with Surina is of her dry-humping me, and me trying to look composed.
E!: Kal Penn makes a cameo in the film. What do you think he brought to the movie?
MC: Kal Penn, he saw this short film that we produced a few years back. Through the grapevine, he got in touch with us and was like, "What are you guys doing with this? This should be a thing. Can I come on board and executive produce?" Then we asked, "Would you be interested in acting in it as Kal Penn?" He was totally game. And just like in the movie, art imitates life. He's always there to give advice. He just pops up out of nowhere. If we're in a bind, we will literally text Kal Penn and be like, "What should we do in this situation?" And he is there in a heartbeat.
SJ: He's launching a NASA rocket or doing barbecues with Obama and we're like, "We have a grammar question." The guy's so busy, but gives us so much time. We're so grateful to have him as a role model, advisor, EP, co-actor, all the things.
E!: What do you hope other aspiring female actors, writers and creators take away from this story?
MC: I hope young girls can look at this and what we've been able to do, despite all the rejection and bureaucracy being in a male-dominated industry. They're the ones green-lighting things. Through all of that, we were able to push through and make it happen. So we hope that they know they can do it, too.
SJ: In terms of the story aspect: Keep your close friends close. Keep your ride or die buddies really, really close. And get through the s--t. Have those tough conversations and get through the other side, even if it feels icky. There's so much more depth and growth on the other side. Even Mel and I in real life, we've basically been married, now going on seven years, getting this project together. On set, we had stuff and we still have stuff, and its difficult to have these conversations. You love each other, you don't want to hurt each other's feelings. But through the other side of it, our partnership has only grown stronger.
E!: How do you think Hollywood is doing in terms of diversity and representation? What has impressed you and what work still needs to be done?
SJ: It's great that there are more roles coming out for South Asian women. We feel like the men did have an earlier heyday with roles that weren't Indian-focused. For the women, it took a while. It was still about the trope-ness: The rich marriages, the doctors and the "Do it in an accent!" All that s--t. We do feel like it's yet to reach that tipping point to where its not an anomaly, to where we can point on screen and go, "Look there's a brown girl in that show, there's another brown girl. There's a movie with a brown cast." We want it to be more of the norm. That being said, thank god this movie was green-lit. There is a lot of pressure on our heads, the onus of representation for our culture and also to prove to Hollywood that our people deserve a movie.
E!: If you had to choose, what is your favorite holiday movie?
MC: Love Actually!
SJ: Mine is Dumb and Dumber. That is the iconic odd duo in my mind.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)