'Make Me a Match' Star Rushi Kota on Being Hallmark's First South Asian Leading Man [Exclusive]
Rushi Kota fulfilled a dream with his starring role in the new Hallmark Channel movie Make Me a Match, part of the network’s “June Weddings” lineup.
“I always wanted to do a rom-com,” the Never Have I Ever and Grey’s Anatomy actor said in an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet. So, when he got the chance to play Boom, the son of a traditional Indian matchmaker who falls for a woman named Vivi (Eva Bourne), he couldn’t say no.
Vivi works for a company behind a data-driven matchmaking app. When her formula for finding love turns out to be a bust, she turns to Boom’s mom Raina (Rekha Sharma) to see what she can learn from a different approach. In the process, she and Boom discover they have an unexpected connection.
“The writing was really fun,” Kota said of his reaction when he read the script for the movie, which premieres June 24. “Nikhil Jayaram did a phenomenal job infusing a lot of humor and original originality into this project … And then just the whole concept of the twist of Indian matchmaking meeting American dating, I thought was really, really fun.”
‘Make Me a Match’ is a new kind of story for Hallmark Channel
Make Me a Match is Hallmark’s first movie with a South Asian male lead, which Kota admitted was “a little overwhelming” to think about. But he hopes it won’t be the last.
“This is just one story about South Asians,” he pointed out. “It’s not representative of every single person out there. And I think that it’s impossible to think that this is going to be a representation of every single subculture in India or in the [United] States … I think this is just one beautiful story that gets to be told and there’s room for so much more.”
The movie also incorporates cultural traditions from northern India into a traditional Hallmark story. To make sure that they got all the details right, a cultural consultant was on hand during filming.
“She was able to really walk everyone, the writer, director, the entire crew, and the network, through making sure that we got it right and that we were authentic and accurate to the storytelling and nothing was being left out or overlooked,” Kota shared. “That was extremely helpful.”
That included providing guidance during several scenes where Boom and Raina speak to each other in Hindi.
“She was there to make sure that we were saying it accurately and all the inflections and the sounds were all coming out appropriately,” Kota explained.
Rushi Kota would work with Eva Bourne again ‘in a heartbeat’
Playing Boom also gave Kota the chance to work with Bourne, who Hallmark viewers will recognize from her role as Clara on When Calls the Heart. He’s hopeful it won’t be the last time they share the screen.
“We became quick, fast friends,” he said of his co-star. “We were able to really be on this journey together. And it was really fun. I’m kind of a jokester on set, and she was laughing at all my jokes. I don’t know if she was taking pity on thought I was actually funny, but it was a real delight to work with her … I would do it again in a heartbeat, [whether] we’re making another Make Me a Match or another movie, I’m like, ‘Let’s go.’”
Could Make Me a Match inspire some viewers to embrace a way to find love that doesn’t involve swiping right? It might not be a bad idea, Kota said.
“Dating through all of these apps and algorithms has become so popular that it definitely takes away the element of human connection,” Kota said. “If people are really looking to find their other half, then I think Indian matchmaking might be the way to go.”
Make Me a Match airs Saturday, June 24 on Hallmark Channel at 8 p.m. ET.
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