Getting to Know MNN Talk-Show Host Rao Rampilla

Ready to add yet another face to the dynamic cast of characters MNN has introduced you to? We’d like to direct your attention to Rao Rampilla, actor, playwright, and producer and host of MNN’s “Bollywood to Hollywood with Rao Rampilla,” a talk show dedicated to giving voice to New York’s lesser-known personalities and passions.

Rampillla immigrated to the U.S. from India in 1983 to practice international law, but the events of September 11, 2001 spurred him to devote his career to his true passion—theater, which he believes is an effective vehicle for social change. His one-man show, “Ghandi's Children of God and Me,” raises awareness of India’s caste system, institutionalized discrimination that puts certain people at a socio-economic disadvantage. Rampilla once even participated in a hunger strike to protest these injustices!

Rampilla scored his first paid acting gig in 2002, appearing alongside Kevin Bacon in a Visa commercial that played off the popular dinner-party game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Sound familiar? Rampilla’s face likely is familiar to you—he’s appeared in “Sex and the City,” “30 Rock,” “Friday Night Lights,” and, most recently, “That’s My Boy” with Adam Sandler. Seriously—you won’t believe his resume!

“Bollywood to Hollywood with Rao Rampilla” tackles the topics other talk-show hosts may overlook, such as National Tap Dance Day, diabetes among Indian immigrants, and a play by the homeless, for the homeless. Rampilla’s got an ear for interesting stories, a good sense of humor and a knack for making the guests who visit his show feel welcome. Turns out he’s also a skilled enough multi-tasker to learn tai chi and conduct an interview at the same time.

Check out Rampilla on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and Twitter. And watch "Bollywood to Hollywood with Rao Rampilla" this Sunday, December 23, at 10:30pnm on MNN4 and MNN.org.