Mindy Kaling: Writing 'Late Night' was satisfying

Actor-producer Mindy Kaling has said that penning the comedy-drama "Late Night" was a "satisfying" experience as she could connect with both the lead characters.

The 40-year-old actor starred as a writer in the film who is hired mainly because she is an Indian-American in order to save the career of a seasoned late-night host, played by Emma Thompson.

"The movie was so satisfying to write because I feel uniquely qualified in my life to write for both of those characters. I remember, vividly, what it's like to be the only woman or minority in a writer's room when I was 24 years old.

"But I also remember, more recently, the frustration of being an employer, having Katherine's opposition, and being a little complacent, a little bit bored with your job. You employ all these people but you're not always on your best behaviour and I know that feeling well," Kaling told news.com.au.

The actor-scribe, who created and starred in "The Mindy Project", said one would have to do the difficult job of getting women from culturally diverse backgrounds in the writer's room to bring about a change.

"For the longest time when I was on my own show, being a showrunner and the star was so time-consuming. At times it felt like being a mentor or taking the energy to look deeper than normal on what people were submitting for characters or writers is so time-consuming.

"But what I learnt recently is it's the only way to change culture and it's completely worth it, and the fact that I did take the extra time to try and find cast and writers on these two shows I'm writing now has really made a difference for the better on both of those projects," Kaling said.