Posted in: Critical Role, Dungeons & Dragons, Games, streaming, Tabletop, Tabletop Publishers, TV, Wizards of the Coast | Tagged: Anjali Bhimani, critical role, DesiQuest, EffinFunny

DesiQuest: Anjali Bhimani Talks Live-Play RPGs, Dream Projects & More

Anjali Bhimani (DesiQuest) spoke with Bleeding Cool about her roleplaying inspirations, career-defining roles, Apex, Overwatch & more.

Anjali Bhimani has had an unbelievable career equally in Hollywood and in gaming spanning over 20 years. The actress has appeared in some of the recent big games, including Sony's Spider-Man 2, Bethesda's Starfield, Blizzard's Diablo IV, and EA's Apex Legends. Some of her recent live-action and voiceover roles include OWN's All Rise, Critical Role's Candela Obscura, Netflix's Mech Cadets, Disney+'s Ms. Marvel and NBC's The Blacklist. Did I forget to mention she's also a successful author? Bhimani's latest is a passion project called DesiQuest, an epic, culturally authentic Dungeons & Dragons actual-play show with an all-Desi cast, a game mastered by Jasmine Bhullar that'll Fire Bolt your brain and Thunderclap your heart. Bhimani spoke to Bleeding Cool about her eclectic interests in international culture, the projects she felt provided watershed moments in her acting career, and dream projects she hopes get adapted.

DesiQuest: Anjali Bhimani's Biggest Creative Influences

Bleeding Cool: What were some of the realms and genres that helped influence you as far as getting into roleplaying? Were you into J.R.R. Tolkien? Robert Jordan? You also mentioned Shadowrun. What creative minds did you gravitate toward?

Bhimani: I was an avid reader from a young age, and I also was tremendously interested in mythology from all different traditions, Norse, Greek, Indian, Hindu theology…Whatever I could get my hands on, I wanted to read it. In addition to a combination of mythology, high fantasy, and science fiction, I read a lot of Piers Anthony and Robert Heinlein, and I had a love of it, both literarily and in terms of playing the games. There's so much overlap. You don't have to pick one medium to step into that world. It's all around us, and there are so many options. You have books, movies, TV, and various types of music because they're all about that. I was well immersed [in culture], along with being immersed in general, delicious nerd fun stuff. We loved Star Trek growing up and would watch it with my mom. There was a family love of "What is possible?" Let's imagine something that doesn't exist on this planet. Whether it was fantasy, fiction, or science fiction, we ate it up.

You have such a diverse filmography in live-action and voiceover. Was there one that stood out to you the most as a dream gig? I know it's like picking a favorite child.

I'm glad you said that [laughs] because that's something that I feel like it's I can't probably pick one. In every medium that I had the chance to act in, there have certainly been touchstones like cornerstones and things that are notable moments. The first moment where I felt like I had something was in the theater with my first Broadway show, which is called 'Metamorphosis,' it was based on Ovid's poem 'Metamorphosis' and Greek mythology they talked about living in that same world. The director, Mary Zimmerman, is someone I know and love and have worked with many times. She does a lot of stuff with mythology and fantasy. It felt much in tune with the things that I loved.

Voiceover-wise, it's clear that 'Overwatch' and 'Apex' are two giant triple-A games, and those are huge things to be a part of. 'Overwatch' changed my life in that I was reintroduced to this incredible community of gamers in a way that I hadn't been connected to when I was younger because the Internet was not what it is today. When I was growing up, I didn't have access to people as easily. You were starting to have access to information, but you didn't necessarily have access to people that you had. Being able to connect with a community of people who are connected to something that you are creating was a new thing for me. The gaming community can be so supportive and so specific and wonderful. Having that in my life was a game-changer. No pun intended. It helped me in that it was the first time that I felt like my career, purpose, and mission were aligned with each other because it was an inspirational game. There were a lot of things that the game that you believed in and was based on that I believe tremendously in a world worth fighting for. Everybody can be a hero in that sense of inclusion, and that was huge.

It wasn't much of a big one for television of concern for many amazing moments, but 'Ms. Marvel' certainly recently has been a huge one and such a joy to be a part of. Everything was such a labor of love for everyone involved, and that was a teaching moment because every chance I get feels like it's an embarrassment of riches. The first time I got to play the 'Critical Role' folks were obviously amazing. Same thing with D20 and RealmSmith, now creating our own show, 'DesiQuest' in and of itself. That's a brand-new thing that hasn't existed before. This feels like another extraordinary experience. I must also mention 'Stray Dogs,' which is a video game that came out this year. That was an extraordinary experience for me because it is a musical roleplaying game. It combines my love of mythology, games, and singing all in one. It's been the coolest thing ever to be a part of this.

Was there like maybe an IP or world that you hope to be a part of? I know everyone gravitates toward 'D&D' and Tolkien's Middle Earth. There's the proliferation of other works from George R.R. Martin's 'A Song of Fire and Ice' and Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' that have since come along beyond their books. Was there another you hope makes that transition that hasn't been optioned yet?

In terms of an IP like in a book or a movie, this is not me being self-serving, I swear, because it might sound like it is, but I published a book for a friend of mine, Chris Everly, who is a castmate at 'Apex Legends,' wrote an extraordinary book called 'Soldier of Ages: Tettenhall'. It's the first in a series and the combination of science fiction and historical fiction that he has created. It's perfection for a game, whether we end up making it into a role-playing game, board game, or video game. There's something about it. It's a world that you want to dive into. When I'm reading, my favorite books are ones that create a world where despite the darkness, challenges, evil, or whatever the protagonists are facing, it's still a world I want to jump into. I would love to be transported there. I felt that about 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, 'His Dark Materials,' and I would love to see this one translated into everything. Pick a thing that feels right for gaming and for like a long-term series type thing because it's an ongoing story.

Effinfunny's DesiQuest also stars Jasmine Bhullar, Sandeep Parikh, Omar Najam, and Rekha Shankar. The first episode is now available. For more information, you can check out the series here.

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