Sunita Sunder Mukhi, a Filipino at Heart

Multi-talented Philippine-born actress Sunita Mukhi

Nani (Grandma), starring Suni M!, or Sunita Sunder Mukhi, in the lead role, recently premiered in the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival as well as in Canada at the tri-city FascinAsian Film Festival (in Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg) to celebrate Asian filmmakers, stories, and perspectives in film and media during Heritage Month. Mukhi, of Indian origin, was born and bred in the Philippines.

She was set to participate in a project in a Filipino American co-production with Nora Aunor, but the icon passed away. "As the nation still grieves, the film halts and needs to be re-cast," she explains.

In LA theatre, Suni M! reprised her role at the Dynasty Typewriter in a How I Met Your Masi sketch comedy live performance on May 30, 2025.

Sunita Mukhi as Nani in official selection for the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2025

Sunita in ‘DreamLAlaland’

Mukhi, who took her Ph.D. in Performance Studies at New York University and her MA in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at San Francisco State University, became a full time freelance actor in 2022.

She chose to be in "Dreamlaland” because “of the diversity of possibilities in acting in films, TV, audio, and voice for video games, animation, etc."  She and Zen Dot won best performance at the New York Women in Film and TV (NYWIFT) short film festival in 2024. 

Sunita (2nd from left) with sister Sujata (extreme left) and friends in Manila.

"Frankly, what has given me the confidence, even audacity to prevail, persist in this whimsical industry is my disciplined training and education from St. Scholastica’s College and De La Salle University (both in Manila), specifically the dramatics guild, and the permission to be creative in my youth," she reminisces. 

With that foundation, she could be in Los Angeles or New York, or in Atlanta or London. "All my training was in Pilipino, all throughout grade, high school and college. Even as the associate dean in Benilde, theatre director Nonon Padilla cast me in Macbeth as one of the witches and as the devil in Luminous Mysteries."

"I got gold for my lead performance in the Morning with Marty (2018) at the Filipino Arts and Cinema Festival 2022."  The Filipino short film was produced by De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and directed by the late Gabby Fernandez.

"The year 2024 was one of travel, family reunions, and a number of wins for me creatively.” Mukhi was nominated for best lead performance at the Nevada Women's Film Festival 2024 for Jasmine Flowers. Her film RSVP won best short at the 2024 NY International Women's Festival and she won best performance at the NYWIFT short film festival in 2024.

“I traveled to New York, Turkey, London, Italy. Short films that I was part of were screened all over the US, and even in Florence, Italy where RSVP got the audience choice award. The same film also got best performance in NYWIFT streaming festival. How I Met Your Masi, is the reigning champion of Upright Citizens Brigade. But as a creative, the high of recognition for these modest endeavors makes you even more hungry for more work. I want to give more, express more, collaborate more," she says.

Sunita Mukhi (left) in last year's acclaimed film "RSVP".

She wrote Doing the Desi Thing: Performing Indianness in New York City (Studies in Asian Americans). She was a lecturer at the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at New York's Stony Brook University (SBU) and was a pioneering director of Asian and Asian American programming at Charles B. Wang Center, a cultural center in SBU.

Philippine-Born and Bred

Sunita Mukhi (left) with sister Sujata during Sunita's birthday in Manila this year. 

"I'm actually of Indian origin, born and bred in the Philippines, educated there, and returning regularly because my siblings and cousins, and lifetime buddies are there." Although she was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2012, she reiterates she is a Filipino at heart. 


"All my training was in Pilipino, all throughout grade, high school and college.”


For 2025, Sunita intends to redouble her efforts, refine performance pieces she has conjured, and engage with other talents despite the feast or famine adventure she has embarked on. 


Rogelio Constantino Medina was recently featured in New York City's Time Square billboard for three forthcoming awards: 𝑺𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒉 & 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑨𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔; 3rd 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔; and 3rd 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 Award. In November 2024, he was recognized in the Amerika Prestige Awards for Inclusive Media Excellence in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.