Janina Gavankar: The Way Back (Back, Forth & Forth)

My early-ish introduction to multi-hyphenate talent Janina Gavankar was her remarkable cover of Kanye's West's "Love Lockdown" back in 2010, which was promptly followed by the stunning music video shared below.

Today, Gavankar stars opposite Ben Affleck in the recently released film 'The Way Back' (2020).

Admittedly, though, it had been so long since I'd heard her name that I actually had to run a google search to make sure that the singer and the actress were one and the same. The subsequent confirmation made me love the previously posted quote of her comment to co-star Affleck (shared on Facebook) even more: 

"I’ve been marginalized for 15 years. There was no way I would get to act across from you in any of these years until now."

As is true for most of those whom we think of as an "overnight" celebrity, Gavankar's star turn didn't happen overnight. She was doing the work while the rest of the world slept. But also working twice as hard, as a brown girl, to earn one of those chances that are too frequently given to someone with half the ability.