Mindy Kaling on learning Hindi for Ocean's 8: It wasn't easy as I speak no Indian languages

Actress Mindy Kaling, who has Indian roots, says it was difficult to learn Hindi for her forthcoming movie _Ocean's 8_ .

“When I was cast in Ocean’s 8, I didn’t think there would be much prep but I ended up doing more than on any movie I’ve worked on,” Kaling said in a statement. “I had to become fluent enough in Hindi that I could speak it with ease in a couple of scenes and that wasn’t easy because I don’t speak any Indian languages.” “I was raised speaking English only because my parents spoke two different Indian languages, so the only language we all had in common was English. I also shadowed a jeweller so that I could learn how to hold all the instruments of the trade,” the actress said. [caption id=“attachment_4508771” align=“alignleft” width=“825”]  A still from Ocean’s 8. YouTube screengrab[/caption] In the film, Kaling plays Amita, a jewellery maker, who turns a $150 million diamond necklace into seven smaller pieces in the name of a heist. A sequel to Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy, Ocean’s 8 stars Sandra Bullock as ringleader Debbie Ocean, the sister of George Clooney’s character Danny. After getting out of jail, she recruits seven women — Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina and Helena Bonham Carter — to help her pull off a jewellery heist at the annual Met Gala in New York. The Warner Bros Pictures project will release in India on 22 June. _Read: Ocean’s 8 review round-up: Anne Hathaway is 'secret comedic weapon' in franchise's 'most satisfying installment'_