Ronnie California: The King of Artesia was written by Adi Kalidindi and will be directed by Adi Kalidindi as well.

Set in 1993, the short follows two Indian immigrants, Ronnie California and his best friend, Sidd, the owners of a failing saree shop in the Little India neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Hit with the prospect of losing their business to the IRS, Ronnie goes against Sidd's wishes and runs an illegal gambling ring out of the back of their shop in a desperate attempt to make ends meet. But when members of the community catch a whiff of the shit piling up in their backyard, they make it their mission to put an end to Ronnie's shenanigans. On one fateful afternoon, while Ronnie is in the midst of a fiasco with the gamblers in his gambling den, a mob of angry residents storms the shop. Having decided that enough is enough, they demand that Ronnie close his business and move out of the community. When Ronnie tries to charm his way out of trouble, as he so often does, they slap him with hard evidence and threaten to call the police. Realizing he's cooked, Ronnie faces the difficult decision of choosing between turning himself in or doing what he always does: selfishly running off and leaving Sidd holding the bag.

So now that you know all about Ronnie and his ridiculousness, what do we need from you? Ah yes, the golden question! Money, money, money, money. Just kidding. But no, seriously, we need your money. While it may seem like we're asking for a lot, we promise you it'll all be put to good use. We'll be using the funds for two days of shooting in Artesia, cast, crew, camera gear, costumes, props, production design, lighting equipment, meals, and renting out a saree shop. Anything you can donate (and we mean literally anything) goes a long way! Maybe with some of that money we can even get rid of that pesky "iStock by Getty Images" watermark! And of course, if you could share this page with anyone who might be interested, that would be tremendously helpful!

The Ronnie California short is a proof of concept for a drama/comedy feature which dissects the strained relationship between Ronnie and his best friend, Sidd, with whom he owns a saree shop. When the IRS threatens to close their business, Ronnie hatches one hare-brained scheme after another in a foolish attempt to keep their saree shop afloat. Much to Sidd's dismay, Ronnie turns the back of the shop into a gambling den, while although lucrative, comes with its own price. When the money starts rolling in, Ronnie can't help himself and schemes to make even more, ignoring pleas from Sidd to stop while they're ahead. Ronnie pays a visit to an old flame, Fox St. Claire, who runs an underground brothel in the heart of Hollywood. Met with opposition at first, Ronnie finally convinces her to let him pimp a couple of girls out the back of his shop. With business booming on both fronts, Ronnie and Fox rekindle their ill-fated romance. But when Ronnie gambles all his profits away, he finds himself in murky waters with several unsavory characters who've come to collect their money. And like always, he expects Sidd to bail him out. Hopefully that sounds exciting to you because I would LOVE for Ronnie California to be my directorial debut in the feature space. By supporting this short, you'll be supporting my dreams and the wonderful people who are toiling day in and day out to make this a reality! Thank you so much for all your support and for reading everything on this page! We love you!