I hadn’t watched a teenage series since years. But when I heard about the new series Never Have I Ever on Netflix; created and starred by south Asian women and girls I became really curious to plunge into it. And, as it may happen to many, when it is heard that something is made by a South Asian person, it can’t be helped but check out.
Created by Mindy Kaling (author of The Office and The Mindy Project), Never Have I Ever is a series that has nothing to do with the other teenage series or some classic international Indian movies, such as Bend it like Beckham.
This series follows the journey of the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian-American teenage girl, Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and her high school dilemmas while constantly sparring with her concerned mom - Dr. Nalini Vishwakumar - (Poorna Jagannathan), while processing the mourn of her late father Mohan Vishwakumar (Sendhil Ramamurthy), living up to the expectations of her over achieving cousin, Kamala (Richa Moorjani), shifting dynamics of her friends Eleanor Wong and Fabiola Torres (Ramona Young, Lee Rodriguez) all while pining over heartthrob, Paxton Hall Yoshida (Darren Barnet).
Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario (Canada); for Maitreyi Ramakrishnan - who plays the role of Devi - this series is her debut. She has Sri Lankan origins; her parents came to Canada as refugees due to the separatist war in Sri Lanka.
In May (2019), after the first auditions, her agent told that they had to meet for an important call. On that occasion, Maitreyi’s agent made it seems like there was some technical stuff to do with the audition and told her to listen and note down carefully all the details. They would have given her a number for a new audition.
While at the phone with Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s voice on the other side; and expecting new instructions, the two hit her with the news of her being taken on the part of Devi.
Her parents emigrated to Canada during the separatist war in Sri Lanka. Despite the trauma that her parents lived, Maitreyi’s mother Kiruthiha Kulendiren, told that her husband and she consciously raised the children so that their stories wouldn’t define them. In fact, Maitreyi and her brother didn’t really learned about Sri Lanka’s politics and separatism until Maitreyi got the age of 10.
We can find what makes this series so special, in the title. We’ve never seen a teenage series where almost all the characters are young people with different origins; sons and daughters of migrations, descendants of ancient and modern stories.
It’s impressive how there’s such a diverse cast. There were people of colour everywhere, from Devi’s therapist, to the principal, to different class members. This was definitely a high point of the show. The fact that this series isn’t made only by a white person gives to the eye an imperceptible, natural diversity.
The supporting cast fills in admirably. With Poorna Jagannathan, playing the role of Nalini, as a tough and strict working mom whose main aim is to give her daughter a successful life with no distractions. She has high expectation of herself and her daughter. She’s the kind of mother who wants the best for her own daughter but doesn’t know how to be completely proud and accepting of who she is.
After the loss of her husband and Devi’s father Mohan (played by Sendhil Ramamurthy), Nalini had to entrength her already strong character. Mohan was the balance between Nalini and Devi, both tough and strong. After his death the two collided.
Then there’s Kamala played by a stunning Richa Moorjani. At first she is the total opposite of Devi. But episode by episode we see her character growing further upending the stereotypes.
Other characters that we can relate to, are the gossiping aunties at the Ganesh Pooja ceremony. How the voice over of John McEnroe says:
“Aunties are old Indian women who have no blood relationship to you, but are allowed to have opinions about your life and all your shortcomings. You have to be nice to them because you’re Indian”
As Italian born to Sri Lankan parents, I can relate to Devi and her mother’s reaction of politely moving away.
The touch of a person with different origins can be seen. In fact this series really nailed how also the Sri Lankan second generations in other countries had been feeling as a high schooler; the period in which the most important issue is the identity. Growing up in Italy, in a Sri Lankan family; I always felt a little culture/identity confused. On one hand I was a little bit embarrassed of being too Sri Lankan, and on the other hand, my parents at home were telling me that I wasn’t being Sri Lankan enough. Finding that ground has always been difficult.
Another scene that I really liked is the Ganesh Pooja, where Devi feels awkward. I remember when I used to participate in that kind of celebrations here: the Sri Lankan New Year, Christmas celebrations. That was also part of me searching my identity, but also a root that bonded me to my parents’ country. Something that resembled me to all the childhood stories of my parents. It’s somehow alienating, but it was also a funny way to do it.
Kandyan dance, the rituals and the beliefs.
Other important topics in Never Have I Ever are the discussions and themes around issues considered taboo in the South Asian culture, such as sexuality, the LGBTQ community, miscarriages, single parents, love marriages (but not in the romantic and bollywood style) and mental health, a topic still deeply feared.
Never Have I Ever is amazing. I learned that at some point the embarrassment about the parents’ culture goes away and that is part of the process. You stop asking yourself if you belong to one culture or another, learning that you can belong to both of them and learning that coliving with two different cultures is an enrichment.
