Mid-day Exclusive | Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on Never Have I Ever’s fandom in India: I’m definitely not bigger than a Bollywood star

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan with her Never Have I Ever co-stars Darren Barnet and Jaren Lewison at Netflix Tudum

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is probably one of the most popular persons of Indian origin internationally, thanks to her global hit series, Never Have I Ever. She plays Devi Vishwakumar, a high school student in the Netflix show, the fourth season of which recently dropped on the platform.

On the red carpet of the Netflix fan event, Tudum, that was held in Brazil, the actress spoke to Mid-day about her fandom in India. "I know there's a lot of fans in India but I am definitely not bigger than a Bollywood star. I haven't been back to India since the show came out. If I went, I feel I'd be so blown away. I can't even fathom what the love there is like. I am very grateful," she told Mid-day's Mayank Shekhar.

When asked about what makes a show like Never Have I Ever, that is so specific to a certain diaspora, so universal, Maitreyi elaborated, "Firstly, our show is kind of funny, and who doesn't love to laugh. We touch on things that are not specific to a diaspora family of Tamil descent. The stories are very human - losing a parent, going through a roller-coaster of insecurities and journey of self-love. Anyone can relate to that. But specifically, for South Asians and people of colour, we get to see ourselves, people like us in every scene, not disappearing after a brief appearance. Not as best-friend, or characters that come in for a bit and go."

And her fandom surely isn't just restricted to India. The 21-year-old actress was mistaken as a Brazilian by many fans at the Tudum event. Talking about that, Maitreyi said, "I've been getting Brazilian fans telling me they're gonna make me Brazilian now, and that I was born in the wrong country. I was born in Canada, and I don't think it works that way, you know! But I am very flattered." Never Have I Ever has now wrapped with the final, fourth season. It was an emotional farewell for the lead cast (Ramakrishnan, Jaren Lewison, Darren Barnet) on the Tudum stage.

Evidently, desi people were being seen, but that's probably because that's where our eyes were. The Tudum event was as multi-ethnic as it could get. Brazilians are primarily Portuguese speaking people. The electronic board on the gigantic screen displayed translations for all that was being spoken in English at the global livestream event, broadcast from Ibirapuera Park (Parque do Ibirapuera) in São Paulo.

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