Why Netflix's Never Have I Ever brown girl lead is a win for representation

The show doesn't represent all south Asian experiences, but its young Indian protagonist left me delighted
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Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, with its brown girl lead and the experience of an Indian-American family front and centre, has left me grinning from ear-to-ear.

Like many people, I’ve spent my free time binge-watching Mindy Kaling’s comedy-drama, which centres on Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a 15-year-old Indian-American high schooler in California.

Fresh out of high school herself, 18-year-old Maitreyi (who plays Devi) was selected by Kaling from the 15,000 hopefuls who responded to an open casting call.

The Canadian-Tamil actress has been praised for her breakout performance, especially as her previous work only includes school plays - which reminds me of being a wannabe actor.

Netflix

When I was in school productions, I had already accepted that I couldn’t play the leading lady, thinking: “Well, that character isn’t brown, so I can’t play them, right?”

Looking back now, it seems obvious to note all the leading ladies I ever saw on screen were white. And while I looked up to several white actresses, there was always a small part of me that wasn’t ever able to fully relate.

All the Asian characters I saw on screen were sidekicks, if that, and any south Asian characters were either a geeky friend, a lonely nerd or in a Bollywood film. It’s not to downplay those roles (or Bollywood - I love those films), but I wasn't in a Bollywood film. I was a teenager in school longing for anything that featured an Asian lead, whose story wasn’t only about being Asian.

Enter Never Have I Ever.

What excites me about the show is how Devi’s culture and heritage is woven seamlessly with her high school life. It’s a great representation of how I felt navigating my British nationality and Indian heritage while at school (and still now).

Netflix

There’s the typical teen drama (popularity, finding a boyfriend, your parents ruining your life) and the tougher issues (including sexuality, love and trauma). But there’s also Devi grappling with her Indian-American identity - something that’s all too often severely lacking from TV shows. It doesn’t stop with Devi either - her two best friends, Fabiola and Eleanor, are also kick-ass women of colour with their own multi-dimensional storylines.

The relatability comes courtesy of the detail. Throwaway lines including “Aunties are older Indian women who have no blood relationship to you, but are allowed to have opinions about your life and all your shortcomings” had me in stitches. A hilarious scene where Devi is making a TikTok, only to be dragged away by her mum before reappearing seconds later with a t-shirt under her mini-dress, was painfully real. Devi’s mum’s quip on therapy being for “white people” could have come out of my grandmother’s mouth.

The show is not a perfect representation, nor is it trying to be. Never Have I Ever by no means represents all brown people. Devi - with her doctor mother, beautiful house and enough cash for therapy - has a lot of privilege and it’s a lot easier for Devi to assimilate into American life with money behind her.

Some have also criticised the Indian accents and the story of Kamala’s arranged marriage as stereotypical. But this variation in reaction perfectly demonstrates how this story is just one small part of a spectrum of south Asian experiences. As a Parsi woman living in the UK, my experiences differ a lot from those of Devi, a Hindu teen living in America. But to have Devi as a multi-faceted lead rather than a token brown character is what makes this show so special.

Just as I tried to reconcile my British nationality with my Indian heritage, Devi is doing the same with her American-Indian life. The episode ‘Never Have I Ever…felt super Indian’ hits home as Devi and her family are getting ready to celebrate Hindu festival Ganesh Puja. Devi tries to bond with another Indian girl by bitching about the dancers at the event but accidentally puts her foot in it, as her would-be pal praises the group (who performed at the Macy’s Day Parade on a float sponsored by Ziploc, actually).

At the episode’s mid-point, a short scene tells a big story. We’re introduced to Harish, a friend of Devi’s who has come back from college especially for Ganesh Puja. While Devi is confused as to why he would want to come back for the ‘lame-fest’ (her words), Harish explains that meeting people from different backgrounds, who are proud of their heritage, made him think: “Why do I think it’s so weird and embarrassing to be Indian?”

In that one minute of TV, my experience with being Indian in my early twenties was summed up. I grew up with a first-generation immigrant parent who believed they had to integrate in order to be successful. In doing so, they pushed down every ‘Indian’ part of themselves - even changing their name to a more English sounding one. Inevitably, albeit subconsciously, this trickled down to me. I grew up thinking being Indian was different, embarrassing, and a hindrance. I would make jokes, calling myself an Oreo before anyone else did, just to fit in.

But at university, everything changed. For the first time, I saw people embracing both their heritage and their Britishness, and decided to do the same. Now, I think my culture is exciting, special, interesting, and integral to who I am.

Growing up I felt I was being pulled between two different worlds. Maybe it would have been easier to bridge them if this show had existed before.

Never Have I Ever is available to stream on Netflix.

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