![]() ![]() ![]() The coming-of-age teen rom-com centers around Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) an ambitious sophomore high school student who along with her two friends, are fixated on making their senior year the best ever. However, when you’re talking about full blown relatable and relevant roles with a full South Asian family, it is Mindy Kaling who made it happen with her upcoming Netflix series Never Have I Ever.Ĭoming out this Monday April 27, Never Have I Ever (in which Mindy holds the title of Executive Producer, Writer and Creator) is loosely based on her own upbringing as a first-generation South Asian. And my annoyance of the mainstream entertainment world’s half-hearted attempts at showing diversity coupled with my own growing desire to be authentically portrayed grew stronger as I came into my own embrace of my South Asianness. Of course since then, in recent history specifically, there has been some progression when it comes to South Asian representation. I mean if big time execs at NBC via The Cosby Show recognized these South Asian elements and put them on their mainstream top-rated show, then what’s more to ask for, really? We honestly felt that we - as a cultural group - have finally arrived. To us, those small moments made a huge impact. Education along with a sense of social justice with a wider understanding of the world beyond their doorstep reflected our family’s constant drive to accept, understand and learn from those outside of our South Asian circle.Īnd clear South Asian elements actually managed to seep into the Huxtable’s world which would just send us over the moon: Cliff’s Awami suit that he would wear to sleep, Claire’s gorgeous Hyderabadi suit she adorned at a family dinner and her listing off of her favourite Indian dishes with colleagues during lunch hour at the office. They loved being able to flaunt accents of their cultural threads just like we did. Their family (like ours) was film and music loving family, enriched by their active recognition of their ancestral history and their contributions to society. The Huxtables in The Cosby Show came closest in our search on finding a group of people who most resembled us, an Indian/Pakistani family who lived in a quaint 99% all-white town of 19,000, called Port Colborne. Whether it was Family Ties, Facts of Life or as a young adult with healthy doses of Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place, I just naturally accepted and enjoyed the chance to relish in some escapist entertainment.Ī conscious awakening of sorts happened when we as a family, discovered a show about this brown family (as seen through our eyes) led by a successful doctor father and lawyer mother. ![]() And it’s through our chat with (brand new) Canadian star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan where she shares with us her you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up audition story, the value of taking a chance and the importance of being part of the solution.Īs an 80s child growing up I never realized what I was missing when it came to finding representation on television. However when it comes to having a worthy seat at the table it’s Mindy Kaling’s latest project Never Have I Ever that truly shows us who we are. “Representation” has become the buzzword to show inclusivity.
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