{"id":579569,"date":"2023-06-05T19:00:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T16:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/never-have-i-ever-star-maitreyi-ramakrishnan-doesnt-know-whats-next-she-likes-it-that-way\/"},"modified":"2023-06-05T19:00:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T16:00:33","slug":"never-have-i-ever-star-maitreyi-ramakrishnan-doesnt-know-whats-next-she-likes-it-that-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/never-have-i-ever-star-maitreyi-ramakrishnan-doesnt-know-whats-next-she-likes-it-that-way\/","title":{"rendered":"#Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan doesn’t know what\u2019s next. She likes it that way."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"\"If you believe the early hype, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan rolled off her parents\u2019 couch in Mississauga, Ontario, and into a star-making lead role in Netflix\u2019s hit high school rom-dram Never Have I Ever.<\/em> It was 2019, and a friend sent the tweet announcing Mindy Kaling\u2019s casting call. Ramakrishnan, then 17 and tired from a long day at real-life Meadowvale Secondary School, went, so it goes: Eh, why not?<\/em><\/p>\n

In truth, Ramakrishnan, now 21, has always had big plans. Okay, maybe \u201cpreferred manifestations.\u201d She hadn\u2019t banked on besting 15,000 other young girls to play the now-iconic teenage try-hard Devi Vishwakumar. Acting wasn\u2019t her first dream; she wanted to be an animator. Later, she was cast as Priya Manga<\/a>l, an (animated) South Asian tween, in Pixar\u2019s Turning Red<\/em>. Things have a funny way of working out\u2014just rarely in the way she imagines.<\/p>\n

The final season of Never Have I Ever,<\/em> set in Devi\u2019s senior year, streams this month. Another freshly adult actor who\u2019s had less success with serendipity might dread an open schedule, but Ramakrishnan is mostly relaxed. What\u2019s the next big thing for the erstwhile \u201cnext big thing\u201d? A university degree? A stint as a Disney princess? She\u2019ll figure it out\u2014or the universe will.<\/p>\n

Devi\u2019s finally graduating. In a way, you\u2019re graduating, too. Congrats! Where\u2019s your head at as the series<\/a> winds down? Reflective? Sad? On to the next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A mix\u2014sad, excited for the unknown. It ended when it needed to. I hate when shows drag out. That\u2019s a pet peeve of mine.<\/p>\n

The good thing about the high school conceit is that it can really only last four years\u2014unless you \u201cfail.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right?\u00a0In real life, I started high school in 2015. Then the show went from 2019 to 2023. I\u2019ve been in high school for eight years. I failed every year, basically. Oh my god.<\/p>\n

Was it surreal to attend fake high school right after attending one for real?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was. In season one, I was so excited to see what a real set was like because I\u2019d never worked on one. I looked at everything like, \u201cThis isn\u2019t a real door! It\u2019s all fake!\u201d But, very quickly, it became my stomping ground, that little hallway that we re-dressed in a million different ways. You\u2019d never know!<\/p>\n

Speaking of transformations, you had one of the more dramatic pandemic glow-ups. Never Have I Ever<\/em> debuted a month after we went into lockdown, and you came out of it an it girl. So, you know, how was that?
<\/strong>
I don\u2019t know about an it<\/em> girl. I definitely came out wiser than I went in. For most of lockdown, I was filming. During months off, I played video game<\/a>s with my family and finally learned how to do transitions on TikTok. I had that phase of \u201cMaybe I can start working out!\u201d then slowly realizing, \u201cNo, I can\u2019t start working out.\u201d<\/p>\n

So you were living with your parents?
<\/strong>
I mean, I still<\/em> live with my parents.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m well aware that Mississauga and Hollywood are two very different worlds\u2026
<\/strong>
What?! The Meadowvale Town Centre isn\u2019t<\/em> the Walk of Fame?<\/p>\n

\u2026but what do you do when you\u2019re home?
<\/strong>
I still do press, take meetings and audition. (After the pandemic, everything is self-tapes.) I also do fun, spontaneous things like visit Toronto Comicon and fan expos. I dragged my best friend to paint pottery the other day. I picked a plate\u2014easy, because it\u2019s flat\u2014and painted \u201cI feel lucky\u201d with charms around it. I think it\u2019s gonna look good, but it might look like garbage, to be honest.<\/p>\n

Your parents immigrated here from Sri Lanka before you were born. What do they think of all the Hollywood fuss? How do you even begin to broach something like that?
<\/strong>
They\u2019re supportive and protective in all the right ways. They understand the Hannah Montana<\/em> switch I do because they\u2019re right beside me. They also keep me humble. I\u2019m very much like, \u201cI can walk into Square One, no problem!\u201d And they\u2019re like, \u201cJust stay low-key. Don\u2019t be an idiot.\u201d It\u2019s a really hard thing to wrap your head around, living a regular suburban life and having people say, \u201cYou\u2019re famous!\u201d I\u2019m kind of a turd, actually.<\/p>\n

I apologize for using the term it girl earlier. I know it\u2019s a bit gross to admit you love fame, but are there any parts that make you go, \u201cMan, this is amazing\u201d?
<\/strong>
Being an it girl adds a shit-ton of pressure, mainly the pressure to stay one. To me, being an it girl is people getting hyped about the things you\u2019ve been the whole time\u2014they\u2019re just noticing them in that specific moment. Every time a season of Never Have I Ever<\/em> comes out, we\u2019re \u201cwhat\u2019s hot on Netflix.\u201d Then it fades. But we\u2019re all so much more than being hot on the internet.<\/p>\n

Okay, but I\u2019m sure the thirst traps you post are better with a glam squad and some art direction behind you, right?
<\/strong>
Thirst traps are fun, I can\u2019t even lie. For red-carpet events, I have a photographer\u2014with lighting<\/em>. I never thought I\u2019d be this person. I was lounging in the fetal position 10 minutes later, but a shot my cousin took of me on vacation is actually one of my most-liked photos. I hope people know how much went into that perfect pose. My toes aren\u2019t even in it! I\u2019m not gonna let the internet see those for free.<\/p>\n

On the topic of image versus reality: when you play such an iconic character right out of the gate, you run the risk of fusing with them in people\u2019s minds. What do you want everyone to know about you in your own right? Go ahead\u2014set the record straight.
<\/strong>
At one point, I hated Devi for that very reason: people just think I am<\/em> her. I\u2019m Devi in the same way everyone is. I make mistakes and feel a lot of emotions. I know I\u2019m my own person. I want to play many different personalities in many genres, especially so I can prove\u2014as a young brown woman\u2014that I\u2019m not just saying lines. I\u2019m damn good at my job and I want audiences to watch me do it in 100 different ways.<\/p>\n

So versatility is the name of the game for you?
<\/strong>
One hundred per cent. Season one was definitely heavier on people thinking I was just Devi because, in all fairness, there wasn\u2019t much out there about me at the time. I was like a one-year-old in my career. A famous baby. I\u2019m still just a four-year-old, so please be nice! Unfortunately, audiences are never going to know who I really am. In fact, I realized no one in my life will know me the way I know me\u2014except for maybe my dog. He sees me in my room, whether I\u2019m having a dance party or a mental breakdown.<\/p>\n

Maybe I can tell you what I think I know about you. There seems to be a perception that you\u2019re pretty blunt. Even in My Little Pony: Make Your Mark<\/em>\u2014which is just voicework\u2014you play the tough, no-nonsense pony.
<\/strong>
I do.
\n\"\"People can also learn a lot about you from your Twitter<\/a>, namely that your mom wanted to burn your old shoes, that you get motion sickness in cars and that, in addition to your spontaneous pottery, you once got a spontaneous tattoo.\u00a0<\/strong>Are you not a planner by nature?
<\/strong>
Whenever I do plan, I realize it\u2019s kind of a waste of time. I love going on adventures with my friends. In the middle of the night, I\u2019ll say, \u201cHey guys, let\u2019s drive two hours away from here and see what\u2019s happ<\/a>ening. Let\u2019s do it for the vibes!\u201d I will say: I am driven, too. I\u2019m a big dreamer.<\/p>\n

Being plucked out of 15,000 young women at an open casting call, as you were, might make someone believe in destiny. Do you? Or is this all just a random free-for-all?
<\/strong>
I\u2019m a spiritual person. I believe in things like manifesting\u2014you know, speaking things into the universe. I\u2019m that girl who wishes on 11:11 every morning. I say all of my goals as quickly as possible in that minute. I\u2019m sure it does nothing at all, but it is mentally nice to be positive. Like, take Ke Huy Quan, this year\u2019s Best Supporting Actor winner: he talks a lot about never letting go of your dreams. I agree with him.<\/p>\n

Do you ever think you\u2019re always manifesting things, but maybe not in the exact way you thought? Example: You wanted to be an animator when you were a kid. Then you were cast in Pixar\u2019s Turning Red<\/em>.
<\/strong>
Yes. I can think of so many things like that. I watched The Office<\/em> in high school and always said, \u201cOne day, I\u2019m going to meet the cast members!\u201d I haven\u2019t met Steve Carell yet, but I\u2019ve slowly started checking off some others: the<\/em> Mindy Kaling, of course. Angela Kinsey played Ben\u2019s mom in season one of Never Have I Ever.<\/em> That was a freak-out moment for me.<\/p>\n

Were there any notable non-Office<\/em> manifestations?
<\/strong>
In real high school, I came up with something called \u201cMaitreyimas,\u201d which is on December 28\u2014my birthday. I would joke to my friends that one day it was going to be an international holiday. Now my fans tweet \u201cMerry Maitreyimas\u201d to each other from all around the world. Isn\u2019t that cool?<\/p>\n

Very. Can you speak something into existence for me?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do you want? Some career stuff? Some good ol\u2019 happiness stuff?<\/p>\n

Well, my childhood dream was to be the Canadian Oprah\u2014which is a lot like what I\u2019m doing today, actually.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay, so it\u2019s going fine already. Anyway: Katie\u2019s going to receive something super amazing and fulfilling. She has no idea what it is, but it\u2019s going to happen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I appreciate you using your powers for good. <\/strong><\/p>\n

My mom always says it\u2019s important to put good energy out there.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m now going to kill the vibe a little and ask about your anxieties.
<\/strong>
I love anxiety. Woo!<\/p>\n

Never Have I Ever<\/em> was watched in 40 million households in its first month. Do you ever wonder whether lightning will strike twice?
<\/strong>
Oh, yeah. After season one came out, I was like: Wait, what if this is it for me?<\/em> But then, I have other thoughts I hold on to. I don\u2019t think a girl who is a flash in the pan makes the Time <\/em>100 Next list. I\u2019m not even trying to toot my own horn, but: the cover. If that\u2019s the case, people would want to see my face on screen, right? I also think about how much Mindy believes in me. I try to give myself flowers instead of waiting for others to give them to me.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a certain line of conversation that tends to crop up around young, successful women of colour: She\u2019s the one representative for everyone, so she has to be perfect! It\u2019s nonsense, of course, but was that initial spotlight in any way empowering for you? Or was it just limiting?
<\/strong>
In the beginning, I knew it was special to represent so many people. But it did turn into: Why am I being asked this question when white people don\u2019t get asked this?<\/em> Seventeen-year-old me was tweaking out about the fact that she had to stand for so many South Asian people. Too much pressure. And not all brown girls see themselves in Devi! Maybe they\u2019re not fans of the show or my acting or my face\u2014no hard feelings! Anyway, those representation questions don\u2019t really bother me anymore. Someone has to answer them if we all want to move forward. That\u2019s a privilege that I take very, very seriously.<\/p>\n

When all is said and done, what\u2019s your dream role? I heard it\u2019s Rapunzel.
<\/strong>
I\u2019ve been on that agenda since, like, 2020. I have a sticky note on my vision board that just says: Rapunzel. I listen to the Tangled<\/em> soundtrack once a week, so that, in the event that someone eventually asks me to sing the songs, I can be like, \u201cYeah, I got you.\u201d I told my team and my agents to let everyone know.<\/p>\n

Well, now we know it\u2019s going to happen because you\u2019ve said it.
<\/strong>
I feel like this one\u2019s gonna need me to say it a good couple hundred times. Honestly, there are so many books that I want to adapt for the screen. I even want to be on Hot Ones<\/em>, that YouTube show where you eat spicy chicken. That\u2019s a goal, and I\u2019m gonna put it out there. That\u2019s courage.<\/p>\n

Years ago, you deferred acceptance to York University\u2019s theatre program to shoot your show. Then you changed your degree program to human rights and equity studies. You just finished your first full year. Isn\u2019t that funny\u2014you\u2019re back in school again.
<\/strong>
I try to fit in as many courses as I can when work isn\u2019t crazy. People ask me when I\u2019m going to graduate and I don\u2019t know. I have no plans to die soon. By the time I was 10, I knew exactly which high school courses I was going to take to get my college animation portfolio done. Now? Yeah, we don\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n