Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, the Sri Lankan Tamil Netflix star, is riding high in the third season.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, a Tamil-Canadian actress, starring in the famous Netflix series ‘Never Have I Ever,’ which follows a young Tamil girl, ‘Devi Vishwakumar,’ as she navigates life at an American high school, complete with loves, her father’s death, and family conflict.
With the release of the third season, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s fame and popularity have increased even more, with over 3 million Instagram followers. Maitreyi came to prominence as soon as the series premiered in April 2020, and she has since graced the cover of Teen Vogue in August 2021 and received the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Radius Award. She has also scored parts as a voice actress, appearing in this year’s Disney Pixar film Turning Red.
Maitreyi, the daughter of Tamil immigrants forced to flee Sri Lanka, has been insistent about her nationality and cultural identity. Maitreyi claimed in an interview with NOW Magazine that’my identity isn’t Sri Lankan. That isn’t my country. My nation is Canada. But my culture is undoubtedly Tamil.
Her presence on the show provided viewers with a strong South Asian and Tamil representation in mainstream media. Maitreyi has become a sympathetic character for many South Asian youngsters, particularly Tamil girls, and has used her new platform to proudly represent our community and culture.
Maitreyi has accomplished this by sharing a voice memo on Twitter that demonstrates how to accurately pronounce her name. In a recent interview with Teen Vogue, she stated, “I expect the respect of people trying to say my name and giving their best effort every time,” establishing herself as a respected role model for Tamils surrounded by Western culture and people. Maitreyi intends to increase South Asian presence in the media in the future.
After an exciting and chaotic season for the main character, Devi, Maitreyi stated, ‘I hope Devi has taught young brown women that it’s okay to make mistakes, to be imperfect, to feel a lot of emotions, and to feel them very strongly because that’s what makes you you.’
