Which boy does actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan want her character to lose at the end of “Never Have I Ever”?
Apparently, it depends on the day — at least as far as most reporters know.
“Okay, so this interview, I’ll be honest — I’m going to let you in my plan,” said Ramakrishnan, 21, ahead of the comedy’s fourth and final season, which arrived Thursday on Netflix. That plan: give different answers in various publications to him others appear in interviews.
Why go to the trouble? Mostly, it seems, messing with people.
But this is also his way of dismissing the debate completely. Should her character, Devi, choose the show’s self-sabotaging and obsessed teen protagonist, the swoon-worthy swim captain, Paxton (Darren Barnet)? Should she choose Ben (Jaren Lewison), a certified nerd and Devi’s sworn scholastic rival? Should Ramakrishnan care?
“Both guys, they’re great,” he said. But Devi was very young, he added. “When I think of my 17-year-old self, I don’t want him to tie himself up. Like, go to college, bro. Live your life.”
When we last saw Devi, she had almost as much as her life. He’s just cashed in Ben’s handwritten coupon for “a free boink” — and, in doing so, traded in his long-hated V-Card. The final season ends in chaos of results, but Devi also has to focus on her academic future as she heads into senior year. There are friendships and romantic prospects to balance, yes, but also admissions counselors to meet, universities to visit.
Ramakrishnan, who grew up just outside of Toronto, in Mississauga, Ontario, was once a normal teenager navigating high school, a first-generation daughter of Tamil immigrants from Sri Lanka. Like Devi, who is Indian American, she grew up in a multigenerational home — and still lives there with her family. He is also, like Devi, an ardent nerd in his own right. (He Instagram The account is full of past cosplay looks, and she spent the last few minutes of our call giving video game tips.)
Any sense of normalcy quickly changed after she answered an open casting call her senior year, in 2019, from Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, the creators of “Never.” He beat out more than 15,000 others for the role, his first professional acting gig. Other jobs followed: She lent her voice to the Disney/Pixar animated feature “Turning Red” (2022), and she was cast in the upcoming Netflix film “The Netherfield Girls,” a modern adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice.”
In a video call last month from an Airbnb in Los Angeles, Ramakrishnan shared his thoughts about ending the series, ending his first full year of college and sharing said Airbnb with his grandmother. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Many of Devi’s experiences are outlandish in appearance, but the emotions she deals with are relatable. Did you have a similar experience in high school?
I am not crazy like Devi; I’m always friends-first. But the biggest lesson that resonated with me was her journey to self-love, about learning to love herself first. You have to be OK with your own silence.
Do you think you’ve reached that point yourself?
I learned that it flows gradually. That happens in any new relationship, right? It’s not a linear journey, for sure. I’m definitely better than where I was when I was 17. I used to be mad at myself for being someone who wore his heart on his sleeve. When I like a guy, I just tell him. Like: “Hey, man. Here you go. I want you.” I went through a phase where I stopped doing that, just out of fear.
Having your heart on your sleeve is a big thing Devi.
That’s why I got a tattoo! [She holds up her arm and points to the inside of her elbow, where there is an illustration of an anatomically correct heart.] It’s a “Never Have I Ever” type of tattoo. One of the best lines in the show is Dr. Ryan [Devi’s therapist, played by Niecy Nash] saying, “Devi, you have a lot of feelings, and that means you’re going to get hurt a lot, but it means you’re going to live a very beautiful and rich life.” Oh my God, when I cry in that scene, I really cry because it’s like that I — at that moment, I just started crying. I was like, There is nothing wrong with my feelings. I do many feel.
This is one of those shows that makes you want to scream at the screen when Devi does something stupid. But we still rooted for him for four seasons. Why do you think we will stay with him?
I wish I had a video of fans reacting to Devi’s most idiotic moments. My reaction when I read the script was like, [sucks in a sharp breath through her teeth] yes-kay. But I think the reason people can root for him goes back to the core of his troubles coming from real places. Sometimes it’s easier to tell our friends and family the things they deserve and how we see them. But when we look in the mirror, it’s hard for us to say that we deserve the same respect — that we, too, are just as beautiful. I think Devi is the messy friend that we really see in ourselves.
How did you handle those heavier scenes about Devi’s father’s death?
Mindy and Lang help walk through what it feels like for them with their respective parents, but it’s also just learning how to feel sad openly. Actors get a great opportunity to cry, and after that, no one asks us, “Are you okay?” we applauded. We can totally have a meltdown and everyone says: “Oh my God. Amazing.” And sometimes that’s great. Sometimes it’s a lot. When going into those scenes, I try to recognize we’re making a different show — still comedic, but in tone, we’re sad now. But that’s life, right? This is a comedian, and then it’s really sad and you have a dead dad dream.
There’s a lot of focus on Devi’s mother (Poorna Jagannathan), which isn’t very common in high school shows.
Yeah, 100 percent, the whole family dynamic. I think one of my favorite parts of “Never Have I Ever” is the addition of Devi’s grandmother. Because I’m really close to my grandmother — right now, actually. At the Airbnb I’m staying at. My grandmother and I were bunking each other. But I grew up with my mother, my grandmother and my grandmother under the same roof. And my dad, my brother, my grandfather — but four generations of women, that’s what I’m used to. Family discussions in my house are like ping pong matches. I think the Vishwakumars are doing the same thing. And Nirmala [Devi’s grandmother, played by Ranjita Chakravarty]? She has sass. That’s my grandmother. I definitely got my overdramatic self from him.
Much of this season follows Devi’s journey to get into college. Have you thought about going back to school? [Ramakrishnan deferred her acceptance to York University’s theater program in Toronto when she was cast.]
I’m really back. Dude, I finished my mandatory science, and I couldn’t be happier.
Which one is it?
Astronomy. What a child’s art to do. Like, ooh! Stars! Oh! Planets! Space! My whole approach to school now is to get on where I can, but I’m not on a timeline. Obviously, it’s been four years and I haven’t done it and I’m still alive. But I really love to study. My degree now is in human rights and equity studies. My parents think I’m a sadist, just to do all my work at once. I mood pat myself on the back for finishing the entire semester with decent grades — I was a “Cs get degrees” kind of person, but I’ve gotten better.
How do you feel about how the series ended?
It could have gone down to a Team Ben or Team Paxton win in the end, and I’m pretty indifferent. I think it’s pretty amazing that he’s grown so much. I’m just Team Devi; I really am. I’m about her independence, her making mistakes, just learning what she likes. I will die on this hill. I think people think I’m lying, but really I’m just letting a girl be a girl.