Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on Graduating From ‘Never Have I Ever’ and What’s Next

Which boy does actress Maitre Ramakrishnan want her character to end up with by the end of ‘Never Have I Ever’?

Apparently, at least as far as most reporters know, it depends on the day.

“Okay, so this Interview, let’s be honest, I’m going to have you talk about my plans,” Ramakrishnan, 21, said ahead of the comedy’s fourth and final season, which airs on Netflix Thursday.The plan is to give different answer To various publications in her other Exit interview.

Why bother? It seems that it often causes trouble for people.

But that was also how she got fired discussion Overall. She plays Devi, a self-destructive, sex-obsessed teenage protagonist, but should she choose swooning swim captain Paxton (Darren Burnett)? Should she choose Ben (Jalen Lewisohn), a certified nerd and Devi’s academic sworn rival? Should Ramakrishnan care?

“Both are great,” she said. But Devi is very young, she added. “Considering her 17-year-old self, I don’t think she wants her to tie herself up. Like, go to her college, brother. Live her own life.”

When we last saw Devi, she had life to bear. She had just redeemed Ben’s handwritten coupon for “one free,” in exchange for her V-card, which she hated for years. The final season begins in the chaos of the aftermath, but Devi must also focus on her academic future as she prepares for senior year. Sure, she has to balance friendships and romances, but she has to see an admissions counselor and also has colleges to visit.

Raised in a suburb of Toronto in Mississauga, Ontario, Ramakrishnan, the daughter of Issei Tamil immigrants from Sri Lanka, was once a normal high school teenager. Like Indian-American Devi, she grew up in a multi-generational home, where she still lives with her family. She, like Devi, is an avid nerd in her own right. (she Instagram Her account is full of cosplayers from the past, and the last few minutes of our call were filled with video game tips. )

That feeling of normality quickly changed after she accepted a casting call from Never creators Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher in 2019, her senior year of college. She beat more than 15,000 of her others for the role and this was her first acting job as a professional. Her other work continues. She has voiced Disney/Pixar’s animated film Turning Red (2022) and has also appeared in Netflix’s Netherfield Girls, a modern take on Pride and Prejudice.

In a video call from Airbnb in Los Angeles late last month, Ramakrishnan shared his thoughts on sharing Airbnb with his grandmother after completing the series and his first full year of college. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Many of Devi’s experiences are superficially outlandish, but the emotions she deals with are relatable. Did you have similar experiences in high school?

I was not a boy lunatic like Devi. I always put my friends first. But the biggest lesson that resonated with me was her journey of self-love, learning to love herself first. You have to accept your own silence.

Do you consider yourself to have reached that point?

I learned that there are high tides and high tides. That happens in new relationships, right? Admittedly, it’s not a linear journey. I am definitely better than she was when she was 17. I was so angry at myself for being the person who accepted her heart. When I fell in love with a man, I immediately went to tell him. For example, “Hey, hey, this is it. I like you.”

Acting wholeheartedly means a lot to Devi.

That’s why I got this 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 kind of “unprecedented” tattoo. One of his best lines on the show is Dr. Ryan. [Devi’s therapist, played by Niecy Nash] “Devi, you feel a lot and it means you hurt a lot, but it means you live a very beautiful and rich life.” I actually cry when I’m myself — At that moment I just cried. I was like, “There’s nothing wrong with my feelings.”I do feel a lot

This is one of those shows that makes you want to scream at the screen when Devi does something stupid. But we root for her through her four seasons. Why do you think we stay by her side?

I wish there were videos of fans reacting to Devi’s dumbest moments. My reaction when I read a script is always like this. [sucks in a sharp breath through her teeth] hmm. But I think the reason why people are able to root for her goes back to the core of her confusion, which happened from a real place. Sometimes it’s easier to tell her friends and family what they deserve and how we view them. But when we look in the mirror, it’s hard to say that we are equally respectable, that we are equally beautiful. I think Devi is an awkward friend that we really see in ourselves.

How did you handle the heavy scene about the death of Devi’s father?

Mindy and Lang helped them understand how they felt about their respective parents, but it also just taught them how to feel openly sad. Actors are given a wonderful opportunity to cry, but at the end of it no one asks, “Are you okay?” we applaud. Sometimes you have a complete meltdown and everyone says, wonderful. “And sometimes it’s great. Sometimes it’s a lot. We try to realize that when we go into those scenes, we’re making a different show — still comedy, but tonally it’s about to come.” It makes me sad, but that’s life, isn’t it?

Much of the focus is on Devi’s mother (Poorna Jagannathan), which is not very common in shows about high school.

Well, 100 percent, the whole family is fine. I think one of my favorite parts about her in “Never Have I Ever” was the addition of Devi’s grandma. Because I’m very close to Grandma – now, for real. At this Airbnb where I’m staying. Grandma and I sleep together. But I grew up under the same roof with my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. And my father, my brother, my grandfather, but four generations of women, that’s what I was used to. Family discussions at my house are like table tennis games. I think the Vishwakumar people are doing the same.and Nirmala [Devi’s grandmother, played by Ranjita Chakravarty]?She’s cocky. that’s my grandmother I definitely got her excess her self from her.

Most of this season follows Devi’s journey to college admissions. Have you started thinking about going back to school? [Ramakrishnan deferred her acceptance to York University’s theater program in Toronto when she was cast.]

I’m actually back. Hey, I’m done with the science of duty, and I couldn’t be happier.

which one was it?

astronomy. That’s what very artistic kids do. Oh, oh! Performer! oh! planet! Sky! My current commitment to school is to get as far ahead as I can, but it’s not on my agenda. Obviously, it’s been 4 years and I couldn’t make it through and I’m still alive. But I really love learning. My degree is currently in Human Rights and Equity Studies. My parents think I’m a sadist just because I do all the work at once.I intention Congratulate yourself for making it through the semester with decent grades. I’m a “get a degree in Cs” type of person, but I did much better.

How do you feel about the series ending?

Team Ben or Team Paxton could have won at the end, but I wouldn’t care. I think it’s really amazing that she has grown so much. I’m just Team Devi. I’m really I think about her independence, her making mistakes, her learning to just do what she loves. I will die on this hill People think I’m lying, but I really do my best to make women feel feminine.