By Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has spoken about the changing landscape of South Asian representation in Hollywood, saying that while the industry still has work to do, the growing presence of varied and authentic stories has helped move the conversation forward.
Speaking to Gulf News about her new Netflix film Best of the Best, Ramakrishnan reflected on how representation has evolved in recent years. “In recent years, representation has gotten strides farther than where we were before. It's personality first, and then the non-changeable factors of their cultural backgrounds is additional information,” she said.
For Ramakrishnan, progress does not necessarily mean dismissing the work that came before. “But I have to give the dues where it's deserved. We did have past representations that might not have necessarily been what we fully resonated with or saw ourselves in, but sometimes even just existence, though might not be reflective of your experience, still moves the needle,” she said.
She added that projects such as Best of the Best are part of a much longer journey, built on the efforts of performers and creators who pushed for South Asian characters and stories to have a place in Western entertainment.
“A project like ours stands on the backs of all those past projects that you know paid their dues and fought the good fight to get that side role, because it all builds together. That's the only way we're going to continue,” Ramakrishnan said.
That idea of moving beyond surface-level representation is also reflected in the film's dance sequences. Best of the Best centres on a university Bollywood-fusion dance team, allowing the filmmakers to incorporate multiple South Asian dance traditions rather than treating them as a single style.
Ramakrishnan was particularly emphatic about the care taken with the choreography. “All these dance styles come from very rich cultures and histories and our choreographers kept it real. We're not settling for just waving our hands in the air anymore. That's not happening,” she said.
Director Lena Khan has similarly spoken about the multicultural nature of the project.
In a previous interview with Variety, Khan noted that the world around the characters reflects the reality of a country where people from different cultural backgrounds live alongside one another. “At some point this country and the world is just full of people in different cultures,” she said.
According to Variety, the production's choreography drew from styles including Kuthu, Bharatanatyam and Pakistani-influenced dance, reflecting the different cultural backgrounds represented by the fictional university team.
The film, which began streaming globally on Netflix on September 18, follows childhood friends Maya, played by Ramakrishnan, and Anjali, portrayed by Priyanka Kedia, as they arrive at UCLA and join its competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team.
What initially appears to be an exciting new chapter quickly becomes a tougher journey as the pair set their sights on the US championship.
The ensemble includes Lilly Singh, Janina Gavankar, Ankur Rathee, Chaneil Kular, Nico Greetham, Nihar Duvvuri, Shreya Navile, Amryn Khurana, Tanishq Joshi, Saara Chaudry and Sasha Bhasin.
For Ramakrishnan, the project also represents another stage in a career that began with one of Netflix's most visible South Asian-led coming-of-age series.
Her breakout came with Never Have I Ever, which premiered during the Covid-19 pandemic and quickly became a global streaming success. Reflecting on the unusual circumstances surrounding her sudden rise to fame, Ramakrishnan told Gulf News that the timing initially made the experience feel somewhat unreal.
“Never Have I Ever season one came out in COVID and because everything was online, it kind of felt a little fake at first. It was right after Tiger King, Love is Blind, and Too Hot to Handle. So, everyone's bars were really low, and we slid right in there with a nice little comedy that's actually a story about grief,” she said.
Ramakrishnan was only 18 when Never Have I Ever arrived, thrusting her into an industry she was still learning to navigate. She credits creator Mindy Kaling with helping her adjust to the sudden attention and the demands that came with it.
“I got the biggest gift in having the best first boss in the world with my icon and one of the first true faces and pioneers of South Asian representation in the West, Mindy Kaling,” she added.
She recalled Kaling as someone who did not simply make the transition into fame easier, but remained direct with her while looking out for her as a young newcomer.
“She always kept it real and never went easy on me. She would always lead with her heart and truly saw me as a young kid who she realised she plucked out of nowhere and doesn't know this world. She really took such good care of me,” Ramakrishnan said.
With a characteristic touch of humour, she added: “So, I didn't crash out, I'm not shaving my head yet. We're still here. So, I guess we're all right.”
Now, with Best of the Best, Ramakrishnan is stepping into another story rooted in South Asian culture while playing a character navigating friendship, ambition, identity and the pressures of competition.
For an actor whose career began amid a major shift in how South Asian teenagers were portrayed on screen, the film offers another opportunity to expand what that representation can look like — this time through friendship, collegiate life and the energetic world of competitive dance.