![]() ![]() What follows is a hilarious (and in parts, touching) tale of breaking rules, chasing dreams and deepening relationships. In a twist of fate, Jess’ path crosses with Jules (Keira Knightley) who invites her to join the local women’s football team. But her parents have other plans for her future: a law degree, and marriage. All Jess (Parminder Nagra), an 18-year-old girl from a traditional Sikh family in London, dreams of is becoming a professional football player like her idol David Beckham. The 2002 sports comedy-drama flick by Gurinder Chadha remains the holy grail of movies depicting the Indian diaspora experience. However, what starts out as “fake dating” to throw their parents off scent soon turns into something real. The duo then broker a deal: Suneeta will take the profile down if Asha attends a string of weddings with Ravi (Suraj Sharma). But like most desi moms, Suneeta (Veena Sood) is relentless and sets up a profile for Asha on a matrimonial site. Wedding SeasonĪsha (Pallavi Sharda) is a workaholic girl-boss living in New Jersey and has no time (or patience) for her mother’s matchmaking efforts. But things don’t always go according to plan. This some-part hilarious, some-part cringe Netflix series follows her attempts to secure the perfect matches for her privileged clientele both within India and overseas. Over the course of two seasons, matchmaker Sima Taparia from Mumbai has been growing steadily frustrated with the “expectations” of the “kids nowadays”. 10 shows and movies like Never Have I Ever that throw light on the Indian diaspora 1. However, many have attempted to do just so-and the end result has (in most cases) been favourable. ![]() While the latest season doesn’t shy away from these tropes necessarily, it does allow the characters room to grow and evolve and in some cases, break the narrative.ĭepicting the daily lives of the Indian diaspora without falling prey to clichés is challenging. In some ways, the show has been called out for stereotyping the Indian diaspora: overprotective mothers, pressures of getting into Ivy Leagues, forced arranged marriages and of course, the gossipy aunties at the temple. ![]() The popular Netflix series created by Mindy Kaling follows the coming-of-age story of feisty teenager Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a first-gen Indian-American growing up in California’s San Fernando Valley. Never Have I Ever does not claim to be representative of the entire Indian-American experience, nor does the fact that it is one of the few mainstream representations mean it has to contain perfect characters.Season 3 of Never Have I Ever may just be its best, yet. Some stereotypes exist for a reason and not every show with an Indian cast has to represent every single aspect of Indian culture – which is hugely diverse depending on state, class, and diaspora. Devi is asked for a picture because she looks like Princess Jasmine (an Arab character) and we see the gossipy judgemental community at the temple. We also see subtle insights into American Indian life – Kaling wanted to tell a story similar to her own life growing up – and the fact that it is actually written by her shines through. Ostensibly, Never Have I Ever embraces some stereotypes: Devi's cousin Kamala is meant to have an arranged marriage, her mother is a doctor with strict house rules and Devi herself is pressured to attend Princeton and takes part in all the extracurricular activities to boost her resume.īut alongside the stereotypes are examples of nuanced humour poking fun at their futility: we see three independent women – Devi, her mum Nalini and cousin Kamala – with their own minds and beliefs that show their characters and identities cannot be reduced to mere labels. Kaling said she based the character of Devi on her own experiences growing up and said she never intended for her to be a role model. She is selfish at times, rude to her mother and makes poor life choices based on what she thinks she should be like – most notably ditching her friends Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) when they need her most to impress a boy.īut aren't most 15-year-old teenagers guilty of all of the above? She is by no means a perfect character either, and admittedly is quite annoying. "Some loser tells me I'm too Indian, some other people think I'm not Indian enough," she says, encapsulating the classic perils of growing up in a culture where you are always made to feel like an outsider – a relatable situation for many immigrant children.ĭevi subverts the typical nerdy-Indian-girl stereotype: she is outspoken and confident, she openly talks about wanting to have sex and she doesn't do everything her mother tells her to do. Related: What Never Have I Ever needs to address in season twoīut in addition to the high-school dramz, we are shown Devi grappling with two cultures: her Indian home life and her desire to be a normal teenager. ![]()
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