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EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Never Have I Ever stars Poorna Jagannathan and Richa Moorjani DISCUSS how Devi handles grief
In an EXCLUSIVE candid chat with Pinkvilla, Never Have I Ever stars Poorna Jagannathan and Richa Moorjani shared their take on a popular debate - The way Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) handles grief; is it relatable or problematic? Watch their full interview below.
"You really Devi'd it up this time!" When your name becomes a literal adjective for 'teenage angst,' you know it's going to be a topic of grave debate and that's exactly why the Never Have I Ever fandom feels divided over how Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) handles grief. While for many, it's relatable why the teenager channels her anger into her daily life, battling with the immeasurable loss of her beloved father Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy), others find it problematic, arguing that grief isn't an excuse for her self-centred attitude, especially towards her loved ones and which always lands her in immense trouble.
In an EXCLUSIVE chat with Pinkvilla, we brought up this debate with Never Have I Ever stars Poorna Jagannathan and Richa Moorjani; with Season 2 finally out, who play Devi's mother and cousin Nalini and Kamala, respectively. When asked how they feel, as actors playing characters closest to Devi, about how she handles grief, Poorna shared, "Grief... Expression of grief is also very cultural and where we come from, being angry is, it's a hard thing to express. As South Asian women are told to just bottle it up, keep it down, don't bring that rage anywhere near us. We're not allowed to express that emotion and to see a South Asian woman so freely expressing her rage can be jarring to many."
Understanding why people could seem divided about Devi's actions, Jagannathan added, "It's a very new depiction of a South Asian woman. And it can be intimidating and putting off and a lot of things. I understand where it comes from but it's also very refreshing because... I mean, Richa says this a lot and I'm just gonna take a little bit from you but I think Devi allows us to find our voice and our rage which is much needed in today's world."
On the other hand, Richa spoke passionately about how Never Have I Ever has normalised talking about grief and mental health so openly. "And I also think that grief and mental health is such a personal experience. No two people experience grief the same way or express their grief the same way," Moorjani explained before continuing, "So I don't think it's really fair to say that, 'Oh, the way she grieves is unrealistic.' Because everybody grieves differently and there's no right way or wrong way of grieving and I'm just happy to see a storyline that normalises seeing a South Asian teenager going to therapy which is something that in our culture, therapy, like Nalini says, 'Therapy is for white people.' We don't think we need therapy. And that's not true (chuckles). And I'm just so glad to be a part of show that normalises all of that and brings it up in a way that is realistic and authentic and relatable but also deeply personal."
Poorna then chimed in conclusion, "I also, believe it or not, I gave... Dr. Ryan [Niecy Nash], the therapist, gives Devi some advice which is, 'You feel a lot and that means you're going to go on and have a very rich life but it's also... [Richa says, "I love that line"] I literally gave that piece of advice to someone recently, like yesterday. [laughs] Therapists give such great advice. You're like, 'That. Oh my God! I love that. I'm going to use that.' [Moorjani says, "So true."] So it's wonderful."
Watch Poorna Jagannathan and Richa Moorjani discussing how Devi handles grief, facing sexism in the workplace, Mindy Kaling and much more in a candid interview with Pinkvilla below:
Nevertheless, Never Have I Ever has successfully struck the right conversation on how teenagers deal with grief and especially, mental health struggles at large.
What is your stance on how Devi handles grief, especially in Never Have I Ever Season 2? Share your honest, personal thoughts with Pinkvilla in the comments section below.
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