Never have I ever…binge watched a whole show in one night
Honestly, I love a good Netflix binge as much as the next person, but watching Never Have I Ever once it was released on Netflix back in April, much like a good book you can’t put down, became a bit of an obsession. An obsession that I binged in one evening. Woops.
I already knew of Mindy Kaling from the likes of The Mindy Project and from the film The Late Show starring Emma Thompson, but hadn’t yet come across writer, Lang Fisher. I’ve always enjoyed Mindy’s capacity for silly humour and Gilmore Girls-style impossibly quick monologues - it’s my bread and butter - so when I heard that Mindy had co-written a new show for Netflix, I was immediately interested. Although the premise and trailer seemed to me like I was too old for the show, what with it being set in an American high school and me edging ever nearer to my thirties, I didn’t actually feel too old once I started watching it.
Yes, Never Have I Ever is in its essence a teen romance, but it has an underlying message that grief has many manifestations and looks different to everyone.
The fact that the show is fused with humour that focuses on ‘Indian-ness’ or Indian traditions that 15-year-old Devi (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) mocks or is embarrassed of, adds another layer that often gets missed in media representations of westernised cultures. Whilst trivial to Devi, these are issues that Indian women brought up in America, and likely other countries too, face in their day to day lives. Whether it’s the heavy weight of Devi’s mother's expectations, compulsory attendance to Indian religious holidays and celebrations, or the fact that Devi’s cousin Kamala (played by Richa Moorjani) is forced to live in their house whilst attending college. Ultimately Devi’s uncomfortableness about her Indian heritage, that she purposefully tends to dip in and out of when she feels like it, is what fuels the disagreements with her mother. Ultimately though, it’s their different ways of dealing with their grief that plays the biggest role in this show.
One thing’s for sure, Never Have I Ever would not be half as endearing without Devi’s constant battle with self-centred teen narcissism, her raging lust, her Indian culture and identity, and ultimately her deep love for her friends and family.
Top quotes from the show
‘We are smart. and idiots are banging all the time. We can learn how to do it, too’
‘I could never be a model. I'm too curvacious’
‘I'd like to be invited to a party with alcohol and hard drugs. I'm not gonna do them, I'd just like the opportunity to say, "No cocaine for me, thanks. I'm good.’
‘Yeah, you better go to your room before I give you a smack. Smacking is still an acceptable punishment in many minority cultures.’
‘Aunties are older Indian women who have no blood relation to you, but are allowed to have opinions about your life and all your shortcomings. And you have to be nice to them because you’re Indian.’
