Actress Poorna Jagannathan, who plays the role of an Indian immigrant mother named Nalini in the Netflix series 'Never Have I Ever', has opened up about how the show has broken all barriers of type casting South Asian characters.
Actress Poorna Jagannathan, who plays the role of an Indian immigrant mother named Nalini in the Netflix series 'Never Have I Ever', has opened up about how the show has broken all barriers of type casting South Asian characters.
Actress Poorna Jagannathan, who plays the role of an Indian immigrant mother named Nalini in the Netflix series 'Never Have I Ever', has opened up about how the show has broken all barriers of type casting South Asian characters.
Asked if it feels like a pat on the shoulder with 'Never Have I Ever' helping to break Asian stereotypes, Poorna told IANS: "I always say this about the show that finally our outsides are matching our insides. What I mean by that is our representation in media... we are finally being represented and reflected as who we are inside our house and how we feel inside. There's a balance..."
The actress agreed that Indians have been typecast and given characters with absolutely no dimensions.
She added: "We are always such a side characters and are always like the stereotypical Indian characters with absolutely no dimensions. But suddenly we have shows like 'Never Have I Ever'."
Drawing a parallel with her character of Nalini, Poorna said that she herself is an "immigrant mother".
She added that the show tells a lot about what "it means to be an immigrant, mother, what it means to struggle, joy, as a woman to have desires and sexuality. What an amazing feeling to step into these characters' shoes that has a fully lived life as an actor but also as a South Asian woman."