Poorna Jagannathan On Breaking Asian Stereotypes

LOS ANGELES, CA (IANS) – 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 the 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 side characters and are always like the stereotypical Indian characters with absolutely no dimensions. But suddenly we have shown 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.”