“Never Have I Ever” seen 2 brown girls on camera

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By Fareeha Molvi

(This post was originally published on Instagram on July 27, 2021)

I FINISHED “Never Have I Ever!” If you’re here for discourse on Team Paxton vs. Team Ben, look elsewhere because honestly that was the least interesting storyline. This season starts out silly but I was in my feels by the end! I was especially interested in Devi’s dynamic with new girl Aneesa, Nalini’s grief journey and her relationship with her mother-in-law, Nirmala.

First up: Aneesa (played by Megan Suri). She is not the first cool Muslim woman character I’ve talked about here (see: Fatima from Four Weddings and a Funeral – another Mindy Kaling production) and I’m happy for that. But it is still rare to see two brown women opposite each other in a show. Usually, you only get the one brown woman character (Hannah Simone in New Girl, Jameela Jamil in the Good Place). It’s also rare to see two Indian characters in the same frame–one Hindu, one Muslim–with a plotline that doesn’t focus on religion. As I’ve mentioned before, Indian and South Asian Muslims are usually siloed from mainstream depictions of India and South Asia, even though the region is home to a significant portion of the global Muslim population. In reality, Hindu and Muslim South Asians have a lot of cultural common ground, with a few key differences. Like their names, as Mr. Shapiro points out, Aneesa has an Arabic name because she’s Muslim. But she still relates to Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) in a lot of cultural ways like, greeting elders, overbearing parents and a taste for pani puri. Shout out to Lena Khan for directing the Aneesa episodes with authenticity and finesse!

“It’s rare to see two Indian characters in the same frame–one Hindu, one Muslim–with a plotline that doesn’t focus on religion. As I’ve mentioned before, Indian and South Asian Muslims are usually siloed from mainstream depictions of India and South Asia”

I especially loved the way the show explored the weird tension of being the only two brown people in high school where everyone expects you to be instant BFF’s but you’re also kind of suspect of each other. And everyone ALWAYS mixes you up. Good times. 

I could go on and on BUT I want to hear what you think of Aneesa.