“Never Have I Ever” seen an awesome mother-in-law character
By Fareeha Molvi
(This post was originally published on Instagram on July 29, 2021)
Picture any mother-in-law character you’ve ever seen onscreen. Is she usually dominating, snobby and out to get the daughter-in-law at every turn? From Hollywood to Bollywood, mother-in-laws are portrayed as wicked witches. Not only is it a tired trope, it’s just another iteration of pitting women against women. Yet again, Never Have I Ever disrupted that by showing a healthy relationship between daughter-in-law Nalini and mother-in-law Nirmala. In fact, Nirmala, the mother of Devi’s late father, is Nalini’s biggest supporter, even moving to America to help raise Devi.
“From Hollywood to Bollywood, mother-in-laws are portrayed as wicked witches. Not only is it a tired trope, it’s just another iteration of pitting women against women. “
By far, the most powerful scene in the season, is the one where Devi bursts in and tells her grandmother that Nalini is dating someone only a year after her husband passed. I was holding my breath to see what Nirmala would say to Nalini. Instead she reprimands Devi and says “” I was shocked! To see a brown mother-in-law character recognize her daughter-in-law as her own person with agency to decide her life as she pleases. Talk about smashing the patriarchy!
How did you feel after watching that scene? I couldn’t have been the only one bawling after that…
Have thoughts? Follow the discussion @browninmedia on Instagram