Never Have I Ever...

....binge-watched a show so fast on Netflix. (Move over, Friends). Never been a fan of teen rom-coms, I was eager to dismiss this show as being predictable and silly, without even so much as glancing at it on Netflix's homepage. But when memes started circulating on Twitter, I knew had to give it a shot.

And I was hooked. So hooked that I watched all 10 episodes within 6 hours. I cringed, I cried, & actually laughed out loud.

Never Have I Ever isn't just your everyday, yawn-inducing teen rom-com. It's a fresh, coming-of-age drama that revolves around a rebel-without-a-cause Indian-American teenage girl who's learning to grapple with the grief of her father's death, & navigating her way through the complicated web of fickle friendships, hot crushes, school rivals, parenting, & trying to fit in. It's about a girl who's still struggling to find herself & come to peace with her own identity - as an immigrant, as a daughter, as a friend, as a girlfriend, & mainly, herself. 

No, Dewi also isn't your typical girl next door. She's a firefracker who'd rather rebel & go on an alcohol binge at a friend's drunken brawl of a party than play the perfect pious girl who dutifully attends pujas & charms gossipy Indian aunties. She's a smart-aleck, but without the overconfidence. She's a nerd, but not a dork. She's impulsive but she's also kind of selfish. She's got the swagger of Kanye - but she also doesn't. I mean, she asks Paxton point-blank if he'd like to have sex with her.

.......

GIVE THE GIRL A FRIGGIN' COOKIE LADDOO, GUYS. 

But while I did pray for more of Paxton's shirtless moments, I was also bowled over by Dewi's sheer confidence. Her boldness. I wish I had the confidence to speak up to people like that at her age. I loved her family & how they struggled to assimilate into the American dream as first-generation immigrants, but retain their Indian-ness & pride at the same time. I loved it all. But more than that, NHIE was a teen rom-com that hit home on a lot of levels, as a fellow Brown girl. It reminded me of how it's like to feel lost & insecure, as a teenager in high-school, & just life in general - but eventually, find her footing. 

Yes, the show has high-school stereotypes from the spotty, bespectacled loner kid to the hot jock & all, but it also shows a vulnerability to these characters that no-other show has done so far - which is what makes it so relatable. There's Paxton, your hot jock from the swim team. Who also, seems to care for Dewi in small little ways. There's Kamala, the picture-perfect 'good Indian girl' who's desperately in love with her Chinese-American boyfriend, & is torn at the idea of arranged marriage. And then there's Ben. Pretentious, pompous, annoying, but also lonely, sad Ben who just wants attention from his busy parents. Mindy Kaling's reversal of stereotypes is in my opinion a highly-needed, refreshing break.

But can we just take a moment to appreciate the DIVERSITY of the cast? Indians. Not one, but TWO biracials - a half Japanese-half American, an Afro-Latina, Hispanics, Blacks, Chinese-Americans, queers, but my favourite of all-

A girl with Down's Syndrome.

REPRESENT, Mindy Kaling. Whatever you decide to do with Dewi next (i.e. give the show a second season please & thank you) - I'll be waiting with my lassi & big box of idlis - that's for sure.