Maitreyi Ramakrishnan graduates from high school and goes full Step Up in Best of the Best
A film built around dance lives or dies on its choreography, and Khan knows it. She drew her inspiration from Bollywood but had to think carefully about what these sequences should look like without giving in to tropes, working with choreographers Phillip Chbeeb, Makenzie Dustman and Joya Kazi to ensure each routine was essential to the story. “I didn’t want to be constrained by what’s ‘cool’ or ‘trendy,’ and I wanted to embrace the magic and big spectacle of Bollywood. We might not jump in the middle of a field and dance in the movie, but Bollywood gives us permission to dream, and I wanted to recreate that,” Khan says.
Emily V. Aragones/Netflix
Ramakrishnan was the first actor to be cast and underwent an intensive dance boot camp for six days a week, averaging at eight hours a day. Despite having no formal dance training, the actor jokes about how she can still “break it down” at a party. The bootcamps, though, were another matter. “It was humbling. I was an overconfident dancer and could pick up choreography very fast, but in the beginning, my body physically could not keep up,” she confesses. “I was frustrated that my mental readiness and my strength were not in sync, and I had to give myself grace. Now, I truly have never felt more confident in my body.”
That same self-possession shapes how she approached Maya while working through her own identity. Best known for playing Devi in Never Have I Ever, Ramakrishnan had to learn the art of separating her foray into film from her previous experience working on a show. “When you do a TV show, you’re growing up alongside the character’s arc. Working on a film, with a character like Maya, was so different. I was more self-aware after going through Devi’s journey, so I was ready to understand who Maya would become and give her that same appreciation.” Playing someone as layered as Maya meant sitting with her flaws rather than judging them, including the moments in the film when she pushes back against her team captain, Ronak, or withdraws from people trying to root for her. “I see Maya as a younger sister. When she’s making a flawed decision, I need to understand why it’s wrong so I can convey it accurately. Otherwise, it just comes across as obnoxious.”
Emily V. Aragones/Netflix
