Maitreyi Ramakrishnan landed the iconic role of Devi Vishwakumar in Netflix's Never Have I Ever, delivering a breakout performance that resonated with audiences worldwide. However, her journey to securing the part involved a grueling audition process she initially approached with complete nonchalance.

Ramakrishnan viewed the casting call as merely an excuse to spend time with friends, only realizing the magnitude of what she'd accomplished weeks later.

When she discovered she'd beaten 15,000 other aspiring actors globally.

Speaking on the Dinner's On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson podcast, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan revealed her remarkably casual attitude toward the initial audition.

"I was only like, I'm doing this to hang out with my friends, and that's it," she admitted, explaining that she saw the self-tape session as a social opportunity rather than a career-defining moment. 

Ramakrishnan described her confusion as the process advanced, telling Tyler Ferguson that she misunderstood standard industry practices.

"I had no concept of what a callback is like, what a self-tape in a slate? Cuz I'm thinking like in my high school, everyone gets a role," she shared, highlighting her complete unfamiliarity with professional audition protocols.  The reality of her achievement became clear only at the final stage.

"I found out it was down to me and one other girl, and the rest was history, and then I found out that I'd beat out 15,000 people around the world," Ramakrishnan recalled, expressing astonishment at the global scale of the search. 

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Now, Ramakrishnan is returning to Netflix with a very different kind of coming-of-age story.

Ramakrishnan stars as Maya in Best of the Best, Netflix's 2026 comedy about two childhood best friends who join UCLA's competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team. Alongside Priyanka Kedia's Anjali, Maya finds herself navigating the intense path toward the U.S. championship, with friendship and ambition colliding along the way.

The film is directed by Lena Khan, with Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam serving as writers. Minhaj also appears in the cast, alongside Ankur Rathee, Janina Gavankar, Chaneil Kular, Lilly Singh, Shreya Navile and others.

Unlike the supplied premise, the film is set around collegiate Bollywood-fusion dance at UCLA rather than a national scholarship competition. Best of the Best arrives on Netflix on September 18, 2026, continuing Ramakrishnan's relationship with the platform that introduced her to audiences through Never Have I Ever.

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