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Following the recent release of her newest film Best of The Best, Canadian actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is facing heat for her explanation of her identity as a "Tamil Eelam woman". The actor, who shot to fame in her debut on-screen role in Mindy Kaling's Never Have I Ever, stars in Best of The Best alongside Priyanka Kedia, Hasan Minhaj, Lilly Singh, and more.
Speaking in an interview for the film, Ramakrishnan explained that she identifies as a Tamil Canadian rather than as a Sri Lankan. Her character in the film, Maya, shares the same identity.
In the film, Maya is a college student who joins a Bollywood-fusion dance team, and in a scene where another character assumes she is Indian, Maya corrects him, saying, "I'm Tamil. My family's from Sri Lanka."
It is reported that in an earlier draft, the line explained her identity as "Tamil Sri Lankan," and was changed after Ramakrishnan asked for the line to reflect how she actually describes herself.
Speaking about her clarification, Ramakrishnan said: "My culture is Tamil. My country is Canada. My roots are from Sri Lanka." Her parents, who were raised in Sri Lanka, fled the country as refugees during the country's civil war and later settled in Canada.
Her remarks have drawn criticism from a section of viewers in Sri Lanka, especially with regards to her use of the term "Eelam," which is associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Netizens have also voiced criticism for Ramakrishnan's comments, alleging that the actor is trying to separate herself from her Sri Lankan roots.
Following Ramakrishnan's comments, Sri Lankan nationalist Facebook pages called on followers to give Best of the Best poor ratings online, as per reports by The Jaffna Monitor, a Sri Lankan news publication. Another page shared a prompt to use on AI tools to generate negative reviews for the film.
Meanwhile, parts of the Tamil diaspora have expressed support for the actor's position, with several pointing that the distinction she notes between Tamil cultural identity and Sri Lankan national identity is common among families who left the country during the war.
This is not the first time Ramakrishnan's position on her identity has been addressed publicly. In 2019, soon after she was cast in Never Have I Ever, she clarified her stance to be described as Tamil Canadian.
"My identity isn't being Sri Lankan. That's not my country. My country is Canada. But my culture is definitely Tamil," Ramakrishnan explained then.