Yesterday I watched Best of the Best on Netflix. It’s such a lovely teenage film. All the young actors in it are really good, and they all act so naturally and beautifully. They’re a real pleasure to watch.
There are two main characters in the film, Anjali and Maya. Maya is played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, a very charming and adorable young actress. Some people on our Facebook seem to be getting worked up because, in an interview, she described her national identity as “Tamil Eelam.”
Her parents migrated to Canada because of the war, so they are part of the diaspora. Maitreyi was born in Canada and is, officially, a Canadian. (ChatGPT describes her as being of Sri Lankan Tamil descent.)
This is something that many children of people who have migrated around the world because of war or other circumstances have to grapple with: Where do I belong? Do I belong to the country where I live now, or to the country my parents came from?
Some people simply accept their official nationality and get on with their lives without giving the question much thought. But for someone like Maitreyi, who is a public figure, questions of identity can sometimes become complicated.
She identifies as Tamil, even though she doesn’t speak Tamil. Her appearance reflects her South Asian heritage. Her parents left Sri Lanka because they could not live there, and she grew up hearing stories about the country and her family’s past. Perhaps, based on those stories and experiences, she has developed her own sense of identity.
That’s her right. So why should it bother us?
If I ever had the chance, I’d cast her in one of my films. She’s a very talented actress.
Asoka Handagama
