Netflix star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan misses trips to Square One and gaming with family in Mississauga

Netflix star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan talked about life before fame in Mississauga and what it’s like to be in a commercial with her mom and brother in an interview with INsauga.com.

Recalling life before fame, Ramakrishnan said if she could go back in time, she might go to Square One Shopping Centre and “just chill.”

“I don’t think any human being is equipped for the idea of what fame means in today’s world,” Ramakrishnan told INsauga.com. “I think post-fame, the thing I miss most is going to a mall.”

Ramakrishnan said she doesn’t mind when fans come up to speak with her or ask to pose for selfies but she does have to make sure she looks her best in photos.

These days life is hectic for the star known for her role in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. Since the series wrapped up in 2023, Ramakrishnan has been tapped for two movies and appeared in a Tim Hortons commercial.

This fall, Ramakrishnan, her mother, Kiruthiha Kulendiren and brother, Vishwaa Ramakrishnan, are featured in a series of Nintendo spots for the new Super Mario Party Jamboree game. Ramakrishnan said the campaign was a natural fit for her and her family.

“I have been playing since I was a child,” Ramakrishnan told INsauga.com. “And Nintendo very much knows about this love affair.”

Filming was very natural and captured an authentic part of her family experience. She said the commercial, filmed in Canada, accurately depicts how she talks with her family.

“My mom is very much someone who does not like to be in front of the camera but she said she would be down for the sake of Nintendo,” she said. “We love to game together.”

Ramakrishnan continues to play games online with her family even when she is away from her Mississauga home.

“We like to catch up while we play a game.”

She has fond memories of gaming gatherings with family and even as an activity at Meadowvale Secondary School.

One teacher would use Nintendo Switch games to discuss coding and as a bonding moment for students in class.

“That was really, really cool,” she said.

Ramakrishnan said she still spends part of her time at home in Mississauga.

Last year, Ramakrishnan surprised fans at Fan Expo in Toronto when she attended as Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She said people recognized her at the event but it was a “cool moment” with “nerds and geeks showing up and bonding over the stuff they love.”

Up next, Ramakrishnan has roles in two films — a Freaky Friday re-boot called Freakier Friday, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, and Slanted a movie about a Chinese-American teen undergoing experimental surgery to become white.

“Both of them are very, very awesome scripts and they are so different from what I have done in the past,” she said.

She said Slanted will inspire conversation and Freakier Friday is part of the iconic Freaky Friday films.

“I think being even a small part of that legacy is so cool.”

Both films are expected to come out in 2025.