Controversy after Sri Lankan-origin Netflix star Maitreyi says 'I am Eelam Tamil'

A strong debate has emerged in international and social media regarding the national and cultural identity of Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (my-TRAY-ee RAH-mə-KRISH-nən). This topic has resurfaced with the release of the film 'Best of the Best' on Netflix on September 18, 2026.

In this film, she portrays Maya, a South Asian American student involved in a Bollywood fusion dance troupe. With the involvement of writers Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam, renowned musician A. R. Rahman created an original Tamil song titled 'Aamaasee' for the film's final scene, which Maitreyi stated was a fulfillment of her late grandmother's dream. However, it is noteworthy that this creation has led to criticism from various parties, focusing on her national background and identity.

Born on December 28, 2001, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, 24-year-old Maitreyi comes from a Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu family background. Her father, Ram Selvarajah, works as a systems analyst for the Ontario government, and her mother is Kiruthiha Kulendiren. She also has an older brother named Vishwaa Ramakrishnan. Due to the civil war in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009, her parents left Sri Lanka as refugees in the late 1980s and settled in Toronto, Canada, where one of the largest Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora communities resides. In 2019, Maitreyi's mother stated, "We were displaced not by our will but due to prevailing circumstances." Her parents worked to raise their children without burdening them with the past trauma of the war, and Maitreyi did not know the political background until she was over 10 years old. Although she was taken to Tamil protests, such as the Mother's Day protest on Toronto's Gardiner Expressway, during her childhood, she did not properly understand the political reasons behind them at the time.

At the age of 17, Maitreyi was selected from approximately 15,000 applicants through an open audition and entered the field with the lead role of Devi Vishwakumar in Netflix's 'Never Have I Ever' (2020–2023) series. For those filming, she even postponed her enrollment in the Human Rights and Equity Studies program at York University. She later contributed voice acting for Priya in Pixar's 'Turning Red,' as Zipp Storm in 'My Little Pony,' and as Ella in 'Freakier Friday' (2025). She is also set to participate in 'Angry Birds Movie 3' (December 2026), 'The Netherfield Girls,' and the second season of 'Elle'.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has refused to identify herself as Sri Lankan since her very first major media interview. In 2019, speaking to NOW magazine in Toronto, she stated, "I made it very clear to my agent and publicist that 'Tamil Canadian' is very important to me... My identity is not Sri Lankan. That's not my country. My country is Canada. But my culture is definitely Tamil." According to this statement, which is even noted on IMDb, she prefers to identify herself as 'Eelam Tamil' rather than Sri Lankan Tamil. In 2026, joining Hasan Minhaj's show, she also said, "As an Eelam Tamil woman, I love my identity." Furthermore, in 2025, speaking before the Ilankai Tamil Sangam in New Jersey, she stated that there is no single yardstick for Tamil identity, and even if she doesn't speak Tamil fluently or know Bharatanatyam, her Tamil identity is not lost.

Among the Tamil Canadian community who left the country due to the war, many reject the national designation 'Sri Lankan' because they consider the Sri Lankan state to be the party that waged war against the Tamil people. The term 'Eelam Tamil' is used to refer to the Tamil people in the northern and eastern parts of the island, distinct from Indian Tamils, and Maitreyi also uses this term. For this reason, two conflicts have arisen against her on social media. On one side, when she plays South Asian / Indian characters, Indian groups accuse her, saying, "She is not Indian but has a Sri Lankan background." However, she has never identified herself as Indian. On the other side, many Sri Lankan social media accounts are angered by her use of the term 'Eelam Tamil' instead of 'Sri Lankan Tamil.' The editor of 'Tamil Guardian' points out that even artificial intelligence (AI) accounts have been used to organize such actions against her.

Maitreyi, who did not grow up in Sri Lanka, did not visit the country as a child due to her parents' past psychological trauma. She first visited Sri Lanka in 2020 at the age of 18. Later, in February 2025, during a visit to Colombo, she posted photos on Instagram including buying a saree (where she bought a red saree), visiting kovils, enjoying Rio ice cream, and watching the sunset. She has also traveled to India and met famous actresses like Jyothika there. Despite rejecting a Sri Lankan national identity, she maintains a clear affection for Colombo and Tamil culture, food, name, and family history.