In these pandemic times, it’s not easy to summon up the creative juices to wrangle a show-stopping Halloween costume. Sometimes you gotta go for the no-brainer.
That’s what Mindy Kaling did, and we’re happy to report she still nailed it.
The creator of the popular Netflix teen comedy “Never Have I Ever” posted a photo on Thursday of her Halloween outfit. It’s Mindy, dressed up as the lead character she created, Devi, who is based loosely on Mindy’s own teenhood!
Kaling channelled Devi Vishwakumar’s youthful layered look with an orange spaghetti strap tank over white T-shirt, paired with big hoop earrings. She somehow managed to find an olive green chenille sweater to tie around her waist and finished the ensemble with a strappy orange backpack. It’s all about the details, right?
Kaling’s recreation clearly impressed the star of the show, Mississauga Ont.’s own Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
But also, maybe this is the only appropriate response when the creator of your show pays homage to ... you, in her show? You can see how meta this is getting.
“Never Have I Ever” was an instant hit when it dropped in May. The show follows 15-year-old Devi as she navigates her social life, her identity as an Indian American teen, and the death of her father. Kaling, who grew up in Boston, has said the show draws from her own experiences but isn’t explicitly autobiographical.
Regardless, it has given Kaling fodder for a good Halloween getup, and we have to give her props for even coming up with a costume; the “Mindy Project” star and creator recently revealed she secretly gave birth to her second child, Spencer, in September. So, she’s probably been a bit busy.
Ramakrishnan has been busy, too: In October, she became a global ambassador for Plan Canada and will advocate for girls’ rights around the world in her role. Most recently, she spoke out about the rampant abuse girls face on social media platforms.
“I don’t think it’s a question of what girls should be doing,” she previously told HuffPost Canada. “It’s a question of holding these social media platforms accountable for perpetuating this environment that makes it unsafe. I’m not going to tell a girl, ‘Hey maybe don’t post ‘that kind’ of post, or don’t create this kind of content,’ because that’s wrong. Let’s hold the people who are creating this environment accountable.”
Ramakrishnan looks to be using her influence for good, much like Kaling. The big question now is, will Maitreyi dress up as Mindy in return? Stay tuned for a possibly even more meta update.
Update: Reader, our prediction came true! Ramakrishnan posted this hilarious send-up of her Mindy-character impersonations, on Halloween:
The mutual-appreciation forces are strong with these two. Well played, both!
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