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Jay Shetty Podcast

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan ON: Imposter Syndrome & Navigating Self-Doubt In Any Stage of Your Journey

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan chats with Jay Shetty about her acting journey. Breaking through the film industry requires a lot of hard work and a lot of people don’t actually take into consideration the amount of work she has put in to…

Maitreyi RamakrishnanguestJay Shettyhost

Dec 13, 202157mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Imposter-syndrome whiplash and the trap of negative comments
Maitreyi describes how self-confidence can flip day to day, and how a single negative comment can derail self-love. She admits to an unhealthy habit of searching through positive comments just to find one negative one.
- •Self-love can feel inconsistent, swinging between pride and self-doubt
- •A single comment can trigger feelings of being "a joke"
- •She used to scroll until she found a negative comment, then shut off her phone
- •She recognizes this pattern as unhealthy
Growing up Tamil Canadian: identity, community, and appreciating her parents
Jay asks what it was like growing up South Asian in Canada, and Maitreyi contrasts her experience with her character’s. She reflects on how her upbringing exposed her to diverse peers and helped her define what being Tamil Canadian means, while also recognizing how essential her parents have been to who she is.
- •She grew up around classmates from many backgrounds, which broadened her worldview
- •That environment pushed her to think intentionally about her identity as Tamil Canadian
- •She credits her parents as foundational support in her life
- •She notes she wouldn’t have acknowledged that support as readily when she was younger
From "black sheep" to humanizing her parents
Maitreyi shares how she once felt like the outsider in her family compared with her studious older brother. Over time, moments of disagreement and seeing her parents’ vulnerability helped her stop idolizing them and instead relate to them as humans.
- •She saw herself as the rebellious younger sibling compared to her "good" older brother
- •Feeling like she couldn’t connect with family shifted as she realized they were "cool to talk to"
- •She describes the transition from idolizing parents to noticing their flaws and emotions
- •Humanizing her parents deepened her connection with them
Learning to speak up: justice, code-switching, and standing her ground at school
Maitreyi explains that her rebelliousness came from a strong sense of justice instilled by her parents. She describes being raised to speak her mind, not code-switch, and to intervene when she saw bullying or unfairness—even if it meant frequent visits to the principal’s office.
- •Her parents taught her to speak up when she sees injustice or bullying
- •She says she didn’t code-switch, because her mother taught her she didn’t have to
- •Her mother’s blunt guidance: if someone punches you, you get one punch back
- •In high school she reported unfair situations and became familiar with the principal’s office for advocacy, not misconduct
Avoiding being alone—and finding acting through escapism
Maitreyi admits she hated being alone through most of high school because she didn’t like herself and didn’t want to sit with her thoughts. After-school theater began as a way to avoid going home, but it unexpectedly became the path that led her into acting and learning to tolerate silence.
- •She avoided solitude because she disliked herself and her own thoughts
- •She surrounded herself with people to avoid internal conversations
- •She joined after-school theater primarily to stay at school and not go home
- •Over time she learned to sit with silence and be less harsh on herself
Self-worth, Devi as a mirror, and why more people should talk about it
Asked why she didn’t like herself, Maitreyi says playing Devi helped her realize self-worth struggles are widespread. She breaks down how confidence in performance (like grades) differs from confidence in personal worth, and why self-love can collapse over small triggers.
- •She distinguishes between being loud/outspoken and having self-worth
- •Playing Devi helped her see these struggles aren’t rare or individual
- •She argues self-love is unstable and can shift quickly with small events
- •She advocates talking about self-worth more openly because many people relate
Generational divides vs. universal experiences—and her grandmother as her best friend
Maitreyi pushes back on generation-versus-generation framing, saying it often divides people unnecessarily. She highlights shared human experiences like mental health and self-confidence, then describes a close bond with her grandmother where they learn from each other across age and context.
- •She finds generational labels can be reductive and divisive
- •She acknowledges different upbringings (like technology) but emphasizes universal issues
- •She describes mutual learning with her grandmother, whom she calls her best friend
- •She shares how she explains slang and topics like LGBTQI terms when her grandmother asks
Empathy as a skill: listening, wanting to be heard, and her acting approach
Maitreyi connects empathy to her desire to be listened to, especially as someone navigating an industry unfamiliar to her family and friends. She explains her acting process as defending a character’s choices like a lawyer, making even bad decisions understandable through empathy.
- •She listens deeply to people she cares about partly because she wants the same in return
- •She describes feeling unheard in school and valuing being heard now
- •She has no formal acting-method training and says she’s never taken an acting class
- •Her process: understand and defend the character’s choices so they feel believable to viewers
Letting go of a childhood dream and discovering a passion for theater
Maitreyi recounts wanting to be a Disney/Pixar animator from age 10 until realizing it made her miserable. She felt like she’d disappointed her younger self, but her mother encouraged her to apply for theater, recognizing her passion before she did.
- •Her long-held dream was animation until she realized it wasn’t sustainable for her happiness
- •She felt disappointed and unsure after abandoning that identity
- •Her mother suggested adding theater applications during university planning
- •A grade 12 drama exam became a turning point where she felt proud and capable
The audition tape day: depression, a best friend’s push, and doing it anyway
Maitreyi shares she was depressed in her last year of high school and nearly skipped the audition to take a nap. Her best friend encouraged her to try, and they filmed at a community center, figuring out equipment basics and industry terms as they went, while assuming nothing would come of it—so they focused on doing their best.
- •She says she was depressed and almost opted out that day
- •Her best friend introduced the opportunity and motivated her to participate
- •They filmed away from home noise and learned basics like what a slate is
- •She assumed they might never watch it, so she focused on giving her best effort anyway
First day on set: excitement, trust the crew, and learning without shame
Maitreyi recalls the first scene ever shot for the show and how her excitement made her speak too fast. She describes two early lessons: trust others to do their jobs while you focus on yours, and stay alert by learning and asking questions—crediting the show’s environment for making her feel safe as a first-timer.
- •The show shoots on the Universal lot in LA; she recalls the exact first scene filmed
- •She was told to slow down because she was excited, not nervous
- •She learned to respect every crew role and focus on her own responsibilities
- •She emphasizes learning, asking questions, and credits the leadership for a supportive set culture
Living with impostor syndrome: comments, luck vs. hard work, and comparison
Maitreyi says impostor syndrome shows up frequently, often triggered by small criticisms and her tendency to fixate on negativity. She pushes back on being labeled “lucky,” arguing that while timing matters, sustained success comes from hard work, and she cautions people against comparing their path to others’ timelines.
- •Impostor syndrome can be triggered by criticism and online comments
- •She acknowledges past unhealthy patterns of seeking negative feedback
- •She distinguishes luck in opportunity from hard work in sustaining the show’s success
- •She emphasizes that people enter creative careers through different paths and warns against comparison undermining self-worth
‘Respect existence, expect resistance’: true vs. token diversity and pushing representation forward
Maitreyi explains her bio phrase came from something she saw online and later used in a grade 12 mural centered on respect, including LGBTQI symbolism. She argues for “true” diversity rather than tokenism, shares frustration at how slowly change happens, and insists audiences and creators shouldn’t have to settle for a single type of South Asian story.
- •She adopted the phrase after seeing it online and later painted it on a grade 12 mural
- •She frames it as a demand to respect people’s identities or face backlash
- •She criticizes token diversity and calls for writers to build true diversity into scripts
- •She describes becoming newly aware—and angry—about lack of South Asian representation after her show’s release
Standing up early: public education advocacy and defending a classmate
Maitreyi ties her activism to her upbringing, mentioning she posted about a walkout opposing cuts to public education and refused to remove it. She shares a story (recalled by a friend) about confronting kids who bullied a Tamil girl for wearing traditional clothing, then checking if she was okay and walking away.
- •She links her activism to how her parents raised her
- •She describes participating in a walkout against cuts to public education and keeping those posts up
- •She emphasizes she’s still learning and capable of mistakes, resisting being put on a pedestal
- •She recounts confronting bullies targeting a classmate’s traditional dress and telling them to leave her alone
Fast Five and closing reflections: morals, mistakes, being watched by millions
In the rapid-fire wrap-up, Maitreyi shares short answers about advice, habits, and lessons learned, while still weaving in her humor and humility. She highlights sticking to morals, rejecting “don’t make a fuss,” admitting her phone habit, and embracing being a work in progress—alongside a broader reflection that humans weren’t meant to be observed by millions.
- •Best advice: stick to your morals; also says don’t take no for an answer
- •Worst advice: don’t make a fuss about it
- •She admits her first and last habit of the day is going on her phone, often for cartoons
- •Biggest lesson: it’s okay to make mistakes; she describes herself as a work in progress

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