Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Deli BoysNewly released Hulu and Disney+ crime comedy seriesDeli Boysfeatures at least one face who’ll be familiar to sitcom lovers around the world. Poorna Jagannathan is best-known for playing Devi Vishwakumar’s mother, Nalini, in Netflix’s coming-of-age comedy seriesNever Have I Ever. The show was co-created by Mindy Kaling based on her own experiences of an overbearing Indian-American mother, and, inDeli Boys, Jagannathan is again cast in much the same role.
This new sitcom features the actor as Auntie Lucky, the no-nonsense guardian of the Dar brothers, after their fatherBaba Dar is killed in the opening episode ofDeli Boys. Just as she did inNever Have I Ever, Jagannathan serves as the sole parental figure to characters who’ve just lost their father, whilst exacting a strict regime upon those under her charge. Unlike Devi, though, the Dar brothers are old enough to know better, and follow Lucky down a path that Nalini would never approve of.
Poorna Jagannathan’s Deli Boys Character Is Very Similar To Her Never Have I Ever Role
Auntie Lucky Is A Matriarch Who Runs The Rule Over The Dar Brothers After Their Father’s Death
From the first moment we see her, Poorna Jagannathan’sDeli Boyscharacter, Auntie Lucky, appears as a matriarchal figure to Baba Dar’s two sons, Mir and Raj. As she hugs them following the death of her father, Raj sobs, “Are you gonna take care of us now?”
Lucky reluctantly confirms that she will, but she soon tasks her adoptive sons with the kind of business they’d never have expected to be a part of. Mir and Raj’s father was actually running an organized crime racket distributing cocaine to drug dealers in the area, andLucky cracks the whip to ensure that the two boys can pick up where Baba Dar left off.
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Likewise, throughoutNever Have I Ever, Nalini reluctantly plays the role of sole guardian and dual parent toDevi, following the heartbreakingdeath of her husband and Devi’s father, Mohan. She is fiercely protective of her daughter, as Lucky is of the Dar brothers. At one point, Lucky even appears ready to kill for Mir and Raj, something which Nalini seems capable of at times inNever Have I Ever, particularly in relation to the boys involved in Devi’s life.
On the other hand, Nalini is extremely tough on Devi, pushing her daughter to fulfill the expectations that she and husband always had of her. Lucky, too, forces Baba Dar’s sons into a life of crime, against their own wishes but in line with the wishes of their father.
Why Deli Boys Is Such A Great Follow-Up Show To Never Have I Ever For Poorna Jagannathan
It Allows Her To Build On The Strengths She Showcased In Never Have I Ever
Deli Boysallows Poorna Jagannathan to expand on the role that she played inNever Have I Ever. In many ways,it feels like a natural continuation of her role as Nalini Vishwakumar, playing to her strengthsas a tough-talking mother figure who struggles being a sole guardian but is protective of those she’s caring for to a fault. However, thecrime comedy showalso gives Jagannathan the chance to demonstrate a different side to her acting, with Auntie Lucky not only a caring matriarch but a ruthless crime enforcer who’ll kill her enemies without thinking twice.
InDeli Boys, Auntie Lucky seems fully initiated into the life of a gangster, and has the personality to match.
InNever Have I Ever, Nalini constantly doubts herself and is nervous about taking major steps in life, for herself and her daughter. Conversely, inDeli Boys, Auntie Lucky seems fully initiated into the life of a gangster, and has the personality to match. She understands that it’s a case of kill or be killed, and doesn’t have time for self-doubt.
In this way, Poorna Jagannathan is able to bring the strongest attributes of her previous character toDeli Boys, while venturing into new territory by incorporating aspects of the crime genre into her new role. It’s a winning combination, that makes Lucky one of the best characters in any new sitcom so far this year.
