Netflix's The Twits star explains why Roald Dahl film is 'not a typical kids movie'

*Warning - This article contains minor spoilers for The Twits. *

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, best known for her role as Devi Vishwakumar in Netflix's teen comedy Never Have I Ever, has opened up about her new role in The Twits.

The animated film, which is on Netflix this week, is an ambitious adaptation of Roald Dahl's original short story of the same name.

In the movie Ramakrishnan, 23, plays brave orphan Beesha, one of the new characters brought into the story alongside her best friend Bubsy (Ryan Lopez).

Meanwhile, Hollywood legend Margo Martindale plays Mrs Twit and British comedian Johnny Vegas portrays her husband Mr Twit, reports the Mirror.

Netflix's official synopsis for the film directed by Phil Johnston reads: "The Twits tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Twit, the meanest, smelliest, nastiest people on the face of the earth, and their epic battle against a family of magical Muggle-Wumps and two brave children who refuse to let the Twits' cruelty win."

In an exclusive chat, Ramakrishnan explained why this new movie adaptation of The Twits has more hidden depths than fans might expect.

She reflected: "Phil and I had a lot of conversations about the underlying messages of the film and there's a lot that we're saying on our social commentary side of things.

"We're not trying to be coy about it and I like to think it's a very poignant narrative that we're bringing forth.

"The thing I love so much about Beesha - and I didn't think they were going to do this - I thought it was going to be a typical 'girl who wants to make the world better' and she just takes down these awful people.

"And, okay fine, she doesn't know how to ask for help and so she just learns that she has to ask for help, and then by asking for help she fixes the day.

"But what we also do that I love is that - not only does she not know how to ask for help and she needs to learn how to - she also becomes a bad person.

"There's a moment there when she truly is becoming a twit and she, as many of us do, take the easy path and forget kindness and empathy.

"And she becomes no better, but she realises it and she clocks that she is changing and that by her changing into a twit she's not making anything better, and she doesn't want to live in a world like that.

"I hope people take that away," she stressed. "Beesha at the end of the movie is not friends with the twits. It's not, 'yay, we're all friends now and we all understand and love each other. It's not that.

"It's Beesha looking at these people and going, 'I am so sorry for you and I don't know who hurt you, but I am giving you kindness because that is the best way forward and I'm still going to ask for respect from my family, my friends and everyone else around me. I don't know what your problem is, but I wish you well.'

"That's probably the most mature moment for Beesha in the film and I think almost every character in the film, because the twits are not mature, by any means."

Filmmaker Johnston, renowned for his contributions to Zootopia and Wreck-it Ralph, has also outlined in a statement how "now more than ever, it's a complicated time to be strange."

Discussing his motivations for transforming Dahl's beloved tale into a social commentary, he revealed: "Hatred as sport has become a national pastime. Empathy is scoffed at as weakness. The instinct to bury one's head in the sand and hope it all goes away is natural.

"I decided to do something else: I made a big dumb comedy about the world as I see it now."

The Twits is available to stream on Netflix.