Even as one of the largest diaspora groups in the U.S, Indian Americans have seen very little representation in mainstream American media—and historically, what representation does exist has rightfully been recognized as problematic. Dr. Madhavi Reddi, Assistant Professor of Communication at York College of Pennsylvania, discusses Indian representation in American film and television.
An early example, explains Reddi, is 1968’s The Party, in which White actor Peter Sellers portrays the Indian character Hrundi V. Bakshi, a bumbling actor who is accidentally invited to a Hollywood dinner party. Sellers’ character influenced the depiction of other Indian characters, such as White voice actor Hank Azaria’s vocal portrayal of The Simpsons’s (1989-present) Apu. To voice Apu, Azaria uses a heavy, inauthentic Indian accent, with the comedy of the character often relying upon said accent. “We were seeing these very caricatured depictions… emasculated depictions of Indian Americans, particularly the first-generation people,” says Reddi.
What has affected modern portrayals of Indian characters?
The advent of digital streaming, however, has brought about positive change to help combat these outdated stereotypes. Thanks to modern film and TV platforms relying on subscription- rather than ad-based revenue, diasporic creators have a greater voice than ever before. Reddi expands on this phenomenon, saying that this change could be attributed to the shift from broadcast to digital media viewing.
“So broadcast was more sort of ‘mainstream,’ but ‘mainstream’ means ‘white,’” says Reddi. “So it was more interested in catering to a dominant white audience. And that was also because, in the broadcast system, the revenue was ad dollars, and so you had to [cater to] what was dominantly deemed mainstream or generic or appealing to the most number of people—and again, that usually codes as white. But with the subscription-based revenue model, Netflix cares less [what you’re watching] as long as you pay the subscription. So that means that you can diversify the content that you see on Netflix.”
How have diasporic creatives contributed to this change?
Reddi discusses the rise in second-generation and “third culture” creators, which result in nuanced second-generation narratives, such as in coming-of-age series Never Have I Ever (2020-2023), starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Tamil-American protagonist Devi Vishwakumar; others include dramedy The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021-present) and reality show Indian Matchmaking (2020-present). This “second-generation wave,” Reddi says, can be attributed in part to the growing visibility of Indian Americans in mainstream American spaces, such as in film and politics.
However, she also notes that some Indian American public figures often still uphold assimilationist ideas; for example, creatives like Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari tend to mispronounce Indian names. Kaling’s characters also tend to be “very assimilationist,” says Reddi. “A lot of it is, despite challenging or defying stereotypes or acknowledging public discourse around diversity… sort of very assimilationist in the sense that her characters kind of aspire to white ideals. Even with Never Have I Ever, why is John McEnroe the narrator for this Indian American teenager?”
What is the future of Indian representation in American media?
Reddi remains tentative over the future of Indian American and diasporic media. “When [diversity] no longer becomes commercially viable to people… what does that do to these diversity narratives?” says Reddi. “I would say that right now, we’re celebrating diverse content: we’re creating space for diverse voices, diverse content. I just worry that, is there a time period where that becomes not popular anymore? And then, what does that [mean]? Like, do we retrograde? What happens to the media industry?”
“My hopes would be that we see representation that addresses the experiences specifically in the Indian American context, that expresses or conveys the experiences of Indian Americans in an authentic and nuanced way,” says Reddi. When asked about the hesitance of the film and TV industry, she says, “That is something I hope will change, that people feel comfortable in their own skin, and that we are able to create a society that makes room for that.”
Want to know more about diversity in the American film industry? Check out Hannah Le’s Hollywood Diversity Acting Report.
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