The highly anticipated season two of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” premiered March 25. Featuring breathtaking countryside views, a stunning wardrobe and a diverse cast, “Bridgerton” weaves in all of these aspects and more into a story of love, duty and fate. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the execution of season two’s plot, I found the show a joy to watch because it’s been one of the first with respectful representation and education of South Asian culture.
My problem with a lot of shows that claim to support South Asian characters is that they mistake jokes about the Indian characters as proper representation (Netflix’s own “Never Have I Ever” is a great example of this). This has led South Asian characters to be written into a narrow stereotype that becomes hard for shows to break away from if they want success. “Bridgerton” completely broke away from this stereotype and never once made any characters’ ethnicity a part of the script. Instead, comments about the Sharma family were solely on their personality and actions. It was refreshing for once to see the writing be blind to the diverse cast. It felt as though the Indian characters were seamlessly part of the plot, and not just a token of representation.
I loved that the show subtly incorporated small bits of Indian culture throughout. For example, the Sharmas spoke bits of Tamil and Hindi, making conversations more authentic. Kate calls her father “Appa” (Tamil for “dad”), Edwina calls Kate “didi” (Hindi for “older sister”), and Kate calls Edwina “bon” (Bengali for “little sister”). There was also a scene when Kate was oiling Edwina’s hair. Applying oil to the hair to keep it healthy has long been a part of Indian culture, but has only recently been popularized in Western media, specifically on Tik Tok, as “slugging.” It was a full-circle moment to see that scene make it on the big screen, as many of my South Asian friends and I remember getting our own hair oiled by our moms as children.
I also found it satisfying that the actresses chosen were not just Indian, but also dark-skinned. Colorism is so widespread not only in America but also in India. Products that lighten skin, such as “Fair and Lovely” are heavily marketed among consumers. Bollywood films struggle with representing dark-skinned actresses and have a track record of casting light-skinned actresses even when they are playing someone from a place where the majority of people are dark-skinned.
It made me happy to see that Hollywood is in some ways more willing to cast dark-skinned Indian actresses as their main characters. What’s more is that the show’s makeup artists did a great job of highlighting their dark skin, instead of attempting to hide it by using bases and foundation to lighten their color.
Another gratifying detail throughout the show was the slight difference in jewelry worn by the Sharma sisters and other families. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but I noticed that the Sharma ladies wore gold more often over silver or diamonds. In one episode, Edwina even wears gold “jhumkas,” bell-shaped earrings that are an Indian jewelry staple. Gold jewelry is valued highly in India and is often the choice of precious metal to wear. It also holds great cultural and religious significance to us and is used in traditional ceremonies such as weddings and prayers.
The episode of the wedding did a great job of showing Indian wedding traditions in a subtle, yet charming way, starting with a classical rendition of “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.” Before the wedding, Kate gives Edwina gold bangles that she had saved for her. This was a heartwarming nod to the tradition of passing down gold jewelry to wear in Indian families, especially on important occasions such as a marriage. The episode also features a scene showing the Haldi ceremony, where turmeric is applied on the bride-to-be.
All of these scenes and writing decisions really proved to me that Bridgerton went out of its way to integrate a respectful portrayal of Indian culture. It’s a big moment for all my South Asian girls to see our culture finally being appreciated. Building off of the show’s great success, I’m excited to see how the role of South Asian characters may shift for the better in years to come.