The Pasupu is back after a small break for our 50th blog post! What better way to come back than with a review of one of our favorite shows, Bridgerton! We were so excited to see all of the South Asian representation in this new season of Bridgerton so let’s jump right into it!
*There are spoilers ahead so be sure to watch the show before reading!*
There were several small details that incorporated South Asian culture seamlessly into the show. For example, the jewelry that Edwina and Kate were wearing with their gowns is a small thing but it made such a big difference. A lot of their necklaces were types of Indian jewelry, specifically Edwina’s choker during the wedding scene. Throughout the whole season Kate and Edwina are seen wearing Jhumkas which are bell shaped earrings worn by women in India. Kate’s stone bangles that she wears during the wedding scene are also examples of Indian jewelry.
When the Sharma sisters are introducing themselves to Lady Danbury Kate describes all of the various languages and instruments that Edwina knows how to speak and play. Edwina knows how to speak in Hindustani and Marathi and can play the sitar and murali. It was nice that they included these instruments and languages when describing Edwina’s accomplishments because it represented more parts of Indian culture.
In episode three during the scene where the Sharma Sisters arrive at Aubrey Hall, Kate is seen wearing an Indian print fabric as a shawl around her gown. Additionally in episode three Kate makes chai with cardamom and all the traditional indian spices that go in chai. Towards the end of episode three there is a scene where Kate is oiling Edwina’s hair. This scene made us feel so represented as brown girls because we have these same memories with our moms and of them oiling our hair. Oiling hair is such a big part of Indian culture so it was very exciting to see it represented on our screens.
The Haldi scene was one of the biggest moments of representation in the whole season. There is a scene where Lady Mary and Kate are putting haldi (also known as pasupu or turmeric) on Edwina as a pre-wedding ritual. Although we didn’t get to see any other Indian parts of the wedding it was nice to see the Haldi ceremony represented. In the background of this scene, an instrumental cover of Khabi Khushi Khabi Gham was playing which was also very exciting to hear and was later used for many Bridergton related TikToks!
The Indian representation in season two of Bridgerton is such a big deal because it is the first time South Asian women have been seen as desirable.
Kate Sharma, played by Simone Ashley, and Edwina Sharma, played by Charithra Chandran, are both darker skinned Tamilian women. In the show they are seen as beautiful and the color of their skin is never brought into the picture or fetishized. It was refreshing to see that South Indians were casted to play South Indian characters. This is important because in several South Indian film industries north indian actresses are casted even if they don’t speak the language that the movie is in simply because of colorism and they are fairer skinned and therefore seen as more beautiful. The Sharma sisters were also originally the Sheffield sisters in the Bridgerton books series and they were not of South Asian descent. When creating the second season of the show they were switched to be South Asian characters in order for more diversity and representation of South Asian women and we couldn’t be happier that this change was made!
It is crazy to think that a British television show was able to properly represent darker skinned South Indian women before some South Indian film industries like Tollywood even could.
This show was one huge step in the right direction and we hope to see more growth and representation in the future!
The Jhumka Movement
After many South Asians all over the country have watched this season of Bridgerton, many of them started pairing their everyday outfits with Jhumkas or other Desi Jewelry. Here’s an example of one of many TikToks where users are happy to see accurate Desi culture shown in the TV show (credit: @deeeppaa23).
It may seem like such a small thing; many people would think
“it’s only earrings.”
However, many South Asians grew up being made fun of for wearing anything ethnic. Though our non-Desi peers may now compliment and accept our ethnic attire, it was what we faced as a child that continued to make us feel that our culture was embarrassing. Back then, there wasn’t this type of Desi representation in the media; non-Desis were never exposed to our culture, therefore, they thought it was “weird.” Having this representation empowers us and makes us want to embrace our culture even more. Wearing a piece of ethnic jewelry with western outfits is a statement, and it shows how much we value our culture. Plus, it is a beautiful and unique look!
“Seeing South Asian women represented in western media with so much grace in Bridgerton was an empowering experience. The creators celebrated our culture by beautifully integrating it into the storyline of the show. Seeing representation like this for what feels like the first time really did empower me to start embracing my culture even more with my everyday clothing. My inclination to wear jhumkas, nose rings/studs, and even certain ways of doing my eyeliner comes from the influence of my south asian culture; I feel that seeing the women in Bridgerton showcase these subtle but important parts of our culture encouraged me to incorporate these aspects even more so into my everyday appearance. These small details are a big part of who I am, and I’m glad to see western media start to honor individuals who feel the same way I do.”
-Shreya Dudeja
Although Bridgerton did an amazing job with Desi Representation, there are a few things we wished we had seen this season.
We really wished we saw an Indian wedding, or at least Indian attire worn on the wedding day. The Sharma sisters spent their whole life growing up in India, so it felt a little odd that Edwina didn’t wear a Bridal Lehenga or Sari. It’s understandable that it was a Christian Ceremony because the show does take place in England. We were happy to at least see that there was a Haldi Ceremony and that the producers decided to include some Indian element
Something that confused us and many of our friends was the Sharma Sisters’ ethnic makeup. Sharma is a surname relatively more popular in North India. Edwina addresses Kate as “Didi” which as all of us know means elder sister in Hindi. And, Kate addresses Edwina as “Bon” which means younger sister in Bangla. Additionally, the sisters lived in Mumbai, India. However, when they talk about their father, they call him “Appa” and this means dad in Tamil. So, where are the sisters really from? Do they have South Indian roots, but use Hindi and North Indian phrases because of where they were raised? Additionally, the girls grew up in India, so why do they only wear western gowns? It’d make sense for them to wear Indian garments, and we wished we could’ve seen a more diverse range of their wardrobe.
Though it wouldn’t have made much sense in this season, we always hope to see some brown boy representation, and that too, in a positive light.
Indian men are always seen as undesirable, nerdy, and ugly; it’s time that they also receive some positivity.
It took a long time just to receive the representation that Bridgerton gave us, so we hope that Hollywood continues this upward trend and focuses on giving desi men representation as well.
We definitely appreciate the beautifully composed Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, however, we believe that there could’ve been a better song selection. The song was played during the Haldi Ceremony, and we think that a song about sisterhood or family could’ve fit this scenario better. Additionally, we thought that a beautiful Bollywood Song could’ve been played during Kate and Anthony’s dance at the Featherington’s ball. Well known violinist Skanda performed a cover of Maula Mere Maula on TikTok and fans have been creating many Bridgerton edits using his cover, specifically, during the famous Kate Sharma eye scrunch scene.
The song matches up perfectly, as the lyrics translate into:
“My god, your eyes are so beautiful that I have become their lover. Keep me, give me place in your eyes.”
Don’t worry, we’ll attach Skanda’s cover and a fan edit below (the fan edit in our opinion is absolutely magical).
Obviously, there’s only so much that can be added within a show, but in the end, we really appreciate the Bridgerton team’s efforts in accurately portraying the Sharma Sisters!
Edit made by: @yutamua
Shonda Rhimes, creator of Bridgerton, didn’t do much. She simply casted two darker skinned Desi women for the show, and added accurate cultural aspects that were seamlessly woven in. Rhimes went far enough to give the girls a cultural background and that too, she didn’t over exaggerate it. After this season, not only are our expectations high, but so are those of other viewers. We received such beautiful and graceful representation, and there’s no way that the Desi community is going to accept any normalized racism acted upon South Asian characters.
Bridgerton truly changed history; it was the start of South Asian uplifting and the downfall of distorted stereotypes.
Thanks for reading our post! Come back soon for our next post coming in early June!
While you wait, check out another TV show review below!