Hey Bridgerton, why upper-caste Hindu Kate Sharma and not a Dalit woman as lead in 2022?
India Today
No, not that we expected Bridgerton S2 to now be our white saviour, as if Brahmin saviours were not enough. But Bridgerton could have been inclusive in the true sense, not just for the sake of it. Why not a Dalit or tribal woman in place of a Hindu upper-caste woman, Bridgerton? Why not Sapui instead of Sharma?
The regency drama Bridgerton challenged race stereotypes in its first season. And what a statement it was! In-your-face, bold and warmly inclusive. The Netflix-backed series gave us a Black Duke, the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), as the lead, and more importantly, put a Black Queen, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), in charge of London society. It gave us an alternate historical universe in a story that's set in an era of white supremacy. And it was lauded for it. In the second season, Bridgerton gives us Kate Sharma, a female lead of Indian descent. Another statement, right on the lines of Season 1, no? No. Not quite.
Netflix released eight stills of the upcoming season on Twitter recently and had fans gushing on the micro-blogging site. You could picture Jonah Hill's now-memed OMG-OMG-OMG expression with every retweet and share on that. Yes, fans are excited. Indian fans, much more. For this time, we have Desi Girl Kate Sharma at the centre. Sex Education star Simone Ashley will be seen as Kate Sharma, Anthony Bridgerton's (Jonathan Bailey) new love interest. Kate Sharma, of course, has been re-imagined and is based on Kate Sheffield from Julia Quinn's second Bridgerton novel, The Viscount Who Loved Me. So, yeah, it ticks all the boxes on the surface - Indian representation: Check. Challenge race once again: Check. Be woke: Check. But what about caste? That's a concept still alien in this alternate historical universe.
Welcome back to Bridgerton — here is your first look at Season 2 pic.twitter.com/Fx44Cf5NSs
Bridgerton Season 2 premieres March 25 pic.twitter.com/pb8VEcjtSK
Sharma is a Brahmin Hindu surname, Google will tell you. A slightly closer look will show it is prevalent only in northern India. Some more research would reveal that that itself is non-inclusive. Because India isn't one colour or caste, it is a bouquet, where roses already get most of the attention, leaving little for the lilies. Brahmin supremacy, anyone?
Wavering a little from Bridgerton here, isn't Pushpa's success and the collective 'haww' around it proof of that? Behind every Pushpa-breaks-box-office-records is a sly how? How did a Telugu film beat masala Hindi films in, well, masala? To date, we fight phrases like 'he is a South Indian' as if, somewhere deep down, everything outside of the Hindi heartland is one mashed up pulp without individual identities.
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