Teen Talk: Seeing Brown on Screen!
Desi teens spill the chai on Indian representation in pop culture.
Let’s all be honest: a few years back, did any of you believe that Hollywood would be capable of giving us the strong, funny, and (insanely) handsome Pavitr Prabhakar as Spider-Man? I mean, after all, Hollywood is not exactly famous for getting brown representation right. Keep in mind, this is the same industry that so “graciously” gave us the Patil sisters in Harry Potter, with their garish pink lehengas (if you can even call them that), and Chirag Gupta in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, who had a thick Indian accent and whose favorite pastime was stalking his female classmates. Oh, what fun…not!
With this kind of eye-roll-inducing track record, if you had asked the 10-year-old me if I had any faith in Hollywood giving us cool, likable brown characters, I would have laughed in your face (rude much?). And I think it’s safe to say many people would have agreed with me. (I’m usually always right—because I’m Indian, of course!)
But I do have to admit that, recently, Hollywood has proved me wrong—and in the best of ways. Instead of the typical, socially awkward nerds, we now have Pavitr Prabhakar starring as none other than our one and only friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! This Indian version of the iconic American superhero is one of the many avatars of Spidey in the 2023 blockbuster, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The film, which turned out to be the highest-grossing for Sony Pictures Animation, is packed with Indian cultural references, like when Prabhakar, as Spider-Man, cheekily mocks ridiculous phrases like “chai tea” and “naan bread.”
[Right] The “strong, funny, and (insanely) handsome” Pavitr Prabhakar as Spider-Man. (Photo: marvel.fandom.com).
“This depiction [of an Indian Spider-Man] can be inspiring, as it shows that, despite the race or ethnicity of the character, Spider-Man is still the same American superhero,” says Shrey Lal, a fourteen-year-old high schooler, one of the many Indian teens I interviewed to learn how they felt about how brown kids were represented on screen. After all, it is the feelings of this age group—one of the largest consumers of popular media—that are often overlooked in conversations of representation. And that is particularly problematic, considering the power films and television have to shape our impressionable minds. They have the magical ability to “teleport” viewers into completely different universes— those of wizards, superheroes, and Greek gods.
[Right] A cool, Indian Spider-Man means we have come a long way from the times of heavily stereotypical characters like Chirag Gupta in Diary of a Wimpy Kid who is nerdy with a thick Indian accent. (Photo: diaryof- a-wimpy-kid.fandom.com)
[Left] Fourteen-year-old Shrey Lal is inspired by the uber-cool depiction of the desi Spider-Man as “it shows that, despite the race or ethnicity of the character, he is still the same American superhero.”
While that is undeniably beautiful, it can also be simply terrifying if such power is used to perpetuate negative stereotypes. Dare I use the age-old cliché, “With great power comes great responsibility?” (please don’t hate me). But when representation is done right, it can be exactly what we need to navigate the more challenging aspects of our lives— the growing pains of balancing our Indian and American cultures.
Sixteen-year-old Raasi Wisepearl believes that the viral popularity of the Indian teenage character Devi Vishwakumar in the Netflix series, Never Have I Ever, gave her more confidence in embracing her own culture during high school. “Devi made me feel less alone,”she explains simply. That is precisely why we young Indian Americans crave to see our culture reflected properly in popular entertainment. This is the crux of what representation means to us and other minorities.
[Right] Ravi, in Jessie, the Disney series, was another stereotypical character with a heavy Indian accent. (Photo: https://disney.fandom.com/)
Perception of non-Indian peers
While we understandably worry about how our culture is represented in the mainstream, is that also true for our American peers? More importantly, is seeing a nerdy brown character on TV going to influence their perception of their Indian classmates or neighbors? And MORE importantly, do my classmates think that I, Gia Agarwal, am secretly harboring a pet lizard named Mrs. Kipling because Ravi from Jessie has one?!?
[Left] The Indian teenage character Devi Vishwakumar in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever became a teen sensation. (Photo: Tommaso Boddi/Netflix)
Thankfully, Jamaican American Gabby Chambers and Vietnamese American Aivy Dang don’t think so, explaining that their opinion of Indian culture isn't solely based on the brown characters that they see on their screens (phew!). Gabby notes that most Indian culture on TV is reduced to “thick accents, good math skills, and an obsession with 
curry.” Yet, Gabby and Aivy are easily able to separate these clichéd characterizations from their real-world impressions of their brown friends. Aivy emphasizes that her friendships with Indians are shaped by personal interactions, not by media representations of them. “Society,” she explains, “has a tendency to fall back on media to shape their opinion of other cultures,” and she asserts that we should look at the real world instead to educate ourselves.
[Right] Sixteen-year-old Raasi Wisepearl believes that the viral popularity of Devi Vishwakumar gave her more confidence in embracing her own culture during high school.
[Left] Vietnamese American Aivy Dang emphasizes that her friendships with Indians are shaped by personal interactions, not by media representations of them.
However, could proper representation be the very education Aivy speaks of?
Gabby points to Bridgerton, the popular Netflix show about the love lives of the British upper class, set in the 1800s. A shocking 91.9 million watched its latest season, earning it a Guinness World Record as the most in-demand romantic drama. Perhaps one reason for its crazy popularity could be that—drum roll please—the show shockingly features a diverse cast, including the British Indian Simone Ashwini Pillai who plays Kate Sharma, one of the female leads in one of the seasons. That's saying something about the new face of representation, considering the show is set in the era of British Regency.
[Top] Kate Sharma, played by British Indian Simone Ashwini Pillai, is one of the female leads in Bridgerton, the popular Netflix show watched by a shocking 91.9 million. (Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix)
The story of Caucasian aristocracy being told through a cast of all types of ethnicities and skin colors is what sets Bridgerton apart. Despite the historical setting of upper-class English folks, you have a brown-skinned lead character who is defined by her formidable nature and love for her family, and not by oppression. She is allowed a fairy-tale ending in a show where it would be very easy to silence her and her culture in the name of remaining “historically accurate.”
Jamaican American Gabby Chambers enjoyed the Indian customs like the haldi ceremony and champi maalish (hair oiling) shown in Bridgerton.
Gabby enjoyed the Indian customs like the haldi ceremony and champi maalish (hair oiling) shown in Bridgerton. She laughed watching Kate long for a steaming cup of desi chai rather than what Kate herself described in the show as the “pitiful excuse for tea the English so adore.” Gabby explained that such unabashed depictions of ethnicity allowed her to see “the beauty of other cultures”—making Bridgerton a great example of forward-thinking inclusivity and healthy representation of minorities.
Good and bad representation
What does good representation mean? Raasi observes that Indian characters in American pop culture are shown either as heavily ethnic or entirely culture-neutral. While the latter may seem disconcerting, I actually feel that perhaps not emphasizing an actor’s native culture is a kind of representation of its own. To put it differently, seeing a brown actor, in a role without having ethnic stereotypes tied to them, can be just as empowering as seeing our culture reflected in mainstream media.
In fact, fifteen-year-old Isharya Chhabra finds it refreshing to see characters who aren’t constantly associated with their Indian identity. For instance, in the Netflix show One Day, Ind an actress Ambika Mod plays the lead role, but not once does the show mention her ethnicity, religion, or culture. Nor is the color of her skin used as a plot point. Instead, she is just an Indian actress playing the role of Emma Morley.
[Left] Ambika Mod, in One Day, another Netflix series popular with teens. (Photo: Netflix).
While this may seem like the opposite of representation, this is the kind of acceptance we need more of in Hollywood. While our Indian identity is undoubtedly an essential aspect of us, aren't we also simply Americans—individuals going about our daily lives: falling in love, going to the mall, arguing with our parents, and procrastinating studying for a test? Being accepted as Americans beyond our Indian identity is just as important as representation. We don't always want to see brown actors breaking out into Bollywood dances, eating chicken tikka masala, getting hitched by parents into arranged marriages, or running the corner convenience store.
Is it okay for a brown person to play a German princess?
Brown actors shown as regular people is one thing, but when you cast them to play a beloved European-Caucasian character, you are bound to raise eyebrows. The rumored casting of Avantika Vandanapu (of Mean Girls) as Rapunzel, a German princess, in Tangled: Live Action sparked a massive social media controversy. The actress’s Instagram page was flooded with comments saying Avantika was “disgusting” and “nobody’s Rapunzel.” Critics accused Disney of forcing diversity. However, this raises the question: should casting an Indian actress in a European role automatically be seen as forced diversity?
I disagree. Why must we always assume a person of color is cast for diversity rather than their ability to portray the role? How come no one complained when fans wanted stars like Florence Pugh and Sabrina Carpenter to play Rapunzel, considering neither is German? Society seems to care about the cultural history of Disney princesses only when a person of color plays such a part.
[Right] Fifteen-year-old Isharya Chhabra finds it refreshing that there is no reference to the ethnicity, religion, or culture of Ambika, who plays the role of Emma Morley, the lead female character in
One Day.
Ninth grader Diya Vyas does not believe Rapunzel is defined by having blonde hair or green eyes. Instead, Rapunzel is the princess she looked up to while growing up, the girl who was brave enough to leave her tower and fight for her dreams. According to Diya, all Avantika has to do to be Rapunzel is embody that same courage, awkwardness, and perseverance that made us all fall in love with her in the first place.
Beyond stereotypical characters
Growing up, we only saw characters that were decidedly, and sometimes, heavily Indian, like Ravi from Jessie and Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb. The popular perception of Indians in the minds of Americans was the one that associated us with being math geniuses but also socially awkward outcastes. And, unfortunately, in school we would always be seen through these very same filters— as the butt of every joke.
Today, when I see characters like Devi Vishwakumar, Kate Sharma, and Pavitr Prabhakar, I feel a sense of overwhelming pride I haven’t experienced before. Yes, Indian characters can get the hottest guy in school! Yes, they can be powerful superheroes with a great sense of humor! Yes, they can be characters that people of all ethnicities look up to instead of laugh at.
[Left] The rumored casting of Avantika Vandanapu (of Mean Girls) as Rapunzel, a German princess, in Tangled: Live Action, the Disney show, sparked a massive social media controversy. (Photo: https://www.facebook.com/thisisavantika/)
While Gabby and Aivy explain how these new, accurate depictions educate non-Indians, I see this new era of representation as much more than just a statement to the American world. Simply put, being a teenager is SUPER hard, and being an Indian American teenager is even harder. We live our lives in a constant in-between, belonging neither entirely to India or America. While this blend can be beautiful and exciting, it can also be kind of lonely, especially when the characters meant to represent us are spoofed.
However, today’s diverse portrayals remind us that our culture, both Indian and American, does not fit into one narrative or stereotype. Instead, it highlights the rich complexities of our experiences, showing that we are more than any label or expectation.
However, it’s important to acknowledge that there’s still a long way to go. Personally, I would love to see more Indian actors take on roles like Emma Morley and Rapunzel without facing shame or boycott. We should, however, take a moment to appreciate just how far we’ve come. And who knows, maybe one day, in a galaxy far, far away, I’ll be able to make it through the school day without being asked to do someone’s homework! Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking.
Introducing…
TEEN TALK
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Whether you're hiding your SRK shrine in your locker or debating why gulab jamun is the best mithai, this column is your space to explore the highs, lows, and hilarious in-betweens of your hyphenated life. From finding the perfect blend of Bollywood and Hollywood for your playlist to dealing with brown parents who end every discussion with, “You’ll understand when you're ‘older,’” we've got you covered. We will discuss the pressures of academic excellence, the significance of cultural traditions, the quest for identity, the celebration of festivals that bring a piece of India to American soil—and just about anything else that YOU want!
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