Bridgerton season two has been accused of ‘glossing over England’s colonial past’, making Indian cultural inaccuracies and including the mispronunciation of certain Hindi words.
The second installment of the steamy Regency drama returned to Netflix last week, and while it delighted most fans, some have called out creators for its ‘homogenous representation of what it means to be Indian’.
The plot follows the Sharma family – consisting of sisters Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina (Charithra Chandran) – who travel from Bombay to London in the 1820s to find younger sibling Edwina a wealthy husband.
Opinions: Bridgerton season two has been accused of ‘glossing over England’s colonial past’, making Indian cultural inaccuracies and the mispronunciation of certain Hindi words (pictured is Kate Sharma played by Simone Ashley)
But writing in Vice, journalist Dhvani Solani explored how she felt ‘increasingly uncomfortable’ watching the series for ‘painting over’ the colonial background.
She wrote: ‘The show completely glossed over of our very charged colonial past, its homogenous representation of what it means to be Indian, and then some exoticised Indian rituals that even Indians have never heard of.
‘As the season progressed, I got increasingly uncomfortable. It seems almost like a joke to paint over our colonial past.
Stars: The second installment of the steamy Regency drama returned to Netflix last week, while it delighted most fans, some have called out creators for its ‘homogenous representation of what it means to be Indian’ (pictured is Edwina Sharma played by Charithra Chandran)
‘Now, I do understand that the show is meant to be an escapist fantasy, but I also believe it entirely possible to address racism and classism without having to introduce racist or classist characters or take away the frothy romp of the show.
‘The show just does a lot of hinting and winking at race and class without ever acknowledging it. And for me, who does not hail from the victor’s side, this lack of acknowledgement of our traumas and histories is a bit painful.’
Many have also pointed out on Twitter that the Sharmas (a surname more commonly found in North and East India) lived in Bombay (in West India) but called their father ‘appa’ (mostly used in South India).
Complaints: The author also pointed out that in one scene the Sharma women are involved in a ‘haldi’ (pictured) but an inaccuracy was made about the ceremony
Kate is also regularly called ‘didi’ (Hindi for ‘sister’), and spoke Hindustani (a mix of Hindi and Urdu commonly spoken in North India) but not Tamil or another language from the south of India.
The author also pointed out that in one scene the Sharma women are involved in a ‘haldi’ – a pre-wedding ritual in which the bride or bridegroom are smeared with turmeric paste in a bid to make them glow on their big day.
As Kate rubs haldi on her younger sister Edwina’s face, she says, ‘Is it not also said when spread on an unmarried person, haldi will help them find a worthy partner that makes the rest of the world quiet too?’
Here they are: The plot follows the Sharma family – consisting of sisters Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina (Charithra Chandran) – who travel from Bombay to London in the 1820s to find younger sibling Edwina a wealthy husband
However the author went on to point out that after contacting various experts and family members on this, it turned out not to be true.
The article goes on to call out the lack of representation of what life might’ve been like for the Sharmas back in India – portraying Kate as rude and short tempered without any explanation of the reasons for this.
Elsewhere it is pointed out that Edwina often pronounces words wrong for example when she asks Anthony if he has read Ghalib.
She pronounces it as ‘Guhleeb,’ which is uncharacteristic of someone who’s lived in South Asia for all their life.
Mispronunciation: In an early scene Edwina says she is also a pro at playing the ‘maruli,’ a word which doesn’t exist but could be referencing the ‘murali,’ which means a flute
In an early scene Edwina says she is also a pro at playing the ‘maruli,’ a word which doesn’t exist but could be referencing the ‘murali,’ which means a flute.
However others have taken to Twitter to say that have loved seeing the Indian representation on a main stream show.
It comes after last week Simone – who plays Kate – said the Regency romp’s colour-blind casting helped to convince her that she could star in a period drama.
The British-Indian actress, who plays headstrong leading lady Kate in the second series of the hit show, revealed that she no longer considers the colour of her skin when seeking new roles.
Love: However others have taken to Twitter to say that have loved seeing the Indian representation on a main stream show
‘I didn’t watch period dramas because I felt like I couldn’t relate to them, maybe because I couldn’t see myself in one,’ says Simone.
‘Then Bridgerton came along.’
As millions tuned in to the first episode of the new series last week on streaming channel Netflix, fans welcomed the casting of two South Asian characters – Kate and her sister Edwina, played by Charithra.
In an interview with Glamour magazine, which is online now, Simone says she felt typecast earlier in her career because of her skin colour, but says nowadays her appearance is not a factor.
‘I always saw myself for my personality and not for the colour of my skin,’ she says.
‘Representation matters, and there is a minority that needs to be represented more, and I’m very aware of that.’
But she adds she wants ‘to be seen as an actress who has talent and has a brain, and it just doesn’t matter what I look like.’
In the second series of Bridgerton, Simone, 26, from Camberley in Surrey, stars alongside Jonathan Bailey, who plays the show’s heartthrob, Anthony Bridgerton.
Simone takes over the leading lady role from Phoebe Dynevor, who as Daphne Bridgerton has only a small part in this series.
Popular: As millions tuned in to the first episode of the new series last week on streaming channel Netflix, most fans welcomed the casting of two South Asian characters – Kate and her sister Edwina, played by Charithra (pictured)
