Are Indian teenagers underrepresented in Bollywood and Netflix India?

India has approximately 243M teenagers, some are extroverted and impulsive, others reserved and deep thinking. Platforms like Bollywood or Netflix India which contribute as this gen’s influencer, are EXPECTED to incorporate variations in the cast while they portray the teenage section through films considering how diverse this section is, in reality.

However, these platforms underrepresent us, teens by portraying us in a preconceived way in the melodramas as individuals who ARE moody, short tempered and solely INTERESTED in lust, money, expensive cars, short dresses and who RARELY study unless they are the 'geeks'.

Let us dive deep into some of these stigmas:

TOPPERS

Toppers are the rankers who are perceived to be ‘nerds’ and they MUST have no dressing sense, wear thick-framed spectacles and be voracious readers. An athlete, a 'good-looking' and ‘cool’ guy, stereotyped likewise, can NEVER be the topper! For instance, in films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, specs are an important part of Naina's personality (acted by Deepika Padukone). In the first half of the film, she's the topper nerd who reads big, fat books even when she's on a vacation! Bizzare? Isn’t it!

THE HERO AND HEROINE

Let’s invite with drum rolls on the set the HERO who has become famous for saving the HEROINE from the villain! We have such strong taboos towards their characters. A hero CANNOT cry out loud or possess any 'feminine' traits. The ‘heroine', generally the ‘gori chitti’ dressed in an attractive way MUST be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Girls not fitting this definition are labelled as ‘TOMBOYS’ and expected not to find their ideal matches unless they transform into the 'heroine'.

LGBTQ CHARACTERS

Question Of The Year: Are they even present in typical Hindi movies? (No prizes for guessing) THEY’RE NOT! Films generally avoid LGBTQ characters altogether. Every single person is supposed to be 'normal'. Any lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals are undermined and PORTRAYED as queer and someone a 'normal' teen will not be likely to befriend.

Sorrowfully, these films form the trend-setters in society, and many of us tend to alienate or stereotype these people, assuming them to be abnormal!

WE ARE DONE with shallow romantic stories like SOTY and Baaghi. This generation SUFFERS from a lot of other important issues for the film directors to explore, like failed socialization, mental health issues and how Indian teens have to struggle to pursue their desired passions.

We have many American web series like Never Have I Ever, Sex Education and Stranger Things which are primarily for the teenage section.

There is a show on Zee5 called RejectX focussed on rich NRI teens. We have some good movies like Super 30, Angreji Medium and Chak de! India and telenovelas like Everest or the Tollywood blockbuster 'Generation Ami' which basically target the youth section of Indian society and try to tap into their feelings.

We would definitely yearn for such movies and series from Bollywood and Netflix India.