Shondaland's BRIDGERTON (Netflix), inspired by Julia Quinn’s novels, presents a Regency Britain where people of diverse colors, races, and cultural backgrounds meet and mate through choreographed matchmaking in grand ballrooms and frolicking country estates of "the ton." In this 2-part podcast DURBA GHOSH, Cornell professor of history and author of “Sex and Family in Colonial India: The Making of Empire,” talks with The Boston Sisters about how the entrance of the Sharma Family, an Indian family from Bombay, into the ton's marriage season brings South Asian words, rituals, costuming elements, and Bollywood into the "What If" world of BRIDGERTON (Season 2).
Episode 14 (part 1) looks at casting and culture in Season 2 of the series. Professor Ghosh gives cultural insights into South Asian audiences' reception of Indian characters in Bridgerton, particularly casting darker-skinned women as Kate Sharma (Ashley Simpson) and Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandron), and speculates on how these casting choices could influence Indian film and television narratives.
Time Stamps
1:31 Professor Ghosh/speaker background
06:06 East India Company History
9:32 Bridgerton, Sharma Family, and British Colonial History
14:06 Marriage Plot (Bridgerton, Regency Fantasy and Historical Accuracy)
19:37 Bracelets Motif -- Indian Rituals and Cultural References in Bridgerton
28:06 Significance of Casting Dark-skinned Actresses as Sharmas
33:17 Music break point
34:52 U.S. and India Relations (and Globalization)
37:48 Globalization in Bridgerton
39:58 Love, Marriage and Social Status
46:42 Kate Sharma -- competitive woman
50:33 Bridgerton's Impact on Bombay Filmmaking
55:31 Preview: Episode 15/Part 2 BRIDGERTON 2 and the Sharmas
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