8 Female Character Stereotypes And Tropes Seen In Indian Television Soaps

Indian television has come a long way, from airing a handful of shows in the 90s to becoming the massive industry that it is today. Producers today are stepping up to the competition and aren’t hesitant at exploring new themes and storylines. From family dramas to reality shows, horror stories to children’s shows, Indian television has got it all covered. In spite of these developments, the characterization of women in most shows is often stereotypical in nature. Women characters are often written in a way to fit certain tropes we have seen over and over on the screen.

Television is a strong medium of communication in India and has the power to propagate the right messages across the masses. In fact, it has the power to enlighten the masses about the complex struggles faced by women in our country. By limiting women to these character tropes, the female identity is reduced to a handful of personalities, which is disconnected from reality.
Let’s look at some common tropes we get to see in Indian soaps:

1. The Sanskari Bahu

Often she is the wife of the protagonist and shown to be the most pious creature one can set their eyes on. You will be hard-pressed to find any flaws in her. From morning prayers and cooking breakfast for the family to being everyone’s trusted confidant, she does it all with ease.

This character trope portrays the fact that unless you are not this ‘sanskari’ you are probably not good enough. This is a far stretch from real life where we all tend to have our vices and flaws.

2. The Power Hungry Mother-in-Law

The power struggle between the mother-in-law and her new ‘bahu’ is probably one of the most popular themes in Indian television. This portrayal of conspiring in-laws is not always the truth though. Often there is genuine love and respect between in-laws and the daughters-in-law. In real life, it is also common to see in-laws treat their daughters-in-law like their real daughters.

3. The Ambitious Modern Woman

Now we arrive at a trope that is most often portrayed in a negative light. The modern ambitious woman is almost always shown to be cold and void of emotions. For her, the family takes a backseat as she only prioritizes her career growth. This character is often associated with being a neglectful partner and an absentee parent. But in real life, we come across numerous women who do a fine job of balancing their careers with their family lives. Such stereotyping is a blatant insult to all the women who work hard every day balancing both sides of their lives.

4. The Overdependent Sister

She is the most pampered member of the family. But when it comes to making life decisions like education or love, it’s up to the elders, especially the brothers, to decide her fate. She hardly has any say in family matters and is basically there just to grace the pujas and other celebrations.

5. The Devoted Wife

It takes a lot to be the ideal TV soap wife. The ideal wife is devoted to her husband and all his decisions. She is always patient, even with his tantrums and bad behaviors. Disobeying the husband in any way is an absolute no-no for this character. Such portrayals of obedience are unrealistic and in fact, should not be something to aspire for.

6. The Divorced Lady

Divorce in India has always been a taboo subject and the portrayal of divorced women has been mostly negative. The character is often shown to have traces of the ambitious woman, who prioritizes her job over family. The narrative will leave no stone unturned at showcasing her many flaws which might have resulted in the divorce.

7. Scheming Female Relative

Be it the jealous aunt or some other female member, TV shows will often have one female character who is on a mission to create trouble for the family. It is often her, who is deliberately behind all the problems and commotion in the family. But in real life it is often a lack of communication and misunderstandings that give rise to tensions between people, not a female relative whose sole mission is to interfere in your life.

8. The Overnight Transformation From Ugly To Beautiful

Haven’t we witnessed the transformation of the Plain Jane female protagonist into a beautiful princess overnight? What if the girl didn’t go through the transformation, would that mean she could never occupy the hero’s heart? It propagates the wrong idea that you have to meet certain social standards to be worthy of love and acceptance.

As can be seen from the above tropes, character traits are assigned to women depending on their position in society. Not only is this boring and unexciting to watch in this day and age, but it is also downright demeaning. Television is a great platform to explore and showcase the achievements and complex social lives of women. It can help instill confidence and a sense of belonging to millions of women in our country.

Have you also noticed these tropes in the television soaps and felt there is an urgent need for change? Share your thoughts and views with our readers in the comments section below.

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