Streaming Stigma and Acceptance: The Incongruent Representation of Mental Disorders and Neurodiversity in Indian Television and Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Series
Traditionally (in)famous for their grandeur, melodrama, and archetypical portrayal of family units, Indian soap operas have rarely represented neurodiversity and mental disorders sensitively. Barring a few OTTs and emergent productions that expose the Indian audience to globalised sensibilities, neu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Bologna
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Series. International journal of tv serial narratives |
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| Online Access: | https://series.unibo.it/article/view/19694 |
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| author | Neha Singh Rajni Mujral |
| author_facet | Neha Singh Rajni Mujral |
| author_sort | Neha Singh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Traditionally (in)famous for their grandeur, melodrama, and archetypical portrayal of family units, Indian soap operas have rarely represented neurodiversity and mental disorders sensitively. Barring a few OTTs and emergent productions that expose the Indian audience to globalised sensibilities, neurodivergent characters and those living with mental disorders are (mis)represented in all genres by either stigmatisation or romanticization. However, the on-screen portrayals of people living with psychiatric disorders oscillate between reinstating and demystifying the stereotypes, reflecting the vacillations of contemporary Indian society. Without undermining the practice of psychiatric diagnosis and cure, this paper locates mental illness and neurodiversity in the Indian context and studies their representations in select Hindi series of the 21st century, identifying predominant archetypes—the simpleton and the “psycho” criminal—that immensely influence the discourse surrounding atypical behaviour and thereby public perception. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e29b361938bf4154ba8769ec3c47a121 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2421-454X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | University of Bologna |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Series. International journal of tv serial narratives |
| spelling | doaj-art-e29b361938bf4154ba8769ec3c47a1212025-08-20T03:56:46ZengUniversity of BolognaSeries. International journal of tv serial narratives2421-454X2025-07-01101213210.6092/issn.2421-454X/1969418061Streaming Stigma and Acceptance: The Incongruent Representation of Mental Disorders and Neurodiversity in Indian Television and Over-the-Top (OTT) Media SeriesNeha Singh0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9544-9761Rajni Mujral1SRM University – APSRM University – APTraditionally (in)famous for their grandeur, melodrama, and archetypical portrayal of family units, Indian soap operas have rarely represented neurodiversity and mental disorders sensitively. Barring a few OTTs and emergent productions that expose the Indian audience to globalised sensibilities, neurodivergent characters and those living with mental disorders are (mis)represented in all genres by either stigmatisation or romanticization. However, the on-screen portrayals of people living with psychiatric disorders oscillate between reinstating and demystifying the stereotypes, reflecting the vacillations of contemporary Indian society. Without undermining the practice of psychiatric diagnosis and cure, this paper locates mental illness and neurodiversity in the Indian context and studies their representations in select Hindi series of the 21st century, identifying predominant archetypes—the simpleton and the “psycho” criminal—that immensely influence the discourse surrounding atypical behaviour and thereby public perception.https://series.unibo.it/article/view/19694mental illnessindian televisionneurodiversitydisability studiesstigma |
| spellingShingle | Neha Singh Rajni Mujral Streaming Stigma and Acceptance: The Incongruent Representation of Mental Disorders and Neurodiversity in Indian Television and Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Series Series. International journal of tv serial narratives mental illness indian television neurodiversity disability studies stigma |
| title | Streaming Stigma and Acceptance: The Incongruent Representation of Mental Disorders and Neurodiversity in Indian Television and Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Series |
| title_full | Streaming Stigma and Acceptance: The Incongruent Representation of Mental Disorders and Neurodiversity in Indian Television and Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Series |
| title_fullStr | Streaming Stigma and Acceptance: The Incongruent Representation of Mental Disorders and Neurodiversity in Indian Television and Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Series |
| title_full_unstemmed | Streaming Stigma and Acceptance: The Incongruent Representation of Mental Disorders and Neurodiversity in Indian Television and Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Series |
| title_short | Streaming Stigma and Acceptance: The Incongruent Representation of Mental Disorders and Neurodiversity in Indian Television and Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Series |
| title_sort | streaming stigma and acceptance the incongruent representation of mental disorders and neurodiversity in indian television and over the top ott media series |
| topic | mental illness indian television neurodiversity disability studies stigma |
| url | https://series.unibo.it/article/view/19694 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nehasingh streamingstigmaandacceptancetheincongruentrepresentationofmentaldisordersandneurodiversityinindiantelevisionandoverthetopottmediaseries AT rajnimujral streamingstigmaandacceptancetheincongruentrepresentationofmentaldisordersandneurodiversityinindiantelevisionandoverthetopottmediaseries |