What do real-life men think of men on-screen? An empirical investigation of Hindi TV soaps

In India’s diverse, multi-cultural, multi-lingual landscape, General Entertainment Channels (GEC) offering a multitude of programming content are an important medium for the representation of India’s collectivist culture, traditions and value systems (Grewal & Bhatia, 2021). In the GEC category, Hindi TV soaps that focus on family drama, emotions, customs, relationships, and lifestyle attract considerable attention from Indian audiences. Contemporary Hindi TV soaps are usually women centric, catering to the family oriented female audience. These soaps telecast in the prime-time slot are referred to as ‘prime time soap operas’ (Munshi, 2010). Despite the centrality of women in terms of portrayals and subjects, male characters occupy a significant position in the narrative and men watch these soaps with utmost interest. This study investigates opinions of real-life men about men on screen in context of popular Hindi TV soaps. A mixed method, descriptive approach with non-probability -- purposive and snowball sampling was used to conduct a survey with 120 male viewers to understand what they think about male role portrayals, attributes of male characters, stereotypes, expectations and pressures induced by such portrayals. Results reveal that men, like women, are subject to societal pressures, and on-screen portrayals among other factors, are responsible for this. While the skewed, unrealistic, glamorous, and stereotypical portrayal of women is acknowledged and critiqued by academics, industry and audiences themselves; same is not true for male portrayals. Men who watch these TV serials believe that on-screen men should be closer to real life and creators should present humanized avatars of Indian men. The study assumes significance since visual representations contribute to shaping, reinforcing and challenging ideas about gender norms, roles and expectations in the Indian socio-political landscape where TV remains a mass medium with extraordinary and unprecedented influence as well as reach.