Tracing non-traditional Gender and Sexual Diversities in Star Plus’s Mahabharat and Netflix’s Troy: Fall of a City.

Abstract

This study is an attempt to trace the ubiquitous presence of non-traditional gender and sexual diversities in Netflix’s- Troy: Fall of a City and Star Plus’s- Mahabharat. They are the audio-visual adaptations, two canonical works from the classical period: Homer’s- The Iliad and Ved Vyasa’s Indian epic- The Mahabharata respectively. It projects a view to uncover how they represent their characters to reevaluate and question the construction and normalization of a patriarchal definition of masculinity, femininity, traditional gender roles and heteronormative standards. The objective of this work is to point out how these two series represent non-binaristic and diverse sexual and gender norms. Instead of locating the mere presence of non-binaristic characters, what this study aims to do is to look at the politics of their representation and explain how such representations reflect a change in the way we understand gender and sexual orientations today. The questions that this dissertation asks are as follows: What are the traits that distinguish one character’s portrayal on screen from another? Do the selected characters understand their own “non-traditional” gender and sexuality? Have the makers done justice to the original epics while showcasing gender and sexual diversities? This study argues that while heteronormativity has been celebrated in these two TV/Web series, non-binaristic characters are also shown in a more positive manner. Thus, both these series have been able to escape the trap of fixed gender roles and heteronormative sexual expressions by showcasing alternative sexual practices and gender roles.