Re-envisioning the mainstream: A study on the acceptance of LGBTQIA+ Protagonists on a Bengali OTT platform

Abstract

In the past few years, the Indian media industry has witnessed a significant shift in the representation of the LGBTQIA+ community in the Indian OTT platforms. Due to the unforeseen COVID-19 global pandemic, the audience discovered a new way of content consumption and the adoption of OTTs. Indian OTT media paves the way for the acceptance of queer identities on OTT platforms. Web series like 'Hello' and 'Hello, remember me?’ are a few instances of queer narratives in digital spaces. Indian Media Industry specifically the OTT media relied heavily on stereotypical representation of queer characters which reinforces prejudice. The acceptance of LGBTQIA+ protagonists on the Bengali OTT platform is a core development as this community is deprived and unaccepted in some areas.  It represents inclusiveness and acceptance as it helps to shape society and creates empathy towards this community. The present research focuses on analysing the acceptance of LGBTQIA+ protagonists on the Indian OTT Platform. The current research sheds light on the narratives of a Bengali OTT platform like Hoichoi to analyze the portrayal of the LGBTQIA+ community and content acceptance. This research follows a mixed-method approach to evaluate the web series' acceptance level in the society through the series portraying the LGBTQIA+ community in Hoichoi. This study provides an in-depth insight into the representation of LGBTQIA+ protagonists on Bengali OTT platforms by analysing the queer narratives.