A land of stories, still waiting for its own

The Northeast has always existed in our national imagination as both a presence and an absence—visible in political rhetoric yet eccentrically missing from our cultural narratives. So, when The Family Man tv series returned with its third season, and the camera turned toward the Northeast, it felt like a moment of long-awaited recognition.

- DR. DEEPIKA KASHYAP

The series promised a new kind of visibility for the region that has historically remained on the fringes of Hindi-language storytelling.

But storytelling is never just about what we see or hear. It is also about who is allowed to speak, and from what vantage point. Indeed, The Family Man-3 widens the frame by integrating folk tradition of the Northeast, such as the Apong (alcohol) ritual, and the picturesque landscapes of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Yet the frame ultimately retains familiar structure: a national security gaze, a mainland subjectivity, and a narrative that looks at the Northeast rather than from it.

As a scholar of media and communication who studies how images construct political meaning, I am compelled to ask whether the series genuinely engages with the region or merely pass through it without meaningful encounter.

The Northeast almost always appeared in the mainstream television and newspaper when the nation senses threat. In Hindi cinema, insurgency has been the dominant narrative through which the region is made legible. From Tango Charlie (2005) to Anek (2022), the through-line of story always has a covert Indian officer tasked with defending national security and brokering peace between the Union of India and the insurgent groups in the Northeast. Even the OTT platforms and alternative media are no exception to this dominant discourse.