3 min readMumbaiJun 27, 2026 01:35 PM IST
One of the major contributions that can be credited to Neeraj Ghaywan is the way he has brought caste consciousness, and the discrimination that stems from it, into Hindi cinema. In an industry that has largely been shaped by narratives centred around upper-caste men and women going about their everyday lives, Ghaywan has consistently pushed for representation that acknowledges everyone.
However, the filmmaker believes that meaningful change is still a long way off. Citing examples from contemporary content creators like TVF, he pointed out how even shows that project a new aspiring India often remain blind to lower-caste representation.
‘Not a single lower-caste person, not a single Muslim’
In a conversation with Yuvaa, he said, “Take TVF, and they have been doing very good. And they have shows are genuinely very good. And that’s exactly why I have the problem. It’s made by IIT-ians, who are supposed to be the most educated lot in this country. And every single show of theirs, since inception, has always had upper-caste characters. Not a single lower-caste person, not a single Muslim.”
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He further added, “Now, you, as this educated person, cannot take that responsibility. And, like, you know, if some old-timer makes a film, I get it. But, like, come on, try to understand this, you’re educated, right? You cleared IIT, didn’t you? You studied engineering for four years. So you should be able to understand that maybe it is not right to show it that way.”
He then gave the example of their most popular show Panchayat, set in rural India, saying, “That you call this celebrated TV show of yours, Panchayat, which everybody thinks is the most authentic representation of villages. No, it isn’t. You cannot create an entire village where only upper-caste names exist.”
Panchayat has been one of the most successful shows of the Indian streaming space. The TVF show, starring Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghbir Yadav, among others, has had four seasons so far.
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Neeraj Ghaywan’s most recent directorial, Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, recently won Best Picture as well as Best Film Writing at the Chetak SCREEN Awards.