The paper attempts to trace and document a rare example of visual media promoting its own cultural heritage to a community, taking the Bengali TV show “Korunamoyee Rani Rashmoni” (dir. Rupak Dey, 2017-22) as a case study. 2017 onwards, the show “…. Rashmoni,” which followed the life of social reformer Rani Rashmoni in colonial Bengal and showcased zamindars clad in traditional 19th-century attire, gained extreme popularity in Kolkata. Concurrently, identical designs worn by the show’s male characters became immensely popular in contemporary Kolkata markets without any conscious official merchandising endeavor. This phenomenon prompted the researchers to make a descriptive claim, and they adapted visual ethnography and narrative analysis as methodology tools while interviewing men’s apparel sellers and independent designers from Kolkata. The research findings locate both social and visual media influence on Bengali men’s choice of clothing- from following yesteryear superstar Uttam Kumar’s personal style (1970s), to TV serial “Janmabhumi” (1997-2002) and subsequently, the current surge of demand owing to serial “…..Rashmoni” (2017-22). The paper offers a visual evolution of male period drama costumes represented in Bengali media & their subsequent effect on general customers’ fashion choices. It sheds interesting light on the gender roles in purchasing decisions in relation to the viewership of fictional televised content. The resilience of the trend through the global pandemic, outliving the source of inspiration in 2024 Kolkata markets, and shattering the social class barriers traditionally associated with the design indicates the potential of visual communication of regional language media in its cultural stronghold.

Authors:
Gargi Ghosh, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
Ritwij Bhowmik, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India

About the Presenter(s)
Ms. Gargi Ghosh is currently pursuing PhD in Fine Arts from the department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India.

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