Charithra Chandran, a young British actress, is making her way through Hollywood. The rising star is most remembered for her role as “Edwina Sharma” in Season 2 of Netflix’s Bridgerton. Notably, the actress has spoken out about the many issues she has faced in the industry, the most important being colorism.
Born on the 17th of January, 1997 in Perth, Scotland, Chandran was exposed to many cultures from the beginning of her life. Chandran was born to Tamil doctors who separated when she was 2. She then went to live in India with her father and grandparents in Tamil Nadu, and eventually returned to the UK in Liverpool to live with her mother when she was 4.
Once settled, Chandran attended Moreton Hall Preparatory School and Oxford High School. Her intelligence and academic ability shone through when she was accepted into Oxford for her higher education. There, Chandran studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at New College, Oxford, even going as far as taking the LSAT — however she ultimately chose not to pursue law school as she found that her true passions and personal happiness lay in the performing arts. Furthermore, her academics did not stop there, as she trained at the National Youth Theater, during and after her time at Oxford.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Chandran discusses her traditional Indian parents’ outlook on her very non-traditional career. She states, “I was always sort of naturally academic. It wasn’t that [my parents] were supportive or not supportive [of acting at a young age], they didn’t care or mind — [theater] was something I loved, it didn’t affect my academics.”
Once she graduated from Oxford, Chandran was unsure of the career path she wanted to pursue. As a result, she took a gap year to pursue her interests in Drama and Acting after postponing a job offer in December of 2022. Specifically, Chandran was offered a position at Boston Consulting Group after interning at the company, but did not end up taking the job, choosing to pursue her acting career instead.
Chandran’s career began in her youth, performing in West End plays. She later performed in many theater and film productions during her time at Oxford University. Her first notable role was in Season 2 of Alex Rider, a spy series on Amazon Prime, where she played Sabina Pleasance. The same year, Chandran made her marvel debut as a Bollywood dancer in 2021’s Eternals, contributing to the growing diversity in the renowned marvel cinematic universe.
Her most notable role as Edwina Sharma in Season 2 of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, catapulted Chandra into the spotlight. The hit show recorded its second season receiving over 627.11 million hours viewed, according to Variety. Though not measured through numbers, Chandran’s impact of portraying one of the show's main characters, Edwina, contributes to the positive portrayal of darker-skinned brown women in Hollywood. In fact, Chandra has spoken out on the importance of dark-skinned representation in Hollywood, as well as the challenges she has faced as a darker skinned South Asian woman.
In a society where the actresses considered most conventionally attractive are often fair-skinned women, where skin lightening products are advertised to make women of darker skin tones to look more “radiant”, and where darker skinned women are viewed innately less valuable in many cultures, positive representation can make a world of a difference to the young girls who can see themselves in Chandran. Bridgerton made it a point to convey that Edwina is the most dazzling of the ton, appointing her the “diamond of the season.” For a show with such a vast audience globally, making Edwina a romantic lead and most desirable spread the positive message that it is not just the fair-skinned women who are deserving of positive representation, reinforcement, and acknowledgement of their beauty.
Furthermore, in an industry where only 4.8% of roles are going to Asian actors (UCLA), and the percentage of those being South Asian or Indian being even lower, it is imperative that we continue to see positive representation of South Asian characters on screen.
Additionally, Chandran has starred in Prime Video’s How to Date Billy Walsh, portraying the main character Amelia Brown. Once again, the positive representation of an Indian girl playing a character with two love interests helps break dated stereotypes of Indian women being“nerdy” and “unattractive.”
Recently, Chandran made her stage debut this year in Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon staged in the West End, a story following a teenage girl who battles the struggles of being a teenager whilst also battling her grief of losing her older sister to an eating disorder. This one-woman play listed its tickets for $£15 ($18.80). Notably, this cheap price for the West End production was intentional by the producers to stray from the typical audience of old, white, and upper middle class, to, in Chandran’s words, “divert that to introduce a new generation to the value of the theater.” Once again, Chandran has contributed to a more inclusive and positive environment for performers and audiences alike.
In her most recent project, Chandra wil be making her associate producing debut in Song of the Sun God, a TV series she will also star in. The series spotlights a story about the crisis of the Sri Lankan Civil War with the Tamil population, a full circle moment as Chandran stated in an interview written for Teen Vogue in 2022, “My dream production, whether I’m producing or starring in it, I’d love to make a film about the crisis in Sri Lanka with the Tamil population. I think it is so complex and nuanced: the situation with the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government, the genocide that happened. It’s something obviously near and dear to my heart because it’s my community.
Associate producing is a huge win for representation behind the screen as well. After all, you cannot tell an authentic story if the ones who are crafting it are not capable of telling the story with the perfect balance of sensitivity, eloquence, and passion that a person with a personal connection can.
Charithra Chandran, while young, is cementing her place in film history. Her passion for the arts shines bright in her determination to provide girls around the world with stories that they can relate to. Journalist Meha Razdan beautifully articulates her experience watching season two of Bridgerton, and the feeling it elicited for her: “Three Indian women, a tiny family in a foreign land, celebrate their culture on a stage as big and beautiful as Bridgerton. And for the first time, it feels like the love story and the fantasy of a genre I’ve adored for years belongs, for this moment, to me.”
Despite Chandran’s relatively new place in the limelight, she has proven to be a source of inspiration for brown girls and women around the world. Her work, whether it be the roles she performs, or the status she holds in the mainstream media, goes far beyond herself. Young girls are now able to view their heritage in a positive manner rather than seeing their culture as a source of mockery.
The film industry still has a long way to go in terms of uplifting suppressed stories and there is still a lot of improvement to be made in the industry in front and behind the camera. Actors like Chandran give the new era of Hollywood and the upcoming generation of films hope to be more inclusive, diverse, and representative of all voices.
Why Did I Choose to Research Charithra Chandran?
I wanted to research Charithra Chandran mostly because I found myself and my culture reflected on screen in the projects I have watched of hers. From the bangles adorning her wardrobe in Bridgerton Season 2 to the vulnerable conversations of the impact of generations of colorism, Chandran has validated my own and many others lived experiences. It is so important that every person can find themselves authentically represented on screen, far from the stereotypical caricatures of characters we have seen in the past. Chandran represents the future of the film industry: diverse and authentic. I am grateful for the opportunity to capture her legacy thus far.
Works Cited
Abraham, Hannah. "'Bridgerton' Star Charithra Chandran Calls out Entertainment Industry Mentality That Pits People of Color against Each Other." Deadline, 26 Apr. 2024, http://deadline.com/2024/04/bridgerton-charithra-chandran-representation-instructions-for-a-teenage-armageddon-1235894883/ Accessed 16 July 2024.
Hunt, Darnell, Dr., and Ana-Christina Ramón, Dr. "Hollywood Diversity Report 2020." 2020. PDF.
Mass, Jennifer. "'Bridgerton' Season 2 Overtakes Season 1 in Netflix's All-Time TV Rankings." Variety, 19 Apr. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/bridgerton-season-2-beats-season-1-netflix-viewership-ratings-1235235479/ Accessed 16 July 2024.
Ramachandran, Naman. "'Bridgerton' Star Charithra Chandran among Narrators of Gender Equality Film Series 'She Creates Change,' Bowing on International Women's Day." Variety, 1 Mar. 2024, http://variety.com/2024/film/global/bridgerton-charithra-chandran-she-creates-change-international-womens-day-1235927470/ Accessed 16 July 2024.
Sharma, Versha. "Bridgerton's Charithra Chandran on Colorism, Culture, and Choosing Yourself." Teen Vogue, 5 Apr. 2022, http://www.teenvogue.com/story/charithra-chandran-cover Accessed 16 July 2024.
Web Page "Charithra Chandran." IMDB, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm12302860/ Accessed 22 July 2024.
This article was published on 8/26/24