Representation of Dalits on OTT Platforms (Paatal Lok and Panchayat)

This essay analyzes the representation of Dalit identities in two prominent Indian OTT series Paatal Lok (Prime Video) and Panchayat (Prime Video), to understand how caste operates within contemporary digital storytelling. Drawing on Dalit theory and critical caste studies, the study examines narrative structures, character trajectories, speech patterns, spatial settings, and interactions between Dalit and upper-caste characters. The analysis reveals that Paatal Lok, while foregrounding caste violence and embedding Dalit experiences within the crime politics nexus, frequently positions Dalit characters as victims, villains, or symbolic markers of social othering rather than autonomous subjects with narrative agency. In contrast, Panchayat tends to diminish Dalit visibility, often relegating Dalit characters to the margins or depicting them through tropes of silence, passivity, or functional absence. Through comparative discourse and content analysis of selected seasons, dialogues, and critical commentary, the essay demonstrates that both series, despite claims to progressiveness, reproduce forms of Savarna hegemony in representation. The study argues for the urgent need for Dalit authorship, more self-reflexive narrative practices, and ethical representational frameworks that move beyond tokenism toward emancipatory cinematic portrayals. This study offers one of the first systematic, conceptually grounded examinations of Dalit representation on Indian OTT platforms. The work contributes to broader discussions of digital media, caste politics, and the politics of cultural production in contemporary India.