Serializing Nationalism: Indian Soaps and Border Defense

Abstract

Since its first airing in 2016 the Indian tv series Nāgin (female serpent) was a success. Featuring a shape-shifting female serpent and her fictional entry in the human world to seek revenge, the nāgin was even more appealing because of her being a fervent devotee of the Hindu god Śiva. While the first five seasons of the supernatural soap opera were eventually a variation on the theme of the competition between the nāgin as newlywed daughter-inlaw and her mother-in-law, the sixth season, that premiered in February 2022, introduced a novel element in the plot. The nāgin is not anymore to avenge herself because of a personal reason, rather her mission is to defend her country from internal and external forces that attempt to undermine its integrity. A nāgin can be seen as a symbol of transformation, as she crosses the margins between the ‘supernatural’ and the ‘human’ dimensions at will. This paper aims to shed light on how this fluid figure is made the defender of national borders, conceived increasingly as unchanging and non-negotiable by nationalist narratives. It will investigate the multiple modalities in which border defense is blended into the plot of the series, as it nourishes in this way a form of serialized nationalism.