Brown Girl, White Guy: The Trope That Won’t Die
In Hollywood, South Asian characters almost never end up together. Is it bias — or something deeper?
“Indian girls, can I ask y’all something? When you watch American romance movies where there’s an Indian woman who’s the main character…and she ends up with a white guy, how do you guys feel about that?” Shanoriya, a Jamaican American, asked in a viral Instagram video after watching the trailer of Picture This (2025), in which Simone Ashley ends up with the white guy (despite a very sexy Nikesh Patel).
What seemed like a simple question opened the floodgates on a well-worn trope. So when Mindy Kaling announced she was casting for a new show, audiences couldn’t help but quip: “Every one of them is going to date the most regular looking white man on the planet.” Lest you think Kaling is the only culprit, apart from Picture This, there’s also A Nice Indian Boy (2024), Bend It Like Beckham (2003), and more.
Why are these shows and films this way? And how do we feel about it? Over 1,000 people responded to our poll on their thoughts about the trend, and we spoke with over 24 people, including nine producers, screenwriters, and marketing professionals. Their answers might surprise you.