Historically, mainstream Indian media either ignored the Northeast or exoticized its people. Women from the region frequently faced harmful stereotyping—often depicted uniformly as "exotic," culturally disconnected from the rest of India, or marginalized into specific niche roles.
Despite significant progress, structural obstacles remain for Assamese women in the entertainment industry:
Moral policing remains prevalent. Women who defy traditional expectations or speak out on political and social issues are often subjected to intense online harassment.
: In mainstream Indian cinema, casting directors still occasionally fall back on tokenism, casting actors from the region simply to check a diversity box rather than writing fully fleshed-out characters.