Is it because a comic strip safely leaves more to the imagination? Or because the storyline breaks such a juicy selection of taboos?
Here’s the scenario. Savita Bhabhi is a 29-year-old housewife whose husband is too busy to satisfy her sexual desires. In response, she decides to live her sexual fantasies through extra-marital affairs with a range of men and women.
Storyline
“As far as fantasizing is concerned, I think Savita Bhabhi is an excellent concept”, says fan Manjit Singh. “She’s an idea, not a real person. Even though she is pictorially represented, everyone knows that she’s just a depiction of most boys’ fantasies. I consider myself an imaginative mind so I can relate better with a comic strip. It’s like a storyboard.”
One of Mumbai’s well-known sexologists, Dr Mahendra Watsa, agrees the simple storylines work. “It’s not just people having sex. There’s a story behind this. And the story here is that of an Indian housewife looking out for sex. That idea itself is titillating. The plots are simple and that’s why it’s arousing,” he says.
Imagination
The simplicity of the stories and their graphic nature spark the imagination without making everything too explicit.
“Being sexually aroused is about letting your imagination flow. It allows you to be turned on. That’s what the makers of this comic strip have tapped into,” Dr Watsa says.
Forbidden fruit
In Hindi, the word bhabhi means brother’s wife. Bhabhi maa sammaan hoti hai is a common phrase in the language which suggests that a bhabhi is like a mother figure. The underlying meaning is that sensual thoughts about one’s bhabhi are strictly taboo. Savita is the forbidden fruit.
“The sister-in-law is generally out of bounds” says another fan, 30-year-old Mahesh Chhedda. “It’s just a moral line you draw. It’s not incest, but there’s something not very pious about fantasising about your bhabhi. This comic strip makes the bhabhi figure available. It’s bold and challenges Indian stereotypes. It’s adventurous and who doesn’t like adventurous sex.”
Banned
Mahesh also points out that Savita Bhabhi often shares her bed with men from a class lower than herself. “She’s an educated well-off woman and she’s sleeping with Manoj, the servant in the house. That breaks through class boundaries. It would be outrageous in real life, but it’s celebrated here,” he says.
Savita Bhabhi was banned by the Indian government under the country’s IT Act soon after it gained popularity. Fans protested at the targeted censorship within the online porn industry. They even launched a ‘Save Savita Project’. But in the end the site was pulled by its founder Puneet Agarwal.
Paid
A few months later the website relaunched under the banner of Kirtu.com. It also became a paid porn site. This disappointed many fans. “I haven’t accessed the site since it became paid. It was great, but I am not going to pay for porn. There’s a lot of unpaid content available online, why should I pay for this?” asks Manjit.
While Manjit has chosen look elsewhere for porn, loyal followers still continue to flock to the website. And Savita Bhabhi remains a potent sexual image in India’s online porn industry.
What do you think? Is toon porn a turn-on?
Gayatri Parameswaran is a multi-award winning writer, director and producer of immersive media works. She was born and raised in India and is currently based in Berlin, where she co-founded NowHere Media - a storytelling studio that views contemporary issues through a critical lens. She also edited the Love Matters website in its initial years. Check out more about her here.