AHMEDABAD: The takeover of television by the great Gujarati joint family may have inspired India's first comic porn star — Savita Bhabhi , says a research paper by a Jawaharlal Nehru University graduate. The character, Savita Patel, may have been derived from the Gujarati lifestyle, household and enterprising qualities.The paper titled ‘Rethinking Gujarati Identity through the Image of Savita Bhabhi’ intends to look at the inception, ideation, production and patronage of Savita Bhabhi, — a porn web comic — commissioned, created and published by a non-resident Indian that chronicles the sexual adventures of a Gujarati bhabhi (sister-in-law) named Savita Patel.The paper by Anannya Bohidar juxtaposes Savita Bhabhi with other cultural products of contemporary times and tries to conceptualize the multifaceted image of the porn comic with various other popular media — be it daily soaps, weekend comedy or films — which have projected the Gujarati identity in many forms.“The paper discusses and analyzes the reasons behind the ideation of a married Gujarati bhabhi in the realm of popular culture. For instance, in most of the ‘saas-bahu’ sagas the wives so involved with their families that their husbands feel neglected, leading to extra-marital affairs. The comic also derives other aspects like the enjoyment and the lifestyle of Gujaratis,” Bohidar said at the fifth biennial conference on ‘(Re) Defining Gujarati Identity’ organized by Gujarat Studies Association in Ahmedabad. Relating the character of Savita's husband to the traits of Gujarati men, the paper says that there are a lot of similarities between the two — such as the issue of male migration, and the enterprising spirit that takes men to different countries, but leaves less time for the spouse.For the research, Bohidar studied ancient texts, modern writings on popular art, the Kama Sutra and newspapers.“While Savita Bhabhi derives inspiration from Kama Sutra, she is not the quintessential woman who lets the man decide everything. She is critiquing the patriarchal society,” said Bohidar.The comic was introduced in 2008 and was banned by the Indian government in 2009. “The major argument will be pertaining to the issues of history, transformation, recovery and the production of identities in relation to Savita Bhabhi in Gujarat,” says the paper.