32 highlights
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In the early twentieth century, before the establishment of any semblance of a ‘film industry’ in India there existed film societies, and these were unsurprisingly dominated by savarna cinephiles and filmmakers.
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As time went by, film societies expanded into film industries and then started an era of commercial filmmaking. Most of these industries still had families who dominated the sphere, but with time, the space opened up for anybody with talent and will, or the money and family.
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The birth of the Malayalam film industry was in 1928, from the ashes of the casteist inferno that engulfed the Capitol theatre in Trivandrum during the screening of JC Daniel’s Vigathakumaran, the first Malayalam film.
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Malayalam cinema’s first ever heroine, a Dalit Christian named PK Rosy, ran for her life from the mob that repeatedly tried to attack her, for playing the part of an upper caste Nair lady named Sarojini, in the film.
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But, even after Malayalam cinema and Kerala reached a level of egalitarianism, caste still played a factor – be it on screen or off it.
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Veteran actor Thilakan had openly spoken against a “Nair lobby” that dominated the industry which claims to have been a barrier to artists who hail from lower caste backgrounds.
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A hearsay account of Divya Unni, an actress, rejecting a role opposite Mani allegedly because of his skin colour, is quite well-known.
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Even if one is tempted to dismiss this as an unfounded rumour, we cannot deny the fact that caste prejudice has always been rampant in Malayalam cinema.
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Even Rajya Sabha MP and actor Suresh Gopi recently admitted that there is discrimination on the basis of caste in Malayalam cinema.
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Nedumudi Venu, a veteran Malayalam actor, had once commented on the allegations of the existence of a ‘Nair lobby’ by dismissing them as inaccurate and he went on back it with Mammootty’s stardom as an example.
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In Major Ravi’s, 1971: Beyond Borders (2017), Mohanlal heroically tells a temple administrator who restricts his Muslim friend from entering a temple, “It’s just been a short while since you and your clan were allowed to enter temples.” What should have just been about secularism was fully disrupted with a reminder of systematic oppression of caste and its existence still, in a way implying that Bahujans who were earlier not allowed to enter temples, have no right to make decisions on it.
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In Rasathanthram (2006), Mohanlal’s character is that of a carpenter (aashari). Since the caste as profession narrative is usually enforced in cinema, one thought this was a refreshing change. But, the audience is quickly corrected by Mohanlal when he clarifies that his profession isn’t his traditional family occupation, but just a skill he acquired in jail.
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Similarly, in Azhakiya Ravanan (1996) Mammootty’s character is shown as an ex-servant of a tharavad (ancestral home of land-owners). In order to establish Mammootty’s caste identity, his secretary Cochin Haneefa tells Innocent, an NSS Karayogam president, that he belongs to the same caste as him.
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In the film Dhruvam (1993), when Mammootty belts out a dialogue that glorifies his Kshatriya caste identity, he also slams other varnas as weak. In Devasuram (1993), Mohanlal finds out that his father is not the Menon who gave him his name, but is someone else and feels distraught. He is then consoled by his mother’s servant, who says that even though his father isn’t a Menon, he is still of a ‘superior royal birth’.
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In the 2016’s Maheshinte Prathikaram, Soubin Shahir’s character, Crispin, makes a comment that is intended to be humorous, but on close examination, it’s nothing short of a social commentary.
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He says that he’s a fan of Lalettan (Mohanlal) over Mammootty, because Mammootty does roles of heroes belonging to different social backgrounds, but Mohanlal only plays Varma, Nair and Menon characters.
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In some cases, rather than spelling out the caste of the hero, the makers try to put in sly references that merely imply his caste. This is usually in the form of music, especially classical music. Carnatic music vocalist TM Krishna had said that “Carnatic music is a Brahmin-dominated world.” This was backed in the film Rock n’ Roll (2007) in which a talented yet unsuccessful Christian musician says, “A non-Hindu can never be successful in the field of music in Chennai”.
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Music is often placed in such a manner that the hero proves his caste or superior birth by singing. In the film Chithram (1988), the rendition of the Carnatic song Nagumo… by the hero makes the heroine (who is of royal birth) like him although she was completely indifferent and even disliked him till then.
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Similarly, in movies like Aaraam Thampuran (1997) and His Highness Abdullah (1990), the hero sings to be adored and clear any doubts about his birth. Music is shown as the field of expertise of a Brahmin in most Malayalam films, it’s an art that other characters are completely ignorant of.
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Director Lal Jose, in two of his popular films, gave the lead actor an upper caste identity in order to compensate for his low stature as a thief. In Vikramadityan (2014), Dulquer’s father, played by Santhosh Keezhattoor, is portrayed as a sly thief who lies, but the character is given an upper caste Menon identity. This might because the girl he loves is a Shenoy, who are Gouda Saraswat Brahmins.
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In Meesha Madhavan (2002), it is used to distinguish Dileep’s character Madhavan Nair from Mullani Pappan played by Mala, who is a casteless normal, uncouth thief; whereas Madhavan Nair is a prestigious Nair thief, who is loved by all.
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The impoverishment of characters living in an illam (house of Namboodiri), tharavad (ancestral home of land-owners) or kottaram (palace) is also a popular storyline in most mainstream Malayalam films.
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Casteist abuses and slurs are normalised along with vilification of the lower castes. Words like “chhetta” (modest dwelling of the poor), “pulayadi mone” (son of pulaya), are thrown around as cuss words and an entire generation, if not more, of Malayalam cinema, actively propagated this elitist casteism.
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One of Kerala’s most popular and successful filmmakers, Priyadarshan, is known for the glorification of Nairs in films.
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Films like Ea.Ma.You (2018) and Kumbalangi Nights (2019) have breached that mould, where Christians of lower caste or class are featured as heroes.
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If the Hindu caste glorification wasn’t enough, films like Pathinettam Padi (2019) flaunts the converted Namboodiri Christian heritage.
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Renowned Malayalam writer MT Vasudevan Nair largely wrote about the decline of Nair dominance and stories on their lives.
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In the recent times, Vineeth Sreenivasan had also fallen for the same stereotypical caste glorification. In his movie Thattathin Marayathu (2012), which tells the tale of an inter-faith love affair between a Muslim girl and a Hindu boy, the Nair identity of the boy is frequently brought up.
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Lately, in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017), the lead characters are shown to have had an inter-caste marriage. Here Suraj Venjaramoodu plays the role on an Ezhava who marries a Nair woman, played by Nimisha Sajayan.
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Malayalam cinema is definitely expanding towards the area of political correctness, especially with organisations like WCC (Women in Cinema Collective), working hard to keep a check on the portrayal of patriarchy and misogyny in films.
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But rather than just ignoring its presence, or playing to stereotypes or glorifying caste dynamics, cinema needs to not just acknowledge its existence and give a true portrayal of it, but also prompt alternate narratives so as to make viewers rethink about caste and its presence.
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Director Khalid Rahman’s Unda (2019) featuring Mammootty gave a near perfect representation of casteism and the plight of the tribals.