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Anti-caste Aesthetics and Dalit Interventions in Indian Cinema

Article  in  Economic and Political Weekly · September 2020

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SPECIAL ARTICLE

Anti-caste Aesthetics and Dalit Interventions in

Indian Cinema

Manju Edachira

T
The cinematic interventions of contemporary Dalit he discourse on Dalits and cinema in India has gained
film-makers in India, Nagraj Manjule and Pa Ranjith, academic attention recently, resulting in a range of
studies from different perspectives. While some focus
among others, represent modes of resistant
on the much debated question of Dalit representation in film
historiography, employed by Dalits, against the aesthetic content both as critique (Margaret 2013) and as appreciation
regime of stereotypical representation, through (Tamalapakula 2018), others study the absence and presence
innovative techniques in visuals, sound, music, and of Dalit film-making itself (Wankhede 2013; Yengde 2018).
While Dalits, like many other lower caste/class communities,
cinematography. The paper attempts to evaluate and
have been part of the industry as labourers, they were hardly
argue for an enabling anti-caste aesthetics articulated involved in formal production processes.1 The recent success
through an embodied sensibility in films. The paper of Nagraj Manjule and Pa Ranjith—two prominent Dalit film-
argues that these film-makers not only disturb “the makers in Marathi and Tamil language cinema respectively—
and their celluloid experiments presenting an enabling, anti-
unconscious of caste” through an explicit anti-caste
caste aesthetics warrants our attention to this context. Both
aesthetics but also produce affective, expressive the directors present an aesthetics that is anti-caste in the
archives. In other words, they bring into presence what genre of commercial films, though their approach differs sig-
was previously impossible through the processes of nificantly. While Manjule’s films concentrate on the lives of
Dalits in rural Maharashtra, especially highlighting the nuances
denunciation (of casteist images) and innovation
of everyday social discrimination, Ranjith deals with Dalit
(of anti-caste aesthetics). assertion among Tamils, both inland and diasporic. Their films
transcend language barriers, reaching a larger audience
through different modes of production (using subtitles, remakes,
and dubbing) and wider circulation (through large-scale nati-
onal and international theatrical release and use of social
media platforms).2 They, perhaps, have successfully pioneered
an anti-caste aesthetics beyond the usual progressive narra-
tives of Gandhian socialism in Indian cinema (Margaret 2013).
Oppressed communities, the Dalits in particular, have always
engaged with aesthetics in the vernacular, in their struggles
for emancipation. The resurgence of anti-caste movements in
Maharashtra during the 1960s–1970s and the subsequent
growth of Dalit literature that challenged Brahminical
aesthetics, is one such example. Those writings emerged as
resistance against the caste system, rooted in the Dalit experi-
ence of oppression and angst (Dangle 1992). It was largely
perceived as an epistemological and political act to establish a
different category in literature (Dangle 1992; Satyanarayana
The author is grateful to M T Ansari and Chandra Sekhar for their
2019). However, one could note that the explicitness of the
comments and suggestions on earlier drafts, Dickens Leonard for his political overpowered the literary aesthetics in many cases.3 In
intellectual and affective inputs on the paper, and Tushar Ghadage for other words, the necessity of rational epistemological ques-
his assistance with the Marathi language. This paper is dedicated to the tions undermined the affective expressive aesthetics of liter-
memory of Muthu Krishnan.
ary works. Though some writers could do both at once, Dalit
Manju Edachira ([email protected]) is an independent literature largely remained as an alternative, if not an opposi-
researcher and guest faculty at the Centre for English Language Studies, tion, to mainstream literature. On the other hand, contem-
University of Hyderabad.
porary Dalit presence in film-making and the employment of
Economic & Political Weekly EPW september 19, 2020 vol lV no 38 47
SPECIAL ARTICLE

anti-caste aesthetics in cinema not only critique mainstream that negate Black representation and/or stereotype them as
cinema but also affect the medium itself, through an affective the other of Whites. To engage with mainstream images
expressive aesthetics that is at once political and poetic. Thus, and its negation of Black representation, they cultivate an
anti-caste aesthetics in cinema takes inspiration from, yet goes “oppositional gaze” that enables them to create an independent
beyond, the already available category of Dalit aesthetics. Black cinema (hooks 1992). Hence, they not only resist the
By foregrounding the films of Manjule and Ranjith, in exten- dominant images but also create alternative texts with rich
sion to the aesthetic experiments in the vernacular, this paper resources (songs, stories, performances, etc), engendering an
explores the possibility of anti-caste aesthetics in cinema. alternative community.
First, it examines the relationship between caste and gaze. While seeing or gazing is hegemonic on the one hand, seeing
Second, it analyses the employment of anti-caste aesthetics is also caring in an-other sense. Nathaniel Roberts (2016)
and its role in turning impossibilities into possibilities. Finally, discusses the relationship between seeing/looking and caste
it evaluates the affective expressive aesthetics that “present” in a slum settlement in Tamil Nadu. For instance, he gives the
rather than “re-present.” In short, the paper attempts to go example of the Tamil word paar “which literally means
beyond representational questions (of erasure, stereotyping, and ‘seeing’ or ‘looking at’ but which also means ‘attending to’
othering) and explores embodied presence such as “rejection someone out of concern, acknowledging that person’s presence,
of rejection” (Guru 2009), “oppositional gaze” (hooks 1992), treating him or her as consequential” (Roberts 2016: 78). He
and affective expressive aesthetics in Indian cinema. notes that according to the slum dwellers, the rich or caste
people do not look at the poor, “they scrutinize … inspect …
Caste and Gaze but they don’t ever see you as a fellow human being” (Roberts
Dalits, at the very bottom of the caste hierarchy in India, were 2016: 78). Hence, the look, which has power, is used in this
not only the earlier untouchables but also unhearables and context to neglect, ignore, and more so, to invisibilise the pres-
unseeables. These impositions on human senses demonstrate ence of the oppressed.
that caste is embedded in the sensorial regime. Recent works Indian cinema largely invisibilises and negates the presence
on caste take a “sensorial turn” to understand the embodiment of Dalits, as they are either ignored or stereotyped in the
of caste and how it affects society (Guru and Sarukkai 2012; narratives while being largely absent in film production. Here,
Lee 2017; Jaaware 2019). Caste as a sensorial regime is intrinsi- Indian cinema defies the argument of Siegfried Kracauer
cally linked with aesthetics, and it affects the sensory experience. (1960: 304), for whom films virtually make the world our home.
Thus, anti-caste aesthetics has the potential to significantly In India, cinema reproduces the “upper” caste/class gaze as a
rupture the sensorial regime of caste. Though cinema is per- metonymy for the whole nation. When B R Ambedkar told
ceived as an audiovisual medium, studies on it have generally M K Gandhi that he does not have a homeland (Keer 1971: 166), it
privileged the study of sight over other senses; particularly indicates the oppression that Dalits in India experience. Caste
on gaze. To foreground the question of caste in cinema, it is oppression continuously reminds them of their non-belonging
significant to discuss the concept of gaze, especially from other or their “longing-to-be” (Leonard 2019). On the one hand, one
oppressed locations. could state that the cinemas of India never offered a virtual
Laura Mulvey (1975: 6–18) studies the significance of “look” home for Dalits in India as their presence is either negated or
in classical Hollywood cinema through a feminist reading; invisibilised.4 On the other hand, there could be a spectatorial
cinema as “an advanced representation system” structures identification, where large majorities are trapped by an image
“ways of seeing” the woman as an image, and the man as (Pandian 1992). Both cases only show how cinema affects
“bearer of the look.” Through Sigmund Freud’s “scopophilia” Dalits, and not the other way round, that is, how Dalits affect
(objectified look) and Jacques Lacan’s conception of “mirror cinema. It is at this juncture that one needs to look at the
stage” (narcissism), Mulvey (1975: 8–11) explains how the experiments of Manjule and Ranjith which transcend the
pleasure of just looking at the screen splits into binary stereotypical critique into a generative discourse. Their films,
conceptions of active/male and passive/female. Though at once, offer an oppositional gaze as well as a “look” which
Mulvey’s theory is significant in analysing the role of camera cares—as an affective gaze. Hence, anti-caste aesthetics not
in White American films, it becomes insignificant for Black only resists, but also invites one to be part of its becoming.
female spectators. To put it differently, anti-caste aesthetics is an aspect of
Critically evaluating Mulvey’s theory on Hollywood’s “becoming” in India. A becoming which is inevitable in the
constructed womanhood as an object of phallocentric gaze, case of Dalits, where being itself is violated.
bell hooks (1992) suggests that Mulvey’s conception of Manjule and Ranjith’s films employ aesthetics as a way
womanhood is all too White and excludes Black women. of being and becoming, an aesthetics of experience rather
hooks highlights the rejection of such films by Black female than mere perception of beauty.5 Though aesthetics has been
spectators, who identify with neither the victim nor the theorised from various standpoints, it is widely perceived as a
perpetrator. They form a critical space, she argues, where study of reflection on the work of art,6 a branch of philosophy
“‘woman as an image and man as bearer of the look’ was con- that is concerned with the study of art and experience, or art
tinuously deconstructed” (hooks 1992: 122–23). Critical Black as a site of experience. Thus, the use of the term aesthetics in
female spectators resist domineering images of Hollywood this paper has more to do with the questions of experience,
48 september 19, 2020 vol lV no 38 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
 SPECIAL ARTICLE

which find beauty in emancipatory struggles rather than dom- previous possibilities to create a new discourse. In fact, what
inant perceptions. Instead of a Dalit rejection of aesthetics was possible (Kabali as a stereotype) had to be countered in a
(Limbale 2018),7 the paper explores the possibilities of an anti- long intervention, as conversation and more so as critique. He
caste aesthetics as affect—expression and celebration— breaks the existing aesthetics and interpretations behind
beyond the narratives of “pain” and “humiliation.” The paper, Kabali and brings the name into the language of anti-caste
thus, argues for an anti-caste aesthetics that recognises beauty aesthetics, which was an impossibility before. Whereas Badiou’s
and joy in life and struggle.8 While it starts with the negative Mallarmé is using a “new-name” (author’s term), “a name that
(Guru 2011)—from invisibility (of Dalit presence in Indian cin- does not name” (Badiou 2005), a name that has to present a
ema)—in the politics of representation, it moves towards posi- new meaning. It does not suggest that the name is countering
tive implications (of art as resistant epistemology) in the aes- an already available discourse. It is indeed not bothered by
thetics of presentation.9 This presence, which disturbs repre- what it counters (if it does). But in Ranjith’s case, it is impor-
sentation, continuously ruptures the already conceived ideas tant that a stereotype is already present to counter, thereby
of Dalits through cinematic stereotypes. creating a new discourse.
Similarly, Kaala (2018), the title of the film, does the same
Aesthetics: Possibility of Impossible reversal of meanings. Kaala in Hindi or Sanskrit refers to the
Such anti-caste aesthetics can be studied as “inaesthetics” colour black, which is often associated with darkness in Hindu
(Badiou 2005), where art is immanent and singular at the mythology.14 But Ranjith employs a different hermeneutic to
same time; and a truth procedure, which is irreducible to phi- deconstruct and reconstruct the name Kaala. When Hari dada
losophy.10 Alain Badiou (2005: 25) analyses the French poet (the villain) asks sarcastically, “Kaala, what sort of name is
Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem to demonstrate the production of that?” Kaala replies that black is the colour of labour. The mov-
intra-philosophical effects in art (in this case, poetry) to argue ie itself is a story of an urban slum community. But unlike oth-
that “the poem is capable of: to bring forth from language a er popular films which depict only the negative aspects of slum
coming to presence that was previously impossible.” The poet life, Ranjith highlights their life, struggles, and celebrations.
had used the non-existent word “ptyx” (the unnamable) in his From the act of naming, these films offer an anti-caste aesthetic
poem, like the use of “x” or “y” in mathematics. that is also an oppositional gaze to mainstream Indian cinema.
For Badiou, this unnamable connotes the possibilities of art This possibility not only foregrounds the aspirational nature of
and aesthetics in doing the otherwise impossible. For instance, these films, but also suggests the implications of art from being
Ranjith and Manjule’s films pioneered a certain kind of anti- to becoming, both ontologically (offers a sense of being) and
caste aesthetics in Indian cinema that was previously impossible. epistemologically (produces resistant epistemologies).
The politics of “naming” in Ranjith’s recent two films exemplifies The possibility of the impossible is not new in the realm of
this.11 First, the name Kabali, in popular conception, is a low- aesthetics, as is evident in other parts of the world. While
er-caste name in Tamil Nadu. By naming his protagonist and discussing the works of Antonin Artaud, a French theatre
film itself thus, Ranjith gives a new dimension to the name. practitioner, scholars note that “he had passionately committed
The reference to the name Kabali invokes the discourse that his life to possibilities, that is, to what other people would
Tamil films had hitherto created only to be rejected, so as to consider impossibilities” (Bermel 2013: 3). Artaud was one of
claim a new meaning.12 This possibility of transformation the major figures of the avant-garde movement in Europe.
could be seen even in the trailer of the film. He developed the theatre of cruelty by breaking away from
Villain: Who is that Kabali? Ask him to come here. Western traditional theatrical forms, which gave importance
Kabali: (Laughs out aloud) … Do you think I am the Kabali of Tamil
to expression instead of text. Through this, Artaud wanted
films, who comes attired in lungi, with a black mole on his face and an to disturb the senses of the audience, and expose them to
up-turned mustache? The one who says “yes master” with a dropped their own unconscious emotions. This unsettling of emotions
gaze when Nambiar calls?13 (Laughs again) … This is Kabali Man! was done through spectacle, gesture, lighting, sound, etc.
(against a heroic background score).
The theatre of cruelty sought “to exalt, to benumb, to
This scene in Kabali deconstructs the previous notions of the charm, (and) to arrest the sensibility” (Artaud 1958: 91). He
name and offers a new possibility of recognition and identifi- intended to break from the representational epoch of Western
cation. Moreover, the scene is shot in a low-angle shot, where tradition through delving into the unrepresentable realm of
Kabali becomes prominent and gazes back at the camera, human subconscious.
making the character appear powerful and glamorous. This Artaud’s theatre of cruelty and the anti-caste aesthetics of
ruptures the previous images of Kabali, offering a heroic Dalit directors, I contend, share some similarities as they break
substitute. Here, Ranjith enters the hegemonic popular, which away from conventional practices and disturb the sensibilities
is usually unavailable for Dalits to experiment in/with, and of viewers. If one could argue that the unconscious of the
breaks it from within by dismantling its own conventions. Indian audience is caste untouchability, then what these
However, Ranjith employs these names to counter an exist- directors make possible is an impossibility. Pariyerum Perumal
ing discourse on names, unlike Mallarmé’s interventions in (2018), a Tamil film, directed by Mari Selvaraj and produced
language. In other words, Ranjith is not necessarily bringing by Pa Ranjith, exposes how some directors play with the audi-
the idea of Kabali into language but rather countering its ence’s sensibility.15 The film tells the story of Pariyan, a young
Economic & Political Weekly EPW september 19, 2020 vol lV no 38 49
SPECIAL ARTICLE

Dalit man, who aspires to become an accomplished lawyer like also challenge the same (Eagleton 1990). Although it needs
Ambedkar. The movie highlights the horror of honour killing a different kind of aesthetics, an aesthetics that contests the
and caste violence, capturing the minute ways in which caste oppressive normative.
operates.16 More importantly, Pariyerum Perumal disturbs the The climax of Manjule’s Fandry (Pig; 2013) enunciates such
“real,” or the predictable, using anti-caste aesthetics. oppositional aesthetics in cinema as it attempts to break the
The film portrays Pariyan’s aspiration to study, to become narrative structure through the act of throwing a stone at the
someone else—an other—than what caste society wants him to screen/camera.17 In the end, Jabya, the protagonist, explodes
be, his relationship with Jo (a dominant caste woman) that is with anger against caste discrimination and throws a stone at
against societal conventions, and the ensuing caste violence and his oppressors. The stone rushes towards the screen rapidly and
his survival with greater moral stamina. Pariyan’s relationship the film abruptly ends—blacking out—with that particular scene.
with Jo triggers a series of violence against him. However, Stoning the camera/screen, and in extension the audience, can
Pariyerum Perumal does not end like any other Indian film, be seen as a breaking (away from) the narrative (space). The
where the hero retaliates in the climax and wins against his screen space is threatened from within the narrative by the final
opponents. Nor does it end like Sairat (2016), where both the shot where the frame, camera, and spectator are at once targeted.
protagonists become victims of honour killing. It is the unpredict- Perhaps, the shot blurs cinematic realism and the “real” that is
ability that makes the film different. The film is neither a heroic just outside the frame, so as to highlight caste oppression faced
tale nor a tragic story; it highlights the significance of dialogue by Dalits. This approach goes beyond the postmodern reading
as a critical engagement with casteist society. In the climax, Jo’s of the “real” and highlights everyday caste violence.
father apologises to Pariyan for his brutal actions, and thanks Unlike Fandry, which was not a popular film though it received
the latter for not telling his daughter about the violence he had widespread appreciation and importance, Sairat (Wild; 2016),
unleashed. He says, “things might change in the future, who Manjule’s second film, became the highest grossing Marathi
knows!” To which, Pariyan replies, with a sarcastic smile, “I film till date. It was a commercial success and received many
know sir. As long as you remain the same, and expect me to be accolades for the concept and narrative treatment. Sairat
a dog, nothing will change here. Things will remain the same.” explored the possibilities of the sense of sound—beautifully
Selvaraj plays with the unconscious feelings of the audience composed songs, apt background music, and most importantly,
at this point, disturbing and prompting them to think beyond deafening silence—to establish the intensity of emotions.18 In
their comfort zones. While Artaud is interested in challenging the climax, contrary to the usual intensifying music, to show
the unconscious feelings of the audience in order to break the death of the protagonist and his beloved, Manjule employs
notions of false reality, these Dalit directors disturb the uncon- pin-drop silence to convey the horror of (dis)honour killing in
scious of caste through the use of anti-caste aesthetics. They also India.19 In comparison to sound, silence speaks aloud. An
look forward to the affective expressive realm of the audience. extremely orchestrated silence transfers from the screen to the
Their intention is to bring into presence what was previously spectator—a contagious emotion—rupturing the genre of
impossible through the processes of denunciation (of casteist romance in Indian cinema in its treatment of caste. Perhaps,
images) and innovation (of anti-caste aesthetics). The song this is the unnamable, which cannot be brought into language
“Naan yaar” (Who am I?) ruptures what was possible in Tamil as sound, but only as silence: the silence of death, “the absolute
cinema through an otherwise impossible anti-caste aesthetics. signified, the sealing off sense” (Nancy 1993: 3). A sanctified
Through images (of caste atrocities, the symbolic figure of killing to shut the senses off could be captured only by silence,
Karuppi the black dog, and venomous creatures as the scorpion especially in a film that highlights Dalit sensibilities of sound.
and snake, caste suicides, etc), music, and lyrics, the song disturbs Sairat urges one to unravel the ethico-political dimensions
the caste consciousness of spectators. The song exemplifies the of the sense of touch in a regime of untouchability that operates
oppositional gaze that not only resists but also cares to make as culture in the subcontinent. “Touch,” the word, means “to
changes in society, by affecting others. have physical contact with something or somebody,” but it
also suggests “to invoke affect.” As cinema cannot be touched
Affective Expressive Aesthetics physically, unlike sculpture, it is the affective sense of touch that
Arts and aesthetics play a major role in emancipatory struggles is at work. Apparently, without physical touch, cinema can touch
across the world. Such struggles significantly depart from the its spectators and produce feelings in them. But cinema also
European “art for art’s sake” movement, instead using it for has the potential to force humans to explore their sense of
political purposes. Paul Taylor (2016) studies Black aesthetics touch; both touching oneself and others.20 Touching one’s own
and notes that the Blacks could not afford to do art just for art’s intimate parts while watching something, or to be involved in
sake. Similarly, in the documentary film, In the Shade of Fallen touching, or even kissing one’s own partner during an intimate
Chinar (2016), based on arts and artists in Kashmir University of scene on the screen, are examples of cinema-induced touch.
Kashmir, an artist notes that art works as a tool to heal. He wishes However, I focus on the affective aspect of touch here.
that it would have been great to enjoy and relish art, although The “untouchables” have been a “touchy” subject for Indian
impossible for them. Hence, oppressed groups across the cinema: either it resolves itself within a Gandhian (religious/
world approach art as a platform to challenge hegemony. cultural) or a Nehruvian (statist) paradigm but never ethico-
While aesthetics can reinforce dominant ideologies, it can politically.21 Whereas Sairat treats Dalit lives ethico-politically,
50 september 19, 2020 vol lV no 38 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
 SPECIAL ARTICLE

through an affective aesthetics. Sairat could touch the viewers, Similarly, Ranjith’s Kaala can be read as an antithesis of Mani
and “pollute” the conceptions of popular Indian cinema.22 The Ratnam’s celebrated film Nayakan (The Hero; 1987). Rajesh
film, which otherwise follows popular yardsticks (Sairat has Rajamani (2018) observes that Kaala is a deliberate attempt to
all the elements of a Bollywood flick and was remade into Hindi), erase the “Brahmin–Savarna gaze on Dharavi” in popular Tamil
differs in its manifestation of caste—not normalised but effec- film imagination created by Nayakan, and to rewrite it from an
tively presented as an atrocity. It disrupts the manifestations of anti-caste perspective. He contrasts the images from both the
caste in Indian cinema, by offering an anti-caste aesthetics— films to highlight the striking differences between them, and in
visuals and sound—that is capable of affecting the spectators. turn demonstrates the deliberate deconstruction by Ranjith in
Moreover, the film is also an affective archive of the brutalities Kaala. For instance, in Nayakan, the protagonist (Kamal Haasan)
of honour killing without fetishising violence.23 is mostly seen in white clothes. Curiously, even the accompany-
Hrishikesh Ingle (2018) discusses Manjule as a catalyst in ing characters are clothed in white. On the other hand, in
bringing marginal narratives to mainstream Marathi film Kaala, the entire movie, even its title, is aesthetically black.
industry and the subsequent changes that have come about in
his wake in the Marathi cultural sphere. Manjule is a multifac- Halfway between Gesture and Thought
eted artist—film-maker, poet, writer, and actor (he acted in However, Ranjith used white frames to portray the antagonist
both Fandry and Sairat). His film narratives and writings fore- of Kaala, Hari dada. This visual play of colours, in contrast to
ground anti-caste aesthetics rooted in the artistic experience. Nayakan, deconstructs the frozen images of popular Tamil
While acknowledging the impact of Manjule’s experiments in cinema. Unlike most films, where such deconstruction is through
Marathi cinema, one needs to also look beyond the region as dialogues that refer to old films, Kaala inverts the images instead.
his films transcend regional barriers through different modes. These citational or intertextual references made by Dalit film-
For instance, the music for Sairat was recorded at Hollywood, makers are oppositional, not nostalgic, and it calls for a going
California, for the first time in the history of Indian cinema. beyond the frozen images. The downplay of language, if not dis-
Foregrounding Manjule’s films, Suraj Yengde (2018: 14) missal, might look similar to Artaud’s theatre of cruelty. Artaud
argues for a discursive Dalit cinema that “has the potential to (1958: 89) stresses on the importance of expression over language
offer performatory resistance to the interwoven threads of the in theatre and urges practitioners to “put an end to the subju-
caste–capital nexus.” He notes that, by critiquing different gation of the theatre to the text, and to recover the notion of a kind
forms of oppression such as caste, gender, class, and so on, of a unique language halfway between gesture and thought.”
“Dalit cinema could foreshadow a cohesive battle against However, this was to enhance the possibilities of theatre as
hegemonic caste supremacy” (Yengde 2018: 14). Yengde fore- “expression in space” rather than an inversion of images. It
tells a Dalit cinema like Dalit literature, as a kind of category distinguishes the liveliness of theatrical performance against
that is already available and needs to be occupied. However, cinematic images which are removed from time and space. Thus,
Manjule’s films cannot be reduced to mere categories, if there the anti-caste aesthetics offered by Manjule and Ranjith does not
is one, for he at once blurs the boundaries of mainstream and follow avant-garde theatrical practices of Artaud in a complete
its alternative. Instead of occupying categorisations, such as sense, though certain characteristics appear in both forms.
“Dalit cinema” or “Dalit popular,” directors like Manjule and Ranjith provides a new dimension to Rajinikanth as a char-
Ranjith rupture the premise of the mainstream itself so as to acter in Kaala and gives a new reading of him as superstar.
generate an anti-caste discourse on/in cinema. Rajinikanth is generally known for his superhero and hyper
While Manjule highlights caste atrocities on Dalits through masculine characters. But he plays a senior citizen throughout
his films, Ranjith on the other hand celebrates Dalit assertion Kaala, otherwise an impossibility in his usual films. Surprisingly,
as a resistant filmic practice. He does this not as an alternative, his younger age part in the film is a graphical representation.
parallel film practice but within the popular domain. Apart Unlike the mass entry of Rajinikanth in other films, Kaala intro-
from direction, Ranjith also produces films under the banner duces his character differently, comically: Kaala (Rajinikanth),
Neelam productions.24 As a painter himself, Ranjith often paints a grandpa (albeit stylish for his age), gets clean bowled whilst
his films with colours that enhance the power of images. His playing cricket with his grandchildren. Similarly, most of his
films often inter-refer earlier popular Tamil films to deconstruct introduction songs are usually sung by his characters them-
them through the medium itself. Unlike most of the cinemas of selves in first person (that is, Rajinikanth—the star—sings and
India, where going back to the past is a nostalgic act to cele- presents himself to his fans); whereas, in Kabali and Kaala the
brate a golden era, Ranjith’s films refer back only to decon- entry songs are sung in the third person, where Rajinikanth—
struct them adequately, like the name Kabali (discussed earlier). the hero—is a mere participant with minimal action. By
In addition, the film songs contest the popular songs of earlier doing so, Ranjith kept the star image of the actor’s persona at
eras through music and lyrics. “Ulagam oruvanukka” from bay on-screen and operated the impossible, perhaps as a
Kabali deconstructs the song “oruvan oruvan mudhalali” from performative experiment, to re-conceptualise hero-ness differ-
Muthu (1995), an earlier superhit of Rajinikanth. While Muthu ently in Tamil cinema.25 While re-conceptualising hero-ness,
sings “There’s just one master, the rest are mere workers,” two Ranjith also foregrounded women characters beyond victim-
decades later Kabali retorts “Is the world for (just) one? Who hood and glamour. Kalai in Madras (2014); Kumudhavalli and
are the toiling ones? Kabali will be the one to answer.” Yogi in Kabali; Selvi, Zareena and Puyal in Kaala; these women
Economic & Political Weekly EPW september 19, 2020 vol lV no 38 51
SPECIAL ARTICLE

exuberated life with agency. They are forthcoming, assertive, are at once particular and universal. Manjule’s and Ranjith’s
and capable of fighting injustices with self-respect and dignity. experiments with different forms of expression convert lived
In a way, Ranjith brings a thoughtful anti-caste feminism to experience into a narrative that is at once local and universal,
the filmic medium. yet singular and immanent.
The significance of these films lies in their reaching out to
From Resistance to Engagement the other—as an invitation to the other—through an affective
Though there are many documentary films on Dalit lives which anti-caste aesthetics. They are capable of presenting not only
are equally brilliant, the popularity of cinema transcends regional the affective expressive but also rational epistemological truths.26
boundaries and could affect spectators at a large scale. Sairat In Jean-Luc Nancy’s (1996) terms, art is the coming into presence,
was premiered at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in an exposition of the senses into the world, absent previously
February 2016 and received a standing ovation. It became the but made to disappear in its presentation. Perhaps, art is at
highest grossing film in the history of Marathi cinema. Similarly, the threshold of existence, reminding us the limits of the
both Kaala and Kabali were premiered in Malaysia and Kabali world, the limits of ourselves. For Nancy (1993: 1–4), “repre-
became one of the highest grossing Tamil films abroad. These sentation is what determines itself by its own limit,” whereas
films go beyond the autobiographical narratives of Dalit lives presence is to be born, a verb which is always in action, “to
and touch the other through affective expressive aesthetics. In find ourselves exposed, to exist.” To be born is not used as
his study of theory and empiricism, Gopal Guru (2012) discusses static but “to transform, transport and entrance all determi-
why Dalits make a conscious choice to undertake empirical nations” (Nancy 1993: 2). These directors explore this possi-
research over theory. He suggests that Dalits uphold their lived bility—to express the unnamable—of bringing into presence
experience over theoretical representation. Be it in literature a previously absent entity to a sensory reality. In the process,
or films, however, the significance of autobiographical, over they create affective expressive archives of anti-caste sensi-
other narrations, might restrict the possibilities of aesthetics. bilities, which not only reject stereotypical representation,
While it is significant to have autobiographical narratives, it is but also affect the other by producing a generative discourse
also important to experiment with forms and narratives that of “presence.”

Notes to develop a separate aesthetics of their own.” 11 “The right to name” is a significant aspect of an-
1 Previously, Dalits and other lower caste were While it is significant to rupture the dominant ti-caste politics as Dalits were not allowed to have
primarily employed as background crew in perceptions of aesthetics, it is also important to certain names. Ambedkar’s and Iyothee Thas-
production units, such as light boys, spot boys, recognise the role of anti-caste aesthetics in sar’s cases are examples of the right to name or to
and location helpers; as post-production workers universalising the particular. embrace a name not in accordance with preva-
in theatres, studios, etc; as background music 8 “The battle to me is a matter of full joy. The bat- lent caste conventions, but outside the frame.
artists; and most importantly, as junior artists, tle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is 12 In most Tamil films, Kabali is a name given to a
stunt men, and background dancers who would nothing material or sordid in it. For ours is a negative character or docile sidekicks, mostly
often be directed and edited out of the frame. battle, not for wealth or for power. It is a battle Dalits from the slum. In older Tamil films, Kabali
2 The author watched Kabali in Hamburg, Germany, for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of would usually be the name of a henchman or an-
in a packed theatre. While Bollywood films fre- the human personality…” (Ambedkar 1942: tagonist who rapes, kills, loots and/or threatens
quently enjoy worldwide releases, this is rarely 275–76). Recently, while addressing the Class people, particularly women and children. Usu-
the case for Indian regional language cinema. of 2019, Harvard Divinity School, during the ally dressed in a lungi and lined T-shirt, Kabalis,
multireligious commencement service, Cornel thus far, have appeared variously with big mous-
Though Tamil films are well-received in South
West (2019) spoke about the joy in struggle: taches, protruding tummies, kerchief around
East Asia, such a response in Germany was unex-
“Last but not least, in celebrating you, I want neck, black mole on face, and knife tucked into
pected. Similarly, Sairat (a Marathi-language film)
you to never, ever forget that you have the waistband. Because of such stereotyping, the
too successfully ran in theatres of Hyderabad (a
capacity to preserve your revolutionary joy…. name Kabali evokes the memory of an archetyp-
non-Marathi-speaking city) for a long time.
There’ll be joy in that kind of struggle, joy in al negative character in film audiences.
3 Aniket Jaaware (2019) points out the fusion of your intellectual courage exercise, joy in your
the literary and the political in Dalit literature 13 M N Nambiar is a veteran actor who often
moral and spiritual witness enacted even as
and notes that the explicitly political ceases, played villain to Tamil superstars M G Rama-
you fall on your face.” Then, an anti-caste aes-
almost, to be literary. chandran and Shivaji Ganeshan in the 1950s
thetics should entail an invocation of such a
4 I use the term Dalit here, not only to suggest and 1960s in a career that spanned seven decades.
joyful struggle of love, life, freedom, equality,
the oppressed/othered social location but also humility, and justice, even in the face of death. 14 In Indian myths, negative characters, mostly
as a move towards the possibility of an emanci- Asuras (demons), are depicted as dark (both in
9 For instance, the tag line of the male protago-
pated future (Choudhary 2018: 61). However, it nist in the Tamil movie Kabali (2016), por- appearance and characterisation). Similarly, in
is not used as a definitive category. trayed by Rajinikanth, includes the word popular cinema, villains are shown as having a
5 This is similar to how bell hooks (2015: 165) Magizhchi (joy, happiness), strikingly different dark skin colour. Moreover, darkness has been
defines aesthetics in an African American con- from the superstar’s earlier movies. Ranjith used as a marker of “lower” class/caste identity
text, “aesthetics then is more than a philosophy (2019) notes that he does not want to make in most of the films.
or theory of art and beauty; it is a way of inhab- films of Dalit suffering and humiliation, ins- 15 Mari Selvaraj is a Tamil film-maker who debuted
iting space, a particular location, a way of look- tead he wants to present the colourful lifeworld with the film Pariyerum Perumal. As an emerg-
ing and becoming.” of happiness and festivities. He started a music ing Dalit film-maker from Tamil Nadu after
6 Etymologically, the word aesthetics is derived band, The Casteless Collective, which features Ranjith, Selvaraj is very vocal about bringing
from the Greek word(s), aisthesthai (to perceive), gaana (a Tamil folk form mainly performed by Dalit narratives onto the screen. He believes
aistheta (perceptible things), and aisthetikos Dalits), hip-hop, and other forms of world that Ranjith has changed the stereotypical rep-
(things perceptible by the senses). By the 18th music. Such shift in Indian cinema, which resentation of Dalits in Tamil cinema. He also
century, in German, the term aesthetic, relating questions the preconceived notions of Dalit notes that such change can make people un-
to perception by the senses, gained popularity identity is, what I would suggest, a move from comfortable as they are not used to it. Selvaraj
and was adopted to the English language in negative to the positive. thinks that art can be used to change people’s
the 19th century. 10 By immanent, Badiou means art is rigorously mindset and wants to create cinema which can
7 Sharankumar Limbale (2018: 121) notes that coexistent with the truths that it generates. change the status quo (Rajendran 2018).
“Dalit writers have rejected traditional artistic Whereas singularity denotes that these truths 16 Honour killing is the murder of a family mem-
standards and aesthetics, and have attempted are not given anywhere else than in art. ber, who is perceived to have brought dishonour

52 september 19, 2020 vol lV no 38 EPW Economic & Political Weekly

 SPECIAL ARTICLE
to the family. In India, most honour killings are Artaud, Antonin (1958): The Theater and Its Double, Margaret, Swathy (2013): “Cultural Gandhism:
linked to caste inequalities, especially involving Translated by Mary Caroline Richard, New York: Casting Out the Dalit Woman,” Economic &
those choosing to marry outside their caste. Grove Press. Political Weekly, Vol 48, No 18, pp 82–90.
17 Fandry tells the story of Jabya, a Dalit boy and Article 15 (2019): Directed by Anubhav Sinha, Marks, Laura U (2000): The Skin of the Film: Inter-
his struggles in a caste entrenched society. His Mumbai: Benaras Media Works and Zee Studios. cultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the Senses,
family follows their caste occupation of catch- Badiou, Alain (2005): Handbook of Inaesthetics, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
ing pigs. However, the dominant castes and Translated by Alberto Toscano, Stanford: Stan- Mulvey, Laura (1975): “Visual Pleasure and Narrative
even his fellow students make fun of him and ford University Press. Cinema,” Screen, Vol 16, No 3, pp 6–18.
his family for doing this job. Bermel, Albert (2013): Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty, Muthu (1995): Directed by K S Ravikumar, Chennai:
18 Apparently, half of the film’s budget was spent London: Bloomsbury. Kavithalayaa Productions.
on music, as Ajay–Atul, the music directors of Choudhury, Soumyabrata (2018): Ambedkar and Nancy, Jean-Luc (1993): The Birth to Presence,
Sairat, recorded the songs at Hollywood in the Other Immortals: An Untouchable Research Pro- Translated by Brian Holmes and Others, Stanford,
United States. gramme, New Delhi: Navayana Publication. California: Stanford University Press.
19 In Sairat, Archie, a dominant Maratha caste Dangle, Arjun (ed) (1992): Poisoned Bread: Transla- — (1996): The Muses, Translated by Peggy Kamuf,
woman, falls in love with Parshya, a low-caste tions from Modern Marathi Dalit Literature, Stanford: Stanford University Press.
man. When Archie’s family opposes their rela- Bombay: Orient Longman. Nayakan (1987): Directed by Mani Ratnam,
tionship and physically assaults Parshya, they Eagleton, Terry (1990): The Ideology of the Aesthet- Chennai: Muktha Films.
elope to another city and start a family life ic, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
there. Some years later, when Archie’s family Neelakuyil (1954): Directed by P Bhaskaran and
finds out about them, the male members of the Fandry (2013): Directed by Nagraj Manjule, Mum- Ramu Kariat, Chennai: Chandrathara Produc-
family murder both Archie and Parshya. bai: Holy Basil Productions and Navalakha tions.
Arts, Media & Entertainment. Pandian, M S S (1992): The Image Trap: MGR in
20 Jaaware (2019) discusses the sense of touch,
both in terms of touching oneself and touching Guru, Gopal (ed) (2009): “Rejection of Rejection: Film and Politics, New Delhi: Sage.
others. Foregrounding Self-respect,” Humiliation: Claims Pappilio Buddha (2013): Directed by Jayan Cheriyan,
and Context, New Delhi: Oxford University Bangalore and Kottayam: Silicon Media and
21 For instance, see Swathy Margaret’s (2013) dis-
Press, pp 209–25. Kayal Films.
cussion of Malapilla (1938), for a detailed anal-
ysis of cultural Gandhism and the depoliticisa- — (2011): “The Idea of India: Derivative, Desi and Pariyerum Perumal (2018): Directed by Mari Selvaraj,
tion of untouchability. In a different context, Beyond,” Economic & Political Weekly, Vol 46, Chennai: Neelam Productions.
the Malayalam film Neelakuyil (1954) fore- No 37, pp 36–42. Rajamani, Rajesh (2018): “The Dharavi Story in
grounds progressive socialism at the cost of — (2012): “Egalitarianism and the Social Sciences Tamil Cinema: How ‘Kaala’ Inverts the ‘Nayakan’
ostracising a Dalit woman, whereas Article 15 in India,” The Cracked Mirror: An Indian Debate Gaze,” News Minute, 30 August, https://www.
(2019) shows how Dalit question is resolved on Experience and Theory, Gopal Guru and thenewsminute.com/article/dharavi-story-tamil-
within the statist paradigm. Sundar Sarukkai (eds), New Delhi: Oxford Uni- cinema-how-kaala-inverts-nayakan-gaze-87512.
22 Laura Marks (2000) discusses the power of in- versity Press, pp 9–28. Rajendran, Sowmya (2018): “When a New Genera-
tercultural cinema to touch viewers through Guru, Gopal and Sundar Sarukkai (eds) (2012): The tion Creates Art, There Will Be Tremors: Direc-
haptic visuality. Since touch is considered pol- Cracked Mirror: An Indian Debate on Experience tor Mari Selvaraj,” News Minute, 13 July, htt-
luting in the caste regime, I argue that Sairat and Theory, New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ps://www.thenewsminute.com/article/when-
corrupts the hegemonic popular from within. hooks, bell (1992): “The Oppositional Gaze,” Black new-generation-creates-art-there-will-be-
23 Most films on Dalits in India largely resorts to Looks: Race and Representation, Boston: South tremors-director-mari-selvaraj-82968.
the fetishisation of violence on Dalits than an End Press, pp 115–32. Raj, Rekha (2013): “Cinemayum Njanum Tham-
affective expression of their lives. See for in- — (2015): Yearning: Race, Gender and Cultural mil,” 100 Years of Indian Cinema, Mathrubhoo-
stance, Pappilio Buddha (2013) and Article 15 Politics, New York: Routledge. mi Yearly Edition, pp 52–57.
(2019). Pappilio Buddha, a Malayalam movie, In the Shade of Fallen Chinar (2016): Directed by Fazil Ranjith, Pa (2019): “DALIFF-Dalit Film Festival,
which attempted to portray Dalit struggles in N C and Shawn Sebastian, Kochi: Drokpa Films. 23-24 Feb 2019, New York, USA - Day1 Panel
Kerala, is celebrated for its realist aesthetics. Ingle, Hrishikesh (2018): “Fandry and Sairat: Re- Discussion,” Youtube, 15 March, https://www.
The movie is seen as an exception among main- gional Cinema and Marginality,” Economic & youtube.com/watch?v=MAyOBcE1rKU.
stream Indian cinema as it portrays Dalit politi- Political Weekly, Vol 53, No 45, pp 46–53. Roberts, Nathaniel (2016): To Be Cared For: The
cal action (Yengde 2018). However, the film Jaaware, Aniket (2019): Practicing Caste: On Touch- Power of Conversion and Foreignness of Belong-
fetishises violence on Dalits without going into ing and Not Touching, New York: Fordham Uni- ing in an Indian Slum, California: University of
their everyday lives. There are vehement criti- versity Press. California Press.
cisms of the film for its recreation of Dalit ste-
Kaala (2018): Directed by Pa Ranjith, Chennai: Sairat (2016): Directed by Nagraj Manjule, Mum-
reotypes (Raj 2013; Kumar 2013). Similarly,
Wunderbar Films. bai: Zee Studios, Aatpat Production, and Essel
Article 15 is also criticised for its depiction of
Kabali (2016): Directed by Pa Ranjith, Chennai: Vision Productions.
Dalits as victims (Wankhede 2019).
V Creations. Satyanarayana, K (2019): “The Political and Aes-
24 Neelam in Tamil means the colour blue, popu-
Keer, Dhananjay (1971): Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: thetic Significance of Contemporary Dalit Lit-
larly considered the colour of Dalit liberation.
Life and Mission, Mumbai: Popular Prakashan. erature,” Journal of Commonwealth Literature,
The colour blue recurs in many of his films: In
Kracauer, Siegfried (1960): Theory of Film; the Re- Vol 54, No 1, pp 9–24.
Madras, the football jersey of the protagonist’s
team and the wall painting are blue, In Kaala, demption of Physical Reality, New York: Oxford Tamalakapula, Sowjanya (2018): “C/o Kanchara-
blue comes as a colour of victory in the end. University Press. palem and the Politics of Unspeakability of
25 Though not referred otherwise within the film, Kumar, A S Ajith (2013): “Reclaiming the Cinematic Caste,” Wire, 14 October, https://thewire.in/
Rajinikanth acted as a Dalit hero in Kabali and Space: Countering the Liberal Speech on Caste,” caste/c-o-kancharapalem-and-the-politics-of-
Kaala. However, both films are set outside Ta- Roundtable India, 25 February, https://round- unspeakability-of-caste.
mil Nadu. While Kabali is spatially located in tableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_conen Taylor, Paul (2016): Black Is Beautiful: A Philosophy
Malaysia, Kaala is set in Mumbai. Perhaps, t&view=article&id=6270:reclaiming-the-cine- of Black Aesthetics, Hoboken: Wiley.
without this spatial displacement, it would matic-space-countering-the-liberal-speech- Thirumal et al (2018): Modern Mizoram: History,
have been difficult to operate the impossible in on%20caste&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132. Culture and Poetics, Oxon: Routledge.
Rajinikanth. Lee, Joel (2017): “Odor and Order: How Caste Is Wankhede, Harish S (2013): “Dalit Representation
26 On a similar line, in the study of Puma Zai, Inscribed in Space and Sensoria,” Comparative in Bollywood,” Mainstream Weekly, Vol 51,
an early Mizo performance, Thirumal et al Studies South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, No 20, http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/ar-
(2018: 76–77) note that art as a weapon of the Vol 37, No 3, pp 470–90. ticle4161.html.
dispossessed could speak truth like philosophy, Leonard, Dickens (2019): “Towards a Caste-less — (2019): “An Upper Caste Gaze,” Indian Express,
science or religion. Community: Dalit Experience and Thought as 16 July, https://indianexpress.com/article/
‘Movement,” Economic & Political Weekly, Vol 54, opinion/columns/an-upper-caste-gaze-article-
No 21, pp 47–54. 15-dalits-bollywood5831109/.
References Limbale, Sharankumar (2018): Towards an Aesthetic West, Cornel (2019): “There Is Joy in Struggle,”
Ambedkar, B R (1942): “Educate, Agitate, Organise, of Dalit Literature, Translated by Alok Mukher- Harvard Divinity School, 31 May, https://hds.
Have Faith and Lose No Hope,” Dr Babasaheb jee, Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan. harvard.edu/news/2019/05/31/cornel-west-
Ambedkar Writings and Speeches, Vasanth Madras (2014): Directed by Pa Ranjith, Chennai: there-joy-struggle#.
Moon (ed), Bombay: Education Department, Studio Green. Yengde, Suraj (2018): “Dalit Cinema,” South Asia:
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pp 273–76. mam, Chennai: Sri Sarathi Studios. pp 503–18.

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