Kaala, a counter-narrative to Hindutva from an Ambedkarite perspective

ABSTRACT

The right-wing extremists, BJP and RSS, have a long-term mission to construct a Hindu nation bound by Ramrajya, a political model derived from the epic Ramayana. In its nationalistic project, the Hindutva desires to incorporate Dalits. For achieving the same, it usurps Dalits by appropriating Ambedkar – through strategically eroding his radicalism. Additionally, it uses Ramayana as a cultural tool to de-ideologize Dalits. It promotes Ramayana as an egalitarian epic to Dalits – for subsuming them within the Ramrajya politics. Dalits are losing political consciousness and they are disoriented by the Hindutva. In this article, I explore how a Tamil film named Kaala, directed by Pa. Ranjith, has countered these efforts of the Hindutva in the popular culture. In Kaala, Ranjith challenges the Hindutva’s appropriation of Dalits by re-creating Ambedkar’s radical legacy on the big screens. In the film, he re-narrates the epic from an Ambedkarite perspective to counter the Hindutva’s efforts in de-ideologizing Dalits. Ranjith is a radical director who makes various transformations in Tamil cinema. His vision is to carry forward Ambedkarite politics in the popular culture. In this article, I explore how he effectively counters the Hindutva. To accomplish the objectives of the study, I use Ambedkarite framework as an analytical tool.

KEYWORDS:

• Hindutva
• Ambedkar
• Manu-Smriti
• Dalits
• Ranjith
• caste

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The B. R. Ambedkar international conference recently organized at Bengaluru, India, has created an upswing in the philosophical discussion on Ambedkar. The event brought over 1000 participants and 350 speakers from different parts of the world to engage profoundly in Ambedkar’s theoretical concepts. The selected papers of the conference were published into five seminal volumes that focused on the topics, politics, economy, gender, race, religion and culture (see Rathore, Aakash Singh, ed. B. R. Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice. 5 vols. New Delhi: Oxford University Press India, 2021. Print.) This scholarly trend has further invigorated researchers to publish more works that critically engage in Ambedkar’s philosophical ideas (see Begari, 2022; Nancharaiah, 2022). For early scholarship on Ambedkar’s theoretical notions also see Jondhale and Beltz, Reconstructing the World: B. R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India; Yengde and Teltumbde, The Radical in Ambedkar.

2. For researchers using Ambedkarite framework in various fields (see Chaitanya, 2021; Gundimeda, 2013).

3. Dalits are considered as the lower-strata of the Hindu social order. They are oppressed people who have encountered various discrimination and oppression by the Hindu society for several centuries.

4. For scholars using Ambedkar’s concept in film studies (see Leonard and Edachira 63–76; Banerjee 79–90; Prakash 188–200; Sengupta 214–225; Thiara 239–248; Jadhav 249–259; Venugopal 260–274; Kaur and Sharma 289–301; Naik 329–339; Rana 352–362; Raju 375–386; Geetha 387–397; Deshmukh 62–73).

5. Nisha’s theory is a ground-breaking effort in film studies. It primarily speaks of the need for an oppositional gaze (perspective of the marginalized) to challenge and reject the Brahminical interpretation of caste and Dalits in mainstream cinema.

6. See note 4.

7. It is an irrefutable fact that the Tamil movie industry was dominated by upper-castes like Brahmins, Mudaliars, Pillais, Chettiars, Gounders and Thevars. In terms of production, casting, technicians, narratives, ideology and scripting – these groups have possessed strong authority in Tamil cinema in different periods of time. Further, there is a misconception that the early Dravidian cinema movement has transformed Tamil cinema into an anti-caste and radical medium. This is also illustrious. The Dravidian film movement – which includes the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) cinema and the M.G. R (Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran) films, both did not effort to eradicate the caste. The DMK films, though being anti-Brahminical, never adequately addressed the caste questions and Dalit concerns. Instead, they end up favoring the intermediate land-owning communities, Pillais and Mudaliars (see Prem; Arun; Chakravarthy; Rajangam). The M.G. R, operated his films to subsume Dalits deceitfully as his vote-bank for his populist state politics (Pandian). Dalit representation in Tamil cinema – is no way lesser than how other film industries in India have demeaned, discriminated and dehumanized them.

8. Tamil film audience were trained to view Dalit life and culture only in a stereotypical manner. The real life-worlds and politics of Dalits were exterminated in the cinematic frames. There is no market for such scripts.

9. When Dalit life and politics were considered as a threat, Ranjith shattered those assumptions and created a market space. The ideal moment of this can be witnessed after the release of Kabali (2016). Kabali is a breakthrough not just in Ranjith’s career, but also in Tamil cinema. By portraying strong Ambedkarite politics, Dalit life-world and culture, Kabali ended up being the highest blockbuster film, with a turnover of around ₹ 650 crore. The amount is unimaginably huge for any Tamil cinema to reach. Kabali is a landmark achievement which proved to Tamil film producers and distributors that Dalit life and politics is not anymore a failure or cheap cinema material. The massive success of Kabali made director Ranjith and Dalit politics an inevitable part of Tamil cinema. After Kabali, Ranjith has started his new film company, Neelam productions. He produced the first film, Pariyerum Perumal (2018) and introduced the Dalit-filmmaker Mari Selvaraj. The positive reception of audience and the commercial success of Pariyerum Perumal contributed extra hope for other filmmakers to attempt anti-caste scripts in cinemas. Non-Dalit directors like Vetrimaaran – who was in the film field for over 10 years and who never spoke about Dalit politics in his earlier films – began to make movies like Asuran (2021). Similarly, entered director T. J Gnanavel who fearlessly made Jai Bhim (2021) and commercially succeeded in it. Director Ranjith, even after creating transformations in Tamil cinema, gathers the revenue he generated from his movies and invests them to produce more films that represent Ambedkarite politics.

10. To understand how Dravidian parties established power over Dalits, see Harris, ‘Whatever Happened to Cultural Nationalism in Tamil Nadu’; Gorringe, ‘Party Political Panthers: Hegemonic Tamil Politics and the Dalit Challenge’; Wyatt, ‘Populism and Politics in Contemporary Tamil Nadu’; Gorringe, Panthers in Parliament: Dalits, Caste and Political Power in South India.

11. Hindutva refers to the ‘ideology’ of the political groups, BJP and Sang Parivar, which endeavors to politicize Hinduism and create Hindu consciousness – to construct a right-wing nation.

12. In the epic, lord Ram was considered as an ideal ruler who is destined to uphold the Dharma. The governance of lord Ram in the epic was endorsed and propagated as an ideal model of political administration by the Hindutva.

13. Once winning the Supreme Court verdict of the Ram Mandir issue, the BJP in full swing started constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The Ramjanma Bhoomi movement which brought the BJP to the limelight of Indian politics during the late 1990s – is a brainchild of RSS. Establishing the Ramrajya is the core notion and a long-term mission of the Sang Parivar. The same has invigorated after winning the court case. And the Hindutva now is all set to establish its nationalistic project in the coming years.

14. The BJP named this a Panchteerth project. It has categorized the places in Ambedkar’s life into five themes: Janam Bhoomi, his birthplace; Sikhsha Bhoomi, place of his education; Deeksha Bhoomi, the place where he adopted to Buddhism; Mahaparinivaran Bhoomi, place of his demise; and Chaitya Bhoomi, place of his cremation.

15. Manu is the Vedic law-giver in the ancient Hindu scriptures. He is notorious for legitimizing the caste system as a social law in the Hindu society. Though upper-caste Hindus see Manu with a great reverence, for Ambedkar and Dalits, he is the foundation for social evils like caste and untouchability.

16. Manu-Smriti is the code of law framed by the Vedic writer Manu. It is an authoritative scripture that operates the law structure in the Hindu social system. Manu-Smriti has the most draconian laws that violently discriminate and oppress the lower caste people. Ambedkar burned Manu-Smriti as it is the primary reason behind inequality and slavery. The day he burned Manu-Smriti is still commemorated by Dalits as ‘Manu-Smriti Dahan Din’ to recollect how Dalits are oppressed by the nefarious religious scripture.

17. Chaturvarnya is the Vedic name for the Hindu caste system. It denotes the stratification of society into a hierarchical structure castes – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and the Shudra.

18. The Devas were not mythical beings, they also belong to the human community. But, they were dominant groups who conquered the Asuras for the possession of land.

19. Bhoomi puja is a ritual performed before starting a construction.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sree Govind Bharatvaraj

Sree Govind Bharatvaraj is an ardent researcher whose work broadly focuses on the ‘caste, culture, and politics’ of Tamil cinema. He currently works on the ‘anti-caste cinema’ trend, both in Tamil cinema and in Indian films. He focuses especially on Pa. Ranjith films and his cultural productions. He also writes about Dalit representation in popular culture.