Hindi Cinema and Dalit Lives

In the years 2013 and 2014, there were more than 300 Bollywood movies released in India and overseas. A survey done by The Hindu revealed that out of these 300 movies, only 6 of them had lead characters from a backward caste.

This survey was done 5 years ago and since then, the digital platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar have seen a huge jump in both content and viewers. But still, the reality of filmmakers and writers shying away from portraying lead characters with backward caste surnames has been an unwritten rule over 100 years of Indian cinema by now. But where does the problem arise from? OBCs, Dalits, Scheduled Castes and Tribes outnumber the Savarnas by a huge ratio of 4:1 in India. Then why is there no proper representation of them yet? Although one can argue repeatedly that there have been movies focusing on the discriminations and oppression faced by the people of backward castes, the truth remains that we won’t see a mainstream actor like Salman Khan playing an inspector who is a Bahujan or a Varun Dhawan movie where a character with a dalit surname goes to college flaunting bikes and supercars.

Journey of dalit characters over the years:

Highlighting the caste system in film started way back in 1934 with movies such as Nitin Bose’s Chandidas (1934) and V. Shantaram’s Dharmatma (1935). However, it was in 1936 when India got its first film based on the issue of casteism named Achhut Kannya. Sujata (1959) was an iconic film made by the great Bimal Roy and till date remains a classic both at national and international retrospectives of Indian cinema. Time and again filmmakers throughout the last decades of the 20th century kept making great institutional movies which not only showed the reality of situations of the marginalised communities, but also challenged the brahmanical norms of society.

Post liberalisation, India was witnessing an overall change in the commerce and trade industry which also left its impact in the socio-political scenario of the country. With a new middle class emerging, and new small towns getting established, there was a social elevation of all communities. Filmmakers such as Anurag Kashyap, Hansal Mehta, Sudhir Mishra, Prakash Jha and others came from these small towns with their own stories and philosophies to challenge the culture and thinking of both the industry and audiences by framing their own narratives.

The new cinema in digital space:

Over last few years, Bollywood has found a new love for movies based on Small Town stories of North India- centered both around male and female narratives.

The assumption can be made that with the internet reaching these places, more and more audiences are getting engaged, and even filmmakers and writers are coming with their stories reflecting these small towns to make content that is more relatable. Still we can see that such movies ( Jolly LLB, Badhai Ho, Bareilly ki Barfi, Badrinath ki Dulhaniya) have characters called Mishra, Trivedi, Sharma, and other Savarna surnames.

Movies breaking stereotypes:

Masaan (2015) voiced this issue which was unheard of for years because of the dominance of upper caste and privileged people. In a very sensitive manner, it explored the burden of a Dalit identity and the hope of the Dalit protagonist to escape the stigma that comes with this burden. The shift here is a major one, and showcases how the Dalit aspirations have changed over the years with ‘education’ as the major tool of social elevation. The age-old slavery under the upper castes has now been replaced by the hope of a ‘good job’ in big cities. The Dalit has now risen above the caste lines and is portrayed with dignity and confidence onscreen.

However, Newton (2017) took the entire narrative of the Dalit protagonist to a different level altogether. Directed by Amit Masurkar it offers a new look at the subject and depicts the Dalit as a casteless freeman who disrupts conventional norms and stereotypes. Indian cinema for the first time saw a new Dalit hero (Rajkummar Rao) whose identity is projected through the subtle use of certain symbolic gestures and social codes such as a B.R. Ambedkar photo hanging on the wall, tangentially suggesting that it is a Dalit household and absolutely nothing more than that. His behavior with others and the way he is treated by others is normal, just like anyone else. A far cry from the oppressive and torturous treatment in the films of the earlier years.

This was just the push needed for the huge change that was incoming. Another personal favourite of mine is Anurag Kahsyap’s Mukkabaaz. Over the last few years with the huge demand of content from OTT platforms, movies and shows have kept the trend going and increasing which instills great hope in this time of despair.

Where does the problem lie?

It is very well known and understood that cinema is not merely a tool of escapism into the larger-than-life world for people struggling to find their identity. It also works as a reflection to the society we live in, and the culture we belong to. A deep analysis of cinema can be very much the testimony to the reality of situations in today's world and age. This is why when we talk about the under-representation of Bahujan people in our modern day cinema, we have to also look into the disgraceful and humiliating projections of such characters which gives us a glance into the reactionary minds of the conservative people of the society. When a Marathi Superhit movie Sairat made huge business and was acclaimed critically as well, went for a Bollywood remake, the subplot of the male Protagonist who was originally shown belonging to the backward community, was removed by the Hindi remakers.

There have been many such instances where regional movies which courageously showed diverse identities, got replaced with roles and subplots bearing no connection whatsoever to the main narrative.

What comes as more surprising, is that in the world’s biggest and most profitable film industry, such issues were hardly raised and discussed. This evidence is enough to give us an understanding of the Brahmanical thought process of the upper caste, which instills pride by considering themselves above the others and likewise desires to show and see more stories and narratives which cater to their beliefs. If there has been such a meagre representation of around 80% of India's total population, it should serve as major evidence into the conditions of the backward communities living in India and implore us to stop our regressive and faulty debating and start some major introspection.

(cover: a still from Chandidas (1934))