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PAPER ID:IJIM/V.2(IX)/197-200/36
AUTHOR: Dr. Ranbir Singh and Balbir Kumar
TITLE : PORTRAYAL OF CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIAN FILMS
ABSTRACT: Caste has been a contentious issue in the pluralist Indian society for centuries. What started as a Varna division based on professions in pre Vedic period – Brahmins,Kshatriyas, Vaishya and Shudras- had undergone a complete change as society developed , distorting the very character of this division, making it rigid and negative. The brutal realities of this social evil , in fact, are overwhelming even in contemporary, modern society, with all it education and technology. These marginalized groups have been pushed so far out of the periphery of the mainstream society that even after more than six decades of the efforts of the Indian Government and various other organizations, their space in the society is still not assured, especially in rural areas. A factor worth mentioning here is the condition of women in such groups, subalterns lower in rank even among subalterns. They are easy prey in every way for dominating forces within and outside their circle. Voices of ‘protest’ have risen from time to time and have received support from media and various art forms. One of the most prominent among them has been Indian cinema. Since its inception , cinema has endeavoured to highlight issues of importance for the masses, fully realizing it social responsibilities, from child marriage, degrading status of women to untouchability. As per the Indian Constitution also, there must be no discrimination on the basis of race, caste, creed, gender and so on. Everyone is equal before the law of the land. Indian films have been disseminating the message of awareness about the evils of casteism, not only through their work but also leading by example in their real life. Numerous actors and actresses have not only contributed financially to NGOs but also gone for inter caste and inter religious marital and other relationships. Films like Acchut Kanya, Sujata and the more recent Aarakhan and Shudra etc. have analysed various aspects of this problem like untouchability, reservation etc. However such portrayal are few and far between and as the multiplex cinema has slowly and gradually taken over and the Indian cinema has become globalised in nature, the subject matters have changed to become more urban and world centric, of class rather than caste , leaving the topic of subalterns somewhere on the margins or at least transforming its face. The present study intends to critically examine the entire gamut of the problem and its representation on the big screen.
KEYWORDS: Varnas, reservation, marginalized groups, subalterns, untouchability, purism.
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