FROM CELLULOID TO CHITHARIYAVAR: DECODING THE DALIT

REPRESENTATION IN MALAYALAM CINEMA

PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERISTY OF CALICUT IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN

FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH

BY

Kailas Khanna K R

CCASAFER36

MARCH 2021

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

CHRIST COLLEGE, IRINJALAKUDA

CERTIFICATE

I do hereby certify that this project “FROM CELLULOID TO CHITHARIYAVAR:

DECODING THE DALIT REPRESENTATION IN MALAYALAM

CINEMA” is an original work carried out by Kailas Khanna K R under my guidance and

supervision and has not been previously presented for the award of any degree.

Prof. Mary Pathrose Sruthy P U

Head, Department of English Asst.prof., Department of English

Christ College irinjalakuda Christ College irinjalakuda

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I sincerely thank Sruthy P U, Asst. Prof., Department of English for being extremely

supportive and encouraging as my project guide. I wish to regard my indebtedness to him

for providing necessary facilities for carrying out this work.

Kailas Khanna K R

CCASAFER36

DECLARATION

I, Sooraj S hereby declare that this project is a bonafide work done by me in partial

fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Functional

English under the guidance of Prof. Sruthy P U, Asst. Prof., Department of English, Christ

College, Irinjalakuda.

Place: Irinjalakuda Kailas Khanna K R

Date:………………. CCASAFER36

CONTENTS

Page Numbers

Introduction …………………………………………………… 01- 06

Chapter 1 ……………………………………………………….

07- 16

Chapter 2 ……………………………………………………….

17- 26

Conclusion ……………………………………………………...

27- 29

Works Cited …………………………………………………..

30- 37

1

FROM CELLULOID TO CHITHARIYAVAR: DECODING THE

DALIT REPRESENTATION IN MALAYALAM CINEMA

INTRODUCTION

Films as we see it today evolved through a series of advancements at the end of

19th century and became most popular and influential form of art in the later years and

beyond. It remarkably became a medium in the big as well as in the mini screen, often

telling stories, which can subject the audience to a particular emotional response. They

have the power to influence the actions and thinking of the society. It was not invented by

one person alone rather it was the result of the continuous efforts of many throughout the

century. However, Edison Company in 1981 successfully demonstrated a prototype of

Kinetoscope, which enabled one person at a time to watch motion pictures. In December

1895, the Lumiere brothers and in Paris, France, presented the projected motion pictures

to a paid audience for the first time. They made use of Cinématographe, a device made by

them, which was a camera, projector and a film printer all in one. At first films were

short, sometimes a lasted for few minutes or less.

Later after the establishment of the film industries across the globe, the films

became longer and storytelling, or narrative and became a dominant form of art

everywhere. It received a great acceptance by its audience. In the following years the film

industry witnessed a great revolution, the black and white films were replaced by the

color films and sound was added to it. The film became a prime source of entertainment

2

and due to its acceptance, there was excessive influx of film makers to the field. They

tried different genres for their films as a way of experiment. Film genres are different

forms or identifiable types, classification or group of films. Genre helps the film makers

to present their story in a convenient way.

The film makers also experimented with different forms of theories. These

theories provided visionary platform for understanding the film‟s relationship to the

reality, the other forms of art and to the society. Among these film theories, the realism

has gained much acceptance from the audience. Realism emerged first in literary and art

movement in Europe and American in nineteenth century. Realists attempt to recreate life

through their artistic medium. He tries to report and describe what he sees as precisely

and honestly as possible. In films, realist films are made to address the social issues and it

gives an impression of reality. It aims to give a direct and honest perspective on the real

world through the presentation of the characters and their environment. The realistic

films mainly focus on ordinary life; the lives of socially backward and the conditions they

had to tolerate. The first film to employ realism in it was the French film pioneers

Lumiere brothers‟ film Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory. Film realism is at its

highest with the sound that synchronizes the images, thereby confirming the second

meaning, hearing and accepts what the eyes see.

Indian cinema has evolved over time. It interfered in various social, cultural and

political circumstances and today India became largest film producing country. With the

screening of the first film by Lumier Brothers in Watson Hotel in Bombay in1896,

cinema made its presence felt in India. By 1940s, Indian cinema had been localized to

depict Indian experiences and feelings that were inherent. Dhundiraj Govind Phalke,

3

popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, is the pioneer of Indian cinema. He entered the

film industry with the production of the film Raja Harischandra. Realism in Indian films

had a great impact in society as it portrayed the society as it was. Italian neo-realism and

the French New Wave inspired the directors to experiment realism in films. Many film

makers experimented realism in their films. A group of film-makers boldly take up the

issues concerning the untouchables, Dalits, intercaste clashes women and etc. for filmic

treatments. The best known films of this genre are the Apu Trilogy (Bengali) by Satyajit

Ray and Do Bigha Zameen (Hindi) by Bimal Roy.

In south India realism was well-support in Kerala. Malayalam movie makers like

Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan, and M. T. Vasudevan Nair successfully

experiments realistic elements. The film makers in Malayalam make use of the social as

well as political issues for their plot. These types of movies portray the life of the

oppressed and the backward communities. One of the major social issues that Malayalam

films that too experimented was Dalit issues. Such themes have been the basis of

Malayalam cinema since its inception. The film-makers depict the life, struggles and the

social injustice that Dalits had faced in the past as well as in the present. Those kinds of

films also portray the social, traditional conditions that existed in India. Malayalam films

have only few films that purely focuses on the Dalits. But there are a number of films in

Malayalam which highlights them. From the very beginning of the Malayalam film

industry, the film-makers had included elements that Dalit life in it. The first Malayalam

film to win the President‟s Silver Medal was for Neelakuyil directed by Ramu Kariat and

P. Bhaskaran. Neelakuyil deals with the story of a Dalit Peasant girl and Sreedharan Nair.

4

There are many such films in Malayalam which illustrated the life, struggles and issues of

Dalits.

Dalits is the Sanskrit word the “oppressed” and the “downtrodden”. The caste

division emerged in the Vedas. We can trace the roots of this class division in India for

about a thousand years. Traditionally caste is determined by ones birth. And it is the

caste that determines that whom he/she should marry and what occupation he should

choose. They were considered are oppressed and untouchables in the old Indian tradition

by the orthodox Hindu community. It was due to their traditional impure occupation of

manual scavenging, leather works, removing dead animals and other occupation. There

were subdivisions among the Hindu community under the title of the untouchables. The

Dalits had a life of degradation in the society. They were suppressed by the other upper

caste peoples both socially and economically. They even did not allow the Dalits to get

educated. The other upper caste peoples also treated them badly. They were not allowed

to use public wells, enter public places, temples, theatres etc... This because that in the

orthodox Hindu community, the Dalits were considered as polluting, their presence make

things polluted. Dalit women often subjected to sexual harassment. They were used by

the upper caste people for their sexual pleasure. Dalits are punished cruelly if they try to

defy the caste system. Forcing to parade naked through village streets, and being beaten,

raped, tortured, hanged, and burned were such kind of punishments that the Dalits had

received. The Dalit kids were also forced to work for the landlords and received cruel

punishments as well.

After the Independence in India, India witnessed random Dalit movements across

India. The Dalit Panther movement inspired from the Black Panther movement in U. S,

5

fought for the Dalit freedom. Dalits constitute almost 25 percentage of India‟s total

population. They are still considered as the oppressed in some part of the country.

Although the Indian laws now at present are to protect the Dalits from social immorality,

the reality is that there is no real change in their life. Most of them are still socially and

economically backward. In many communities, Dalits are still being forced to do their

traditional occupation and suppressed by the other upper caste peoples. The children‟s of

the Dalits are forced to work, as their families are still under economic suppression. Even

today, even though there are laws and reservation for the socially backward communities,

they are still under such discriminations. So there is a huge necessity for the study of the

Dalit life and struggles. It offers a new perspective for the study of India. The main

objective of Dalit studies is to recover histories of for human dignity and the social

discrimination. The realistic writers and artist started to describe Dalit community

through their works. They portrayed the life and struggles of the oppressed and the

backward communities.

Today, there is a great necessity to make the people inform about the traditional

India and its social injustice. Since the Dalits had been suppressed social, economic and

educationally by the upper caste peoples for centuries there is a necessity for the society

to uplift such backward communities. Cinema as a medium that influence a huge mass,

can become a medium for presenting such social themes. It is the realistic elements in

cinema that helps the cinema to present such socially relevant themes. Malayalam films

which present socially relevant theme had failed to create more such films that

concentrate on Dalit history. But there are a number of Malayalam films which present

Dalit issues. This project analyzes the Dalit elements in the Malayalam movies: Celluloid

6

and Chithariyavar. These films discuss about Dalit life set in different background and

social atmosphere.

The objective of this research is to study how far the Malayalam film-makers

were able to represent the struggles and lives of Dalits and to make an analytic study of

Malayalam cinemas. The detailed objectives of the study are:

a) To analyze the films 'Celluloid' and 'Chithariyavar'.

b) To study the Dalit elements in these films.

The second chapter of this project discuss about the Malayalam Movie Celluloid.

The movie talks about the life and struggles of the pioneer of Malayalam Cinema J. C

Daniel to make the first Malayalam Movie and also about the First actress in Malayalam

Film industry, P.K Rosy. Rosy was a Dalit women, who works for the landlords. The

third chapter discuss about the film Chithariyavar. Chithariyavar talks about the need for

the system of reservation in India through the life of a mentally injured Dalit hero. The

film also talks about the upper caste inferiority complex. The whole analysis of the

chapters and the Dalit representation in movies are done in the conclusion. Thus this

project aims to study how far the film-makers were able to present the Dalit‟s life and

struggles in the Malayalam movies.

7

CHAPTER 1

CELLULOID

Celluloid is a 2013 Indian Malayalam language biographical film directed and

scripted by Kamal. It was released on February 15, 2013. The cast of the film comprises

of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Mamta Mohandas, Sreenivasan and Chandini Geetha in the

leading roles. The music for the film was done by M Jayachandran. The film is a biopic

of life story of Dr. J. C Daniel, who is considered as the father of Malayalam cinema,

the making of his film Vigathakumaran and the story of Vigathakumaran‟s heroine P. K

Rosy (Chandini), the first Dalit actress. The film opened with many positive reviews

and bagged seven Kerala State Film Awards including Award for Best Film and Award

for Best Actor and the film also bagged National Award for Best Feature Film in

Malayalam. The film was a box office hit. Celluloid is a movie directed by Kamal

referring the life of Dr. J. C Daniel, in the light of biography written by Chelangatt

Gopalakrishnan. Kamal had put a wonderful effort to collect maximum details and

portray the life of J. C Daniel and the social scenario at that time was well presented.

Kamal had the courage to face the community organization. So he portrayed the

community leaders and other upper caste ‘madambis’ who hindered the film and the

government authorities. He was one hundred percent fair to J. C Daniel. This movie

showed everyone the life of Daniel and also the social atmosphere during that time.

There are still some controversies about this film, about the portrayal of then Chief

Minister of Kerala and civil servant Malayatoor Ramakrishnan.

8

The film is a journey through the assorted phases of Daniel‟s life. The movie

talks about Dr. J. C Daniel‟s crave to make a film. He visited many studios and

collected knowledge and techniques about film from Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Nandhu

Madhav), popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, the man who did a fair share to bring

cinema to India and made first Malayalam silent movie Vigathakumaran, or The Lost

Child in 1928. Later Daniel went to meet Rangaswamy Nataraja Mudaliar (Thalaivasal

Vijay) to inquire about cinema, its production and other related things. Daniel then

along with his friends searches for actors to act in the film. Getting a female lead actress

in his film was a great task for him. He approaches many actresses but no one shows

interest to act in a social drama in Malayalam language film. The films at that time were

commonly religious drama. So none of the popular actresses he approached showed any

interest to act in an experimental socio drama. Finally he found P. K Rossamma,

rechristened as P. K Rossy, to act as heroine in his film. Rosy was a Dalit lower caste

women, who works for the upper caste „madambis‟ in the field. She usually acts in

‘Kakkirasi Nattakam‟. One of Daniel‟s friends, Johnson (Jayaraj Century), along with

old Dalit leader, departed to Rosy‟s house for inquiring whether Rosy is interested to

act in Daniel‟s film. She was so embarrassed when they ask her whether she was

interested to act in the film.

Dalit lower caste people were not allowed to enter or watch film in the theatre.

They were even not allowed to enter any public places or temples. Rosy was very

conscious about the untouchability. In the film Rosy act as an upper caste „nair‟ lady.

Several ‘madambis’ including her landlord Thampi (Jayan Cherthala) regularly warned

Rosy and they told her not to act in the film anymore. But she continued acting and she

9

finished the film without succumbing to threats. When the movie was screened in the

‘Capitol Theatre‟, several upper caste peoples created ferocious atmosphere when they

saw a lower caste lady acting as an upper caste „Nair‟ lady in the movie, and banned

screening the film all over Kerala. The first Malayalam heroine was branded as a

prostitute and chased away. Fearing for her life, she ran away without being able to see

her own face in the movie she starred in. Rosy was hunted again by the casteist

„madambis‟ and other upper peoples. She and her family were banned in the village and

the „madambis‟ set her house on fire. Rosy somehow managed to escape from the

madambi‟s attack and fled into the darkness and never to be seen again in her native

village. The first Malayalam film became a victim of social immorality and caste

system.

Daniel became indebted because the film wasn't a commercial success. To pay

his debtors, he had to sell all his equipments and shut down the studio. Later he had a

desire to study dentistry, so he left to Madurasi to study dentistry and then turned into

the dental health field and practiced in Madurai, Pudukkottai. So Daniel's financial

situation improved again and he led a happy life again with his family. The couple had

five children by that time. During this time we see how P. U Chinnappa (S.

Krishnamoorthy, better known by his screen name Madhan Bob), an actor, when

consulted Mr. Daniel, convinced him to make a movie again. So when Chinnappa, a

famous Tamil movie actor at that time, told him to make a film again Daniel‟s desire

that lurked within made him go to Madras with all his affluence to make a movie again

with Chinnappa. But Chinnappa cheated on him and Daniel loses all his money. He lost

all his hopes and he started to hate cinema. He didn‟t go home for two years and he did

10

not inquire about Janet and the children. After returning from Madras he was not able to

succeed in dental field again. His hands began to tremble while picking teeth. Finally

we see him becoming a failure in both film and health field.

As the film proceeds we could see the miserable life of J.C Daniel in the old

age. He could not take good care of his children so he was left alone as he got older. His

wife was still with him in all his troubles. He spent his last years in his ancestral home

at Agastheeswaram. It was during this time, Mr. Chelanagatt Gopalakrishnan

(Sreenivasan) visited him and asked Daniel for an interview, and thereby taking

measures to bring Vigathakumaran to everyone‟s attention. Collecting all the rest

evidences of the film Vigathakumaran, Gopalakrishnan met M. Ramakrishna I.A.S

(Siddique) and tried to bring Vigathakumaran into everyone‟s attention. But M.

Ramakrishna denied J. C. Daniel‟s credit for his contribution to Malayalam Cinema

since he was a Christian. He is portrayed as a casteist who never wanted a „Nadar‟ to be

given the title as the father of Malayalam cinema. So Gopalakrishnan asked the help of

his friend, popular Malayalam poet, Vayalar Rama Varma (Raaj Mohan). But

Ramakrishnan still rejected his request. Gopalakrishnan then tried to help Daniel to get

pension beneath the theme for ill artists, but the government rejected it since he was

born in Tamil Nadu. The then Chief Minister of Kerala also refused to provide Daniel

with a monthly pension. After his death, Daniel was accepted by the Government of

Kerala during when the Kerala State Film Corporation was founded, following the

persistent efforts of Gopalakrishnan. Later in a ceremony to honor J. C Daniel, the

pioneer of Malayalam cinema, Gopalakrishnan shared his efforts and hard works to get

Daniel accepted by others. Harris Daniel (Prithviraj Sukumaran), the youngest child of

11

Daniel, also shares his memories about his father and the movie Vigathakumaran.

Harris confessed that he was responsible for why not a single remnant of the film isn‟t

left. The film ends with Harris apologizing to his father and also to the Malayalam Film.

The film reflected the tragic life of J.C Daniel as well as the film also showed the tragic

Dalit heroine P.K Rosy, the first Malayalam actress.

Although the film is the life story of Dr. J. C Daniel, the film divulge about the

Dalit oppression through the character P.K Rosy and also about the miserable life of

Dalit during that period. Dalit were considered as the oppressed, marginalized and

untouchables. They are also exposed to violations and threats. Dalits aren't allowed to

drink from public wells and attend temples. They were believed to be so impure that the

other upper caste people consider their presence makes polluting. The "impure status"

was associated with their historic anciental occupations that caste Hindus taken into

consideration being "polluting" or debased, which include working with leather,

disposing of dead animals, manual scavenging, or sanitation work. They were not

allowed to be in public places with upper people. Female actors in films and at the

theatre were considered as prostitutes. They are often exposed to violence by the other

upper caste people. Dalit have had lower social status in the traditional Hindu structure.

The Dalit were denied education and their economic statuses were also poor. The Dalit

women were subjected to violation and they were paid low for the works they do.

In the movie, we could see how the other upper caste peoples discriminating the

heroine and the other Dalit peoples. When Daniel and his friend went to see Kakkirasi

Nattakam, searching for a heroine, Daniel‟s friend asks him, if the Dalit actress would

12

be suitable for presenting a Nair lady in their film. During that period acting was done

by men. The female acting was considered as prostitution. The entire female roles were

presented by male actors. So getting a female actor was a big task for Daniel. We see

how Rosy behaved when she came to act in the film. She was afraid to act in the film

made by the upper caste Christian. She was very curious to act as a heroine in first

Malayalam movie. She wondered if she had the beauty to act as a 'Nair' girl. All the

beauty concepts were associated to the upper caste peoples, since they were white.

Rosy refused to enter Daniel‟s house even though she was invited to enter. She was

even reluctant to sit in the bench with the Christian guy. All these actions of her were a

clear depiction of how the Dalit people during that period behaved. These actions

where molded by the upper caste people. They were not allowed to be in a public place

when there is an upper caste person. Because the upper caste people believed that the

presence of Dalit can make the upper caste people polluting.

The foreign cameraman of the film also wonders when he saw the Black Dalit

heroine to act as an upper caste white „nair‟ lady. He asked Daniel if she was suitable to

the character. This shows that the superiority of the white upper caste people also

prevailed not only among the native Kerala people but also among the foreigners. The

discrimination prevailed among the white foreigners in form of color. They considered

Black peoples as inferior to the white peoples. In other words we can say that the Black

lower caste peoples were always considered as the inferior community everywhere

across the globe. As the movie progresses we can see how Pillai (Ramesh Pisharody),

an actor in the movie, showing untouchability towards the heroine. The actor feels

13

uncomforted to sit near the Dalit actress. He also expressed his discomfort and anger to

Daniel when he saw three Dalit caste women acting as upper caste women in the movie.

The Dalit actress also neglects the valuable ornaments of the Janet (Mamta

Mohandas), wife of Daniel, which was given to wear and act in the movie. She was

afraid that if she wore jewelry, it would get dirty and thereby Janet couldn‟t wear it

again. Since Dalit were considered as impure anything they touch is also considered as

impure. During that period the Dalit people were the suppressed community and

anything they touch will be considered as untidy. So the upper caste people followed an

untouchablility system. We see how quiet Rosy was when she received her payment for

acting in the film. She didn‟t even count the money. During that period the Dalit were

paid low to the work they do. The Dalit didn‟t have the power to question the landlords

and if they do so they were subjected to punishment and imprisonment. The landlord of

Rosy‟s father Koran, rechristened as Paulose (Chembil Ashokan), warned Rosy for

acting in a movie and raised a death threat. He said that since the land belonged to the

king, no one could show anything by rechristening. This also shows the superiority of

the Hindu upper caste people. They rule the entire land and keep everything under their

feet. They were the supreme authorities; they ruled, guided and punished the people.

When the movie was screened in the „Capitol Theatre‟ for its inaugural

screening, some upper caste lords created commotion when they are invited along with

the Dalit actress P. K Rosy and her family to watch the movie in the cinema hall. One of

the upper caste men said that wherever let it be, the upper caste is always the upper

caste and the lower caste is always the lower caste. Dalits aren‟t allowed to be in public

14

places with the upper caste peoples. In the old Indian social structure the Dalit are the

considered as impure caste and their presence makes the upper caste peoples polluted.

So they severely punished the Dalits who interfered in the path of the upper castes and

also practiced untouchability. There was no limit to the violence they had done to the

lower caste peoples. If Dalits tried to flout the caste system, they receive cruel

punishments such as being brutally beaten, raped, tortured, hanged, and burned and

forced to parade naked through the village. We can also see even an educated upper

caste man, an advocate, saying that he also follows untouchability and caste system. An

educated person, that too an advocate, believes in the superstitions practiced by the old

traditional Hindu culture. We can see how blind the old tradition was. Even the

education could not enlighten their vision. He also agreed with the other „madambis‟

who raised commotion. Daniel had to keep Rosy out of the theatre as he could not find

any other solution.

When the movie was screened, the upper caste people stopped the screening of

the film when they saw a Dalit lady acting as a „Nair‟ lady. The First film of Malayalam

was a victim of the Caste System and social immorality. The caste madness of the

people had ruined the history of the Malayalam cinema. They branded Rosy as a

prostitute and hunted her. They set her house on fire and attacked her father and family.

Rosy somehow managed to escape from their clutches and she ran for her life. PK Rosy

has become the all-time tragic heroine in Malayalam cinema. Similar commotion was

aroused by „madambis‟ in every theatre where the movie was screened. Daniel went

bankrupt as the film was not a commercial success. The film failed to even screen for at

least few days. Daniel had to sell all his equipment and even his studio to pay his depts.

15

The pioneer of Malayalam Cinema thus became a tragic hero and the history of

Malayalam Cinema had been torn apart by the Religious fanatics. The blind belief of

casteism subjected the Dalits to restrict them in social, educational and also in economy.

Kamal had well executed the life Dr. J. C Daniel and the tragic life of the first

Malayalam heroine P. K Rosy. The portrayal of downtrodden-casteist society is also

impressive. He had taken the audience to the old social structure and casteist society.

The casting was also fitting and had given life to the story with all its essence. Prithviraj

acted exceptionally as J. C Daniel and Harris Daniel. The casting of the Dalit actors in

the film is also impressive. Kamal have done a great effort to collect the maximum

accurate details and the way he incorporated them in the script is really impressive.

Chandini Geetha had wonderfully presented the Dalit actress P. K Rosy. The film

opened with many positive reviews and praises and bagged many awards. The film was

a box office hit. The audience was really impressed with the film. It was heart touching,

attractive and immense powerful. They accepted the movie and the pioneer of

Malayalam Cinema, J. C Daniel. The film thus bagged many awards including National

Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and seven Kerala State Film Awards.

Prithviraj won Kerala State Film Award for his performance in the film. Kamal was

able to present a distinct story and he attracted the audiences with his ability in

presenting the story. The music and score was that good as it was able to attract and

take the audience into the past. The screenplay is non-linear with year-by-year graph

since the movie talks about Daniel‟s life. Kamal had exceptionally presented Daniel‟s

passion to the film which makes him distinct from the other directors. The success of

Celluloid is the tribute to the tragic heroine, P. K Rosy.

16

The film succeeded in portraying the life of Dalit through the character P. K

Rosy. The social conditions and discriminations at that time were well executed in the

movie. The presentation of the untouchability and the caste system which prevailed

during the traditional India is amazing. The director had included many elements to

reflect the traditional society. The Dalits were forced to work under the landlords either

in the paddy or in their land and the landlords have the power to punish their Tenant.

They are brutally punished and no mercy was shown even to the Dalit women and

children. The Dalits aren‟t paid enough for their work. They have to lean down to show

respect to the every upper caste people. The Dalit suffer all kind of social exclusion and

discrimination. They are not allowed to get educated, enter public places, temples. The

Dalits hardly participated in political matters. They were not allowed to interfere in

politics; they didn‟t have the voice to question or comment on any social issues. All

these practice of the downtrodden Indian society is well illustrated in the movie. Kamal

never failed to sketch even a small thing. His portrayal of society was so excellent that

it took the audience back to the old Indian tradition.

17

CHAPTER 2

CHITHARIYAVAR

Chithariyavar is a 2004 Indian Malayalam language film directed by Lalji

George and story and concept by M. K. Harikumar, a prominent Malayalam critic,

columnist, journalist, poet, novelist, philosopher, theorist, short-story writer and orator.

The screenplay was written by G. R. Indugopan, famous screen writer, director and a

writer of Malayalam literature. The cast of the film comprises of Sreenivasan, Mundoor

Krishnankutty, Maya Maushmi, Sreeraj and Sangeetha Rajendran in leading roles. The

music for the film was orchestrated by celebrated film score composer and music

director, Thattil Antony Johnson, popularly known as Johnson Master. The poem

„Keezhalan‟ by the noted Malayalam poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar is used as the

background score in the movie. The folk songs in the movie are orchestrated by C. J.

Kuttappan, eminent folk artist, present Chairman of Kerala Folklore Academy. This film

was not made for economic purposes only, but for portraying the reservation needs of

Dalits or backward communities and their rights. The film portrays the need for the

system of reservation to the economically and socially backward communities through

the life of a Dalit who had undergone mental injuries inflicted by the traditional society.

The movie talks about the life of Viswanathan (Sreenivasan), a young postgraduate, who

belong to India‟s reservation community and his struggles to advance through his own

merits rather than using his community reservation. The story unfolds throughout the film

like an open book of real life. Unlike the fictional and mythical movies this one

showcases the attitude, contemporary social norms of the society and how it molded a

18

generation hence most of the audiences didn‟t like the film. So the movie performed

poorly in domestic box office. Through his character Viswanathan, Lalji George was able

to bring the lives of the Dalits, their sufferings and their liberation from it. In addition to

the script, Lalji George's observation of Dalit life, social customs, superstitions and art

forms helped to accelerate the film's perfection.

The film is completely focused on Viswanathan, a young postgraduate man,

who belongs to a poor family. The movie talks about Viswanathan, a Dalit man, who tries

to enhance his conditions using his own abilities instead of using his community

reservation. Viswanathan‟s father, Kumaran (Mundoor Krishnankutty) is an old

„madapathi‟ who does pujas and witchcraft to feed his family. The movie begins with the

portrayal of traditional caste occupation of witch crafting by using background music of

folk song of Dalit community. The villagers had a blind belief in Kumaran‟s witchcraft

and wizardry. People from distant places visited Kumaran. Viswanathan was not able to

accept this. Viswanathan is portrayed as a modernist, who doesn‟t believe in the old

tradition. He vigorously criticized his father for following old superstitions and culture.

He also felt ashamed that his father is doing witch crafting rather than farming. He asks if

a Dalit has the ability to change insanity then why hospitals. Viswanathan has two sisters,

Manichi (Sangeetha Rajendran) and Kinnamma (Divya). When Kinnamma told

Viswanathan that following tradition is now modernity, he got angry.

Viswanathan took part in an interview for the post of lab assistant. The seat was

reserved for scheduled caste peoples, but Viswanathan doesn‟t want a job through this

reservation. So he left the column of caste without filling. When other applicants

disdained him he discloses that he applied in the general category and didn‟t want the job

19

through his reservation. He also argued with the interviewees about filling the caste

column. He refused to accept the job through his reservation. Anyhow the interview

board gave him the job on a contract basis. He was appointed as a specimen collector for

the college. On the way home, he saw his friends and told them that he's got a job. He

then met Reshma (Maya Maushmi), the heroine, on the way and the heroine asked him

whether he got the job. When Viswanathan told her that he got appointed as a specimen

collector, Reshma expressed her disappointment. Reshma is a higher caste lady, who

works in a tutorial along with her classmates, Viswanathan and Krishnakumar (Sreeraj).

Reshma had a special affection to Viswanathan. Krishnakumar a higher caste man owned

the tutorial. He doesn‟t like the intimacy of Reshma towards Viswanathan. He openly

expressed his dissent to Reshma. He had a wish to win Reshma‟s love and had an inner

wish to marry her. Every staffs in the tutorial including Krishnakumar makes fun of

Viswanathan‟s job. Reshma didn‟t like this; she kept on arguing with them whenever

they make fun of Viswanathan.

Viswanathan and his friends go out at night to catch frogs to supply them to

colleges. Whenever Viswanathan and his friends go out to catch frogs, they sees

Govintha Pillai (Puthillam Bhasi), the tea shop owner, moving in the direction of a light

coming from a house in the distance. He makes fun of Viswanathan and friend on the

way. It was in Govintha Pillai‟s tea shop that everyone assembled and tattled. Govintha

Pillai belongs to „savarna‟ community and he always calls Viswanathan as „Viswan

Parayan‟. He also doesn‟t allow Viswanathan‟s friends to catch earthworms from his

land. He doesn‟t want them to catch earthworms for a Dalit and called Viswanathan as

„parayan nari‟. Viswanathan had a desire to write and direct a drama. His main content

was the Dalit situations and wrote plays accordingly. He scripted a play starring

20

Ekalavyan, a tribe in the epic Mahabharata, from a different vision. His friends, Reshma

and Krishnakumar argued with him about the portrayal of Ekalavya through a Dalit

perspective. Viswanathan spend most of his time in writing the script. His desire was to

turn drama into a profession. So he worked hard behind it and offered a great faith in it.

To bring the play to perfection, he borrowed money from many peoples. Gopalan

(Nettayam Sainudeen), Viswanathan‟s uncle, an irresponsible cobbler, later winning a

lottery, offered him to give the necessary amount of money and cheated on him. Then we

see Gopalan going bankrupt in the end after excessive expenses. Reshma helped

Viswanathan, who was in total disarray. She gave her jewelry to Viswanathan to pledge.

The play, which is performed after much effort, has already collapsed before its

screening. Viswanathan couldn‟t bear it and it put him under much mental stress.

Apart from this, the invention of new software by Krishnakumar made

Viswanathan unemployed. Krishnakumar developed software that enables the students to

study the cross section of frogs and cockroaches in practical labs through a computer

screen. It was a great hit back for Viswanathan. When the only source of the income in

the family was ceased, Kumaran put up a board on the roadside and thereby trying to live

without starvation. Kumaran dreamt of his gods at night, often wishing his traditional

gods to give his child a better future. There is a portrayal of Dalit oppression in the

following scene. When Viswanathan plucked mangoes from a ‘kavu‟, some of the

„savarna‟ peoples warned him and asked him not to enter there again and they informed

him that they are going to own the ‘kavu’ from then onwards.

Thereafter, when a lady from a far place inquired Viswanathan about the old

„madapathi‟s (Kumaran) house, he told he didn‟t knew that guy. Soon later, when he saw

Kumaran coming through that way, Viswanathan ran way. Kumaran broke down

21

emotionally when he learned from the lady that his son said he didn‟t know him. His

inferiority complex caused him to ignore the identity his father. Kumaran left his house

with anguish. When that too came along, Viswanathan was exhausted. First his drama

failed, and then he lost his job and further his father left him. It was beyond what

Viswanathan could bear. It was during this time Krishnakumar visited Viswanathan and

tried to convince him and apologizes. He also informed Viswanathan that he went to

Reshma‟s house and talked about their marriage. Viswanathan was devastated to learn

that Reshma had not objected to the marriage. Krishnakumar told Viswanathan that

"Money decides the primacy of any class". He requested Viswanathan to come and teach

again in tutorial but Viswanathan denied his entreaty. In the end, Viswanathan regrets his

past and he found his roots in the soil. He follows in his Father's footsteps and he was

determined to preserve the heritage of the community. The movie ends with background

music, the poem „Keezhalan‟ by eminent Malayalam poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar. The

film portrays the life of a Dalit who tries to recapture and reinstall his heart after many

mental injuries made by upper caste through his traditional roots and customs.

This film inspects the contrast between the traditional jobs of the father versus

the educational job of the son and also examines the difference between the merit based

advancement and affirmative action. After the independence in India, the Government of

India launched reservation to the Dalits and other backward communities. Reservation is

a tool used against social oppression and injustice. It also helped in uplifting the socially

and economically backward communities. The old traditional caste system is completely

responsible for the reservation system in India. Dalits were the weaker and suppressed

community. They were forced to work for the „janmis‟. The upper caste people denied

basic education, right to have any property and social equality to the Dalits. They worked

22

as slaves under their landlords. They were subjected to social exclusion and economical

discriminations as well. They had no right over any type of properties. They were not

allowed to use public properties and enter temples. The social reformers in India, after

many struggles and fights against caste oppression, they won the rights of the Dalits and

backward communities. The Government of India recognizes the predicament of the

Dalits and implemented reservation for their elevation in the social and economic

circumstances. The movie talks about a Dalit who had undergone mental injuries made

by the other upper caste peoples. The protagonist is reluctant to say that he belongs to a

Dalit community because others mock him. Thus he hates reservation.

As this movie narrates the story of a Dalit, there are many scenes in the film

that reflects the life of Dalits and their struggles. The hero himself belongs to a Dalit

community, who tries to advance his living condition using his own potential rather than

using the reservation offer by the Government. This is because everyone mock at him, as

he belong to a Dalit community. The other upper caste says that even a foolish Dalit can

get a job using his reservation and others, who have the ability to do the job, are

neglected. They do not realize that the goal is to give a level playing field to the

backward class who has not been able to compete with the upper caste that had the

enough convenience of resources and means for centuries. Viswanathan had a strong

belief in his abilities, so he competed with other in general categories. While attending

the interview, the fellow applicants openly expressed their views on the reservation

system. The disdained the hero when they came to know that he belongs to the backward

community. Viswanathan doesn‟t want a job through his reservation rather he wanted a

job as per his abilities in it. The reservation is a stage through a Dalit shows his abilities

and competencies.

23

There are many portrayal of the superiority complex of the upper caste peoples

in this film. The owner of the tea shop, Govinda Pillai, is a higher caste old man, who

always calls Viswanathan using his caste name. He also adds bad words along with the

caste name to address Viswanathan in his absence. The tea shop owner is always scornful

of Viswanathan. Furthermore, a group of upper caste people, „Bramhins‟, warns

Viswanathan for plucking mangoes from the „kavu‟. It was in this „kavu‟ where the lower

caste worshiped the goddess by lighting the lamp for the past centuries. One of the

„Bramhins‟ also asked Viswanathan who gave him the permission to pluck the mangoes

from the „kavu‟. They still consider the Dalits as inferiors, that‟s why they told

Viswanathan that the Dalits now had disobedience and disrespect to the higher caste.

They told Viswanathan that in the past the Dalit would not talk or express their opinion to

the upper caste. They informed Viswanathan that they are going to take over the „kavu‟

and surroundings. This portrays the superiority complex of the upper caste peoples. They

consider themselves as superior to any other castes, so they never wanted the other

backward castes to possess power, ownership and they wanted them back under their

feet. Dalits doesn‟t have any right to express his opinion or views in political matters.

They were also denied the right to have properties. The upper caste considered the Dalits

as a serf, who works for the landlords.

The movie used folk songs of the Dalit community for the background music.

This gave a life to the story as it give perfection to the portrayal of the Dalit customs. The

folk songs praise about the traditional gods and admires at the forms of the nature. These

songs have an inevitable part in the Dalit rituals and culture. The traditional occupation,

witch crafting is portrayed using a folk song in a background score. These songs are sung

by the peoples of lower caste in their rituals and gatherings. These are songs that evoke

24

folk cultures. Folk songs represent their lives, careers and lifestyles. Moreover, through

these folk songs, we can understand the suffering and oppression they experience. The

folk background score in this movie had a great impact as it is orchestrated in apt places

to give an impression to the audience. The poem „Keezhalan‟ by the renowned

Malayalam poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar is used in the end. The poem is about the lower

caste and it speaks about the life of Dalits, their struggles and life style. Here, the poet is

trying to paint the true image of his subjects in the hearts of the readers by sharply

criticizing the degradation of the society. Using these songs, the director was able to

portray Dalit life in all its essence.

In the film, Viswanathan was forced to go back to his traditional caste

occupation. He was enforced to do the job that is determined by the community. Even if

Dalits try to do a job of their choice, they are oppressed and forced to do traditional jobs.

They are forced to do those jobs, because of starvation. Krishnakumar, Viswanathan‟s

friend, hindered every job he does. He is portrayed as a representative of the upper class

peoples, who are knowingly or unknowingly obstructing a Dalit‟s path. Reshma‟s

affection towards Viswanathan was also a problem to Krishnakumar. Viswanathan‟s

view about the story of Ekalavya, a Dalit in epic Mahabharata, is different. He thinks

from a Dalit point of view and questions Dalit oppression. He believed that it was the

plan of the „savarnas‟ to oppress Ekalavya. Viswanathan‟s father, Kumaran also had

nightmares. He dream about his community god and asks for a better future and job for

his son. The Hindu God „madan‟ and „kuttychathan‟ is presented through his dreams.

They are Dalit gods and the Dalits have a strong belief in their gods. It was through their

folk songs that they worshipped and praised their gods.

25

The film also depicts the lifestyle of backward communities. Viswanathan‟s

house is not advanced. He lives in tiled house, the walls of the house is cemented using

mud. Viswanathan and his family struggle hard to live. The Dalits are not economical

developed from centuries like the upper caste. Caste system pulls them down in economic

and social grounds. Economic injustice made their living conditions worse. The denial of

their education thereby ruined their future and thereby making their conditions worse.

The film portrays the struggles of Dalits through the character Viswanathan. The

depiction of the house and the mental pressure of Viswanathan direct us to the old living

conditions of the Dalits after independence. Even after the independence, the lives of

Dalits were not improved. They struggle between their lives. They are still struggling

between their lives even today. Viswanathan also feels inferiority complex, he felt

ashamed to say that his father follows tradition and old rituals. He says that the tradition

draws back modernity. He felt ashamed to say that he belongs to a backward community,

which always generously receives everything in his views.

Lalji George had put a wonderful effort to execute the life of Dalits and to

portray the need of reservation system in India. The illustration of the upper caste

complexity is also impressive. He had taken the audience into the social structure of the

society. The casting of the film is also notable as it gave life to the characters.

Sreenivasan as Viswanathan was a suitable choice as he looks like a Dalit and Mundoor

Krishnankutty was also suitable as Kumaran. The other casting was also exceptional. The

observation and study of Lalji about the life of Dalits helped the film to portray the story

of Viswanathan with perfection. The film was not a financial success as it focused on

conveying a socially relevant message. It performed poorly in domestic theatres. This

movie had a different story from the usual fictional and mythical movies. The

26

performance of Sreenivasan as Viswanathan is above exceptional. Lalji was able to

present the problems and struggles of Dalit through his character. The background score

of the film is remarkable as it uses traditional folk songs to depict the life of Dalits, the

creators of folk songs and the use of the poem „Keezhalan‟ is also wonderful. Lalji had

excellently presented the need for reservation through Viswanathan‟s story.

The film succeeded in illustrating the life of Dalit through the story of

Viswanathan. The mindset of upper caste peoples, the mental injuries of Dalits made by

higher communities, the traditional occupations and the life of Dalits are well presented

in the movie. The movie is still socially relevant, as there are remains of casteism. The

social conditions and struggles of Dalits after the independence are well portrayed in the

movie. They were treated like the slaves of the landlords and were forced to work for

them. The higher caste denied basic education, rights and punished them cruelly. Dalit

life was in crisis due to the constant oppression of Dalits during the social, economic and

educational stages for centuries. Later, after independence the Government of India had

taken measures and implemented reservation for the socially backward communities. The

reservation for the backwards were to uplift the conditions of the Dalits, to provide a

leveling play field for the backward, adequate representation of them in services and so

on. Reservation became a stage for the Dalits to exhibit their abilities. The Dalits faces

many disdains about their reservation. They undergo many mental injuries and disdains.

Dalits are neglected even today, in occupational fields, schools and wherever he goes.

This film is a depiction of such societies. The title Chithariyavar depicts the view of the

protagonist towards his community. Lalji, with all his experiences, had portrayed the

Dalit issues through Viswanathan.

27

CHAPTER 3

CONCLUSION

The success of Indian cinema is largely based on how well it is received by the

general public. This is why, in order to attract and entertain the viewers, the films contain

sensational subjects and eye-catching scenes. After the Black Panther movement in the

United States, India adopted a movement known as the Dalit Panther movement, and thus

the creators of literature, art and cinema democratized the representation of the backward

classes in such arts. Despite the fact that art should be created for the sake of art and be

self-contained, Indian cinema is often dominated by the society's upper classes. The key

explanation why social realities are often hampered is because of this. A major medium

like cinema, with the potential to affect a large number of people, should be able to

emerge from this impasse.

Following the country's independence in 1947, Indian cinema attempted to

establish social realism. Many films have attempted to depict the disparity between the

wealthy and the poor. The wealthy were thought to be self-centered, while the poor were

usually Dalits. These films were effective in depicting Dalits problems, but they failed to

empower or inspire them. These films provide no real solutions to the problems that

Dalits face. Regional films followed in the footsteps of Bollywood films in their attempts

to inform and convince society. In the history of Malayalam cinema, there are only few

films that depict the lives of the oppressed and backward classes. Both Celluloid and

Chithariyavar discuss about such stories.

P. K Rosy, the first Dalit actress, was depicted in a first Malayalam film,

Vigathakumaran. However, this resulted in several social disputes. The first Malayalam

28

film was a victim of social injustice and caste system. The story was later adopted by the

film Cellulloid which gained wide acceptance by the modern society. This reflects the

societal gap as well as how a film representation is accepted in different societies. There

are number of Dalit elements which helped the film to take the audience to the old

traditional India. Even though the film was the biographgy of J. C Daniel, the pioneer of

the Malayalam Cinema, the story of P. K Rosy was discussed across Kerala. The key

reason for this was the exact portrayal of the life of the Dalit heroine. The films portray

the life of the oppressed as such it takes the audience to the old Kerala tradition and

culture. When the director portrayed the life of P. K Rosy in front of the audience with

excellence, they evoked sympathy within. The social injustice, caste system, and system

of untouchability, upper caste supremacy and harsh behavior of upper caste towards the

Dalits are well portrayed in the movie. The film was able to portray the life of Dalits as it

was during that time.

Chitharivayar deals with the need for the system of reservation in India for the

socially and economically backward communities. Viswanathan, the protagonist, belongs

to a Dalit community. His struggles to enhance his conditions using his abilities rather

than his community reservation are portrayed in the film. The film performed poorly in

the theatre because the film aimed at giving a socially relevant message rather than

aiming to entertain its audience. The social atmosphere at the time of release was an

obstacle to the success of the film. Chithariyavar was released almost ten year before the

release of Celluloid. This clearly shows the social growth of the society over that period.

The need for the system of reservation in India, mental injuries of Dalits made upper

caste peoples, superiority complex of the upper caste, traditional customs and rituals,

29

enforcement of traditional jobs over them by the society are portrayed through the story

of the Dalit hero.

Both the films, Celluloid as well as Chithariyavar, succeeded to represent the

struggles and life of Dalits. The casting of the film played an important role in the

completeness of the characters in the film. Both the directors had a keen observation

consciousness on society. So they were able to bring the Dalit lives through their

character. That‟s what these two movies tell us. Both the film talks about the life of Dalits

in our country from two eras, Celluloid tells us the life of Dalits before independence and

Chithariyavar dealt with their life after the independence.

Movies had a great influence in it viewers as it has an impact in the actions and

thinking of the society. They entertain and inform their audiences through their story.

After independence in India, there was an attempt to experiment realism in films. The

realistic films addressed the social issues. Dalit issues were an important factor in such

social issues that they used. Through the study of Dalit representation in Malayalam

Films, this research thesis tries to find how far the directors of such realistic films were

able to portray the struggles and life of Dalits. Such films create awareness among the

people about social injustice and also emphasize the need to uplift such oppressed section

of society. Such issues are still relevant as social injustice still exists today. Therefore this

study also highlights the importance of such films.

30

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