Ajith Kumar A S Critiquing a friend’s film This time I would like to have an open dialogue with my friend Rupesh Kumar on his film ‘Don’t be our fathers‘. I think a dialogue in the public sphere would be more productive because more people could engage with it. This month I traveled with …
Why I don’t support the ‘Dark is Beautiful’ campaign
Anjali Rajoria Nandita Das, the talented Indian actress was recently involved in the campaign “Dark is Beautiful”. The idea has been endorsed by many celebrities across the nation. Despite being a vehement critic of the social standards of ‘Beauty’, I do not extend my support to this campaign. My logic is simple. Let me …
Caste in cinema and music: the Kerala experience
~ Caste in cinema and music: the Kerala experience ~ A S Ajith Kumar talks to Dalit Camera Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes This is the first part of an interview with A S Ajith Kumar, writer, musician and filmmaker based in Trivandrum. The interview was conducted by Radhika Pai and Gopika Nangia after the …
Locating P K Rosy: Can A Dalit Woman Play a Nair Role in Malayalam Cinema Today?
Jenny Rowena I think this Rosy Memorial Lecture is a historically significant move for two important reasons. First of all it gives us a chance to remember and commemorate P K Rosy, the Dalit Chrisitan woman, who was the first heroine of the first film in Malayalam, Vigathakumaran, which was made and released by …
The ‘Dirt’ in The Dirty Picture: Caste, Gender and Silk Smitha – Part 2
Jenny Rowena Continued from here. My only preparation was to constantly tell myself that I love my body. And I was going to use it as a tool to get what I wanted in life and I was not going to be apologetic about it. So that was what Silk is for me. Therefore there is …
Caught in a Traffic jam: Liberation in Malayalam cinema
Rupesh Kumar The Malayalam movie ‘Traffic’ has the actor Sreenivasan essaying complex roles; narrator, convict and the hero. I find it significant to analyze his role transformations and examine the explicit and implicit messages being conveyed in the movie as a reflection of Malayali society. The Narrator Why was Sreenivasan chosen to be the ‘philosophical’ …