In search of real ‘Pan-Indian’ cinema

recent south indian movies, Pushpa, RRRAnd KGF 2 Indian films are rewriting history. A few years back, it would have been unimaginable that a Telugu and Kannada film dubbed in Hindi would become the highest-grossing film of all time in Hindi. This has given rise to an animated discussion not only about the alleged decline of Bollywood but also about the emergence of a new “pan-Indian” cinema.

The rise of the southern film industries, which were hitherto marginalized as “regional” cinema, and the challenge to the supremacy of Hindi cinema is indeed a welcome development. But its celebration as a pan-India cinema, breaking barriers of language and culture, is premature without discussing what these films represent. These three recent films (two of which have crossed the ₹1,000 crore stratospheric collection record), and bahubali Earlier, indicate that they do not challenge dominant ideas of a homogeneous nationalism, caste hierarchy, toxic masculinity, or needless violence. Nor do they provide any cultural authenticity.

national market

Such “large-scale” commercial films (albeit in newer linguistic registers and with a much better technical quotient and cinematic experience) target the national market and the “lowest common denominator”, in fact, are the only areas of linguistic/cultural plurality and exploration. may be contrary to the idea. of novel and progressive themes. Because the only obstacle in the way of better and world-class cinema is not the dominance of Hindi films.

Recently, Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi spoke about the humiliation he felt at a National Award ceremony in the 1980s, where Indian cinema was portrayed as Hindi cinema, and more recently South films on that notion. How has become a vehicle to correct. The same was reflected in Kannada star Sudeep’s comments on the claim of Hindi as the national language.

Nevertheless, this “regional” claim for an equal place in Indian cinema does not refer to the exclusion, and cultural homogeneity made by mega-budget, pan-India film emerging from the South.

thus, RRR, for example, is steeped in a religious-divided nationalism with a cartoonish and melodramatic take on colonialism: evil British versus good Indians. This coincides perfectly with the current climate of aggressive nationalism, even though it seeks to speak from the linguistic margins. In this nationalism, while Subhas Bose, Sardar Patel, Bhagat Singh, Shivaji and others from the South are surprisingly present, Gandhi, Ambedkar and Nehru are missing.

The more serious problem is the appropriation of the trope of tribal emancipation to a nationalist cause, and thus it appears that the oppressors of the tribals were simply the British. It’s a trick, as I’ve argued before, seen in movies like Tax, One of the two protagonists, Bhima, who is reportedly based on the mythical – but neglected – Gond leader Komaram Bheem, is shown in the film asking Rama, the other protagonist. Savarna: Hindu, to educate him. This, explains author Akash Poyam (himself a Gond), presents Bhima as an innocent “great barbarian”, while in fact it was Komaram Bhima who coined the slogan, ” water, forest, landWhich is shown as carved by Ram in the film.

other movies like Pushpa And KGF Breaking no new ground, but strengthening many weary Spice As a poor hero such as the savior of the state-criminal nexus and the toiling masses, etc. Nevertheless, they have been lauded as catering to the so-called masses of small-town India and which Bollywood has largely superseded. away from focusing its attention on the urban middle class, elite, NRIs and multiplexes. But it is a diminutive understanding that enables the public to appreciate cinema only with extreme violence, misogyny and low-brows, and not the urban rich as its advocates. Nevertheless, the recent blockbusters drew huge crowds in multiplexes as well as the expatriate audience.

Similarly, some scholars have argued that success Pushpa And KGF It is that they exemplify the local people against the nationalist rhetoric of Hindi cinema, a controversy that is questioned. bahubali And RRR,

Beyond Binaries

There is a need to go beyond such simple/mere binaries of local vs national, class vs mass and Hindi vs non-Hindi, or the anointing of new formula productions with monster budgets and targeting the national market as pan-India. thin crust. Instead, pan-India cinema needs to be envisioned as one that is socially and cinematically spanning boundaries, culturally rooted and yet resonating at the national/global level, and as one that is one that spans languages. have a conversation between

The seeds of such a pan-India cinema were already in place before the market success of the recent blockbusters down south.

pushing the envelope

For a decade now, “new generation” films in Malayalam have rewritten the history of Indian cinema in their own way, and have garnered national attention especially since OTT platforms flourished. There has been an explosion of films, especially short films, dealing with an array of subjects and pushing the envelope in multiple directions. love movies maheshinte pratikaram, Ozhivudivasthe Kalik, Ottal, Angamaly Diary, Kumbalangi Nights, Jallikattu, The Great Indian Kitchen, fartAnd many others became successful as they moved away from formulas driven by male superstars.

Yet, if the new Malayalam cinema hasn’t entirely clashed with caste, there has been a real revolution in Tamil cinema dealing with caste oppression with films like the one from the 2010s. attakathi, Madras, Kabali, black, pariyaram perumal, Asurni, Kärnan, Sarpatta Parambrai And Jai Bheem, He also showed that films with radical themes do not bifurcate with superstars or with massive commercial success. The latter was also proved with the huge pan-India success of the Marathi film. Sairat,

An empty celebration of current southern blockbusters as pan-India cinema is bucking the above trends, ignoring other possibilities within the Kannada and Telugu industries that produced excellent short films and cultural nuggets. thithi And c/okancharapalem,

Thus, the scope of a true pan-India cinema is immense, but can be realized only by the infrastructure (theatrical, and not only OTT) to experience the best of cinematic content in various Indian languages. For example, until the Indian audience is able to watch the National Award winning Byari, Choti Beri Bhasha or the internationally acclaimed Khasi film. leuduh In their own languages ​​(not just in English), the idea of ​​a true pan-India cinema would still be born.

Nissim Mannathukkaren is with Dalhousie University, Canada, and tweets @nmannathukkaren