Deccan Chronicle

WHAT’S BOLLYWOOD’S CASTE?

The caste system and its pernicious effects have forever been India’s daily reality, and yet one sees little of it in the country’s most dominant cultural phenomenon — Bollywood. In an industry ruled by the Khans and Kapoors, is there space for a hero fro

- SOMUDRA BANERJEE

BOLLYWOOD’S WRITERS ARE UNAWARE OF THE ISSUES AND COMPLEXITI­ES OF CASTE, AND PREFER TO STAY IN THE SECURE WORLD OF FANTASY COMMERCIAL CINEMA

In India’s Socialist era, directors such as Hrishikesh Mukherjee dealt with class struggles, but caste has always been an untouchabl­e

India has a unique problem of caste system. The complex situation is intricatel­y woven into the socio-economic fabric of the nation. The Census of 2011 recorded over 20 crore people belonging to various scheduled castes in the country. Of which, almost half of the population belong to four states — Uttar Pradesh tops with 20.5 per cent of the total scheduled caste (SC) population, followed by West Bengal with 10.7 per cent. Bihar with 8.2 per cent and Tamil Nadu with 7.2 per cent are third and fourth. Dalits form around 16.6 per cent of India’s population.

However, the most prominent voice of the country, its cinema, has mostly overlooked their stories. A recent case in point is the blockbuste­r Baahubali 2. The film has managed to earn a whopping `1,000 cr at the box office, but it also drawn flak for the depiction of caste politics in the movie. Critics have noted how the filmmakers have got the caste politics all wrong.

But why put Baahubali on the stake in isolation? Indian mainstream cinema has never been particular­ly interested in showing us hard realities anyway. Leaving aside a few recent films (read, Sairat), it’s interestin­g to see how mainstream Indian cinema has often kept aside the depiction of caste from the narrative. Most often, the protagonis­ts of the stories come from the upwardly mobile (if not filthy rich) milieu. While lower caste protagonis­ts are a rare sight in Indian cinema, filmmakers often confuse their identity and end up portraying them stereotypi­cally as either dimwits or awaiting validation from upper castes (Lagaan or Swadesh).

According to Avinash Das, who recently directed Anarkali of Aarah, ignorance on the writer’s part is the primary reason. “Writers who provide content to Bollywood are not clear about caste,” says Das. “Most Bollywood filmmakers are from Mumbai and have not faced caste issues. So, their stories are not rooted because they have never had such experience­s.”

Das also feels that filmmakers almost subconscio­usly end up depicting the protagonis­t as someone from the upper caste and the antagonist from the lower caste groups. Anjum Rizvi, producer of films like

A Wednesday thinks otherwise. “The assumption that Bollywood films encourage or portray caste hierarchy is not true. There may have been some films in the past that did so but that does not mean that Bollywood has made stereotype­s,” says Rizvi.

“Even in Baahubali 2, the portrayal of the protagonis­t as the son of a slain king becoming the saviour does not necessaril­y hint at caste or class hierarchy. In fact, Bollywood has always shown the male protagonis­t to be belonging to a poor family without referring to his caste or class. Hence, to assume that Bollywood is encouragin­g stereotype­s is not right. On the contrary, modern day films have ensured that a progressiv­e society is portrayed to the masses as films go a long way in moulding the opinions of people,” Rizvi says.

Traditiona­lly, commercial cinema has been meant, almost deliberate­ly, to be fantasy, fulfilling latent dreams and desires. In such a context, films shouldn’t be provocativ­e but aspiration­al for the masses. It is the audience that decides the content of films, says Nilesh Girkar, writer of

Sarkar trilogy. “Bollywood does not decide the content or context of a movie, rather it is the choice of the audience that the film world panders to. Amitabh Bachchan played a doctor in Anand, but he got fame by playing the roles of a labourer, a taxi driver or a coolie, which implies that people like to see films that portray the rags-to-riches story and the success of the protagonis­t in overcoming obstacles to achieve success,” he explains.

Film historian S.M.M. Ausaja concurs. In fact, according to him, Indian cinema has long been about class wars. “Look at all the socialist cinema of the past. Be it Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy or Mehboob Khan, they always looked at the class issue — how the capitalist­s were exploiting the poor,” says Ausaja.

However, in the end, marketabil­ity and censorship are the basic reasons why Indian cinema has avoided delving into the complex caste phenomenon. “In the past, there were films like Imaan Dharam and Ganga Ki Saugand, which had to deal with serious censorship issues,” Ausaja says, adding that the Censor Board has distinct rules in place for art-house cinema and commercial cinema. The latter is supposed to not provoke or incite any kind of debate. “What would the producers prefer — an easygoing film liked by the masses or to fight with the Censor Board?” he says.

However, things are changing, affirms Das. “I would say people will notice a huge shift in Bollywood soon, because I have interacted with a few people who are planning to make films that deal primarily with caste politics,” he says.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India