Jai Bhim: Sparking a crucial debate

Are films primarily modes of entertainment or do they hold the power to effect social change? The success of the Tamil movie, Jai Bhim, has brought this debate back into focus. Jai Bhim is the latest in a recent string of socially conscious movies on caste from Tamil Nadu, a list that includes Pariyerum Perumal (2018), Asuran (2019) and Sarpatta Parambarai (2021), among others. Together, this oeuvre has flipped the gaze on caste-oppressed communities, chronicled their assertion and critiqued oppressive caste groups and structures — while courting commercial success and critical plaudits.

Jai Bhim shows the struggle of a marginalised tribe, the Irulars, against police violence and custodial torture, helped by a young lawyer. The film makes three important points. One, though the British-era Criminal Tribes Act has long been repealed, its effect on police attitudes remains pervasive and authorities continue to use the “habitual offender” moniker to criminalise some groups. Two, custodial violence and brutality is not only rife, but also the harshest against marginalised people. And three, despite hurdles, anti-caste ground activism can move the needle on justice.

As films like Aakrosh (1980) and My Brother Nikhil (2005) have shown, films can spark a conversation on ignored issues, but often don’t have the power to implement structural changes. Four decades after India was shocked by Aakrosh, the precarity of peasants and labourers is, in some ways, even more dire. Yet, as other hits like Sairat (2015) show, jolting society out of its slumber can also help some people (in this case, inter-caste couples). In the short term, at least, that is enough.