Dalit Issues in Hindi Cinema A Study of Selected Films

Abstract

The majority of studies on cinematic works place a strong emphasis on researching popular newlinecinema with a focus on the customary factors like the acting and directing oeuvres and the newlinefilm s capacity to entertain the viewers. This research critically explores the widely held newlinenotion that the objective of the cinema is to provide stories that solely satisfy people s newlinedemand for entertainment by adopting a subaltern viewpoint and examining new parameters newlinethat have not been thoroughly inspected before. newlineThe study s main objective is to examine how Dalit characters are portrayed in newlineselected Hindi films. This analysis is done in the context of a larger social, historical, newlinepolitical, and ideological framework. A thorough study of the selected films has been newlineconducted, taking into account elements of genre, audience response, and portrayal. In the newlinefield of caste-related research, the current study is relatively new. newlineStudying the role of Dalits in the creation of the Indian nation as attempted through newlineHindi cinema, and analysing the representation of inter-caste marriages and the representation newlineof Dalit women in Hindi cinema are three main perspectives from which the research has newlinebeen undertaken, catering to the national, social and personal aspect of caste, respectively. newlineThe primary films that have been studied in detail are: Ashutosh Gowarikar s Lagaan: Once newlineUpon a Time in India (2001), Anubhav Sinha s Article 15 (2019), Franz Osten s Achhut newlineKanya (1936), Bimal Roy s Sujata (1959), Shashank Khaitan s Dhadak (2018), Shyam newlineBenegal s Ankur (1974), Shekhar Kapur s Bandit Queen (1994), and Jagmohan Mundhra s newlineBawandar (2000) newline