Papers by Vaidyanathan Natarajan
Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2018
Caste has been an age-old problem in India and other Hindu countries. Caste has established itsel... more Caste has been an age-old problem in India and other Hindu countries. Caste has established itself through various rituals, food habits, isolation, patriarchy and many other ways. Controlling women, serves as one of keystone component of maintaining the caste system. This research article analyses two Dalit films to understand the component of women and portrayal of feministic characters in one Tamil film (Kabali) and one Marathi film (Sairat). These films have been chosen to understand the discourse of women and to discuss the portrayal and control of women in these films. Semiotic analysis is coupled with semantic and pragmatic analysis to understand the discourse of women. Sairat serves as a film, which portrays women in a comparatively different light from normal stereotypical patriarchal films. Whereas, Kabali despite being a Dalit film falls within the framework of normal Indian film, which offers very little space to women. Dalit literature is the literature of the oppressed. Dalit films are a part of Dalit literature, so they shoulder strong responsibility in proposing counter narratives to stereotypical views of women oppression in the society. Once Dalit narratives are able to break this rigid framework, then they might be able to indirectly attack the evils of caste system, through women empowerment.
History of Modern India is ripe with examples of marginalization of Dalits', which is against emp... more History of Modern India is ripe with examples of marginalization of Dalits', which is against empowerment / Self-respect. There are various factors that contribute towards the marginalization of these people some of them include Exclusion, globalization, displacements, disasters etc. In India, films started making an appearance around 1900s. As the films drifted from its close kin " stage play " , a different set of grammar was established and the hermeneutics of films started to evolve later. The new form struck the caste system, let in the oppressed people into theater and allowed for an equal treatment without discrimination. This started to irk the influential and pushed them to enter into the film industry. After which, films took a new form of stereotypical representation, glorification of caste and caste based differentiations, denigrations of the lower communities, portraying them as powerless etc. This study attempted to elicit the arbitrary meanings of both Dalit and Non Dalit filmmakers' texts and establish that they significantly contradict with constitutive meaning. A Semiotics analysis of Dalit and non-Dalit films underpins this study. In many instances the work of dalits seemingly fuel the campaigns being initiated by political parties, which instigate socio-political movement against Dalit instead of counter these movements.
Caste is one of the oldest surviving institutes of Indian society. It has remained flexible and d... more Caste is one of the oldest surviving institutes of Indian society. It has remained flexible and dynamic to evolve along with the society. This paper discusses the modern manifestation of caste in food, place of residence, occupation, politics, and marriage.
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Papers by Vaidyanathan Natarajan