A study of social exclusion and the silver screen

Conference examines representation of Dalits and tribal communities in Hindi cinema

While there were several events marking the centenary year of Indian cinema in 2013, there was very little focus on the portrayal of the Dalit and tribal communities on the silver screen over the years. It is also true that mainstream Hindi cinema has largely ignored the Dalit and tribal people, or relegated them to insignificant roles.

It was to fill this gap and discuss the issues regarding their portrayal that the Department of Hindi at Pondicherry University has organised a two-day national conference on ‘Hindi Cinema: Dalit and Tribal Discourse’ on October 5 and 6, which is being supported by the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Renowned journalist Dilip Mandal, who is attending the event, said it was the first such conference to focus on these issues.

Organising the conference has been a challenge, says Dr. Pramod Meena, Assistant Professor, Department of Hindi and coordinator for the event. It took the team around two-and-a-half years to get the event together given the initial opposition from the University administration and the period of student protests over Vice-Chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy.

The conference has been bolstered by the presence of big names in the field like Biju Toppo, considered the first Adivasi film director, Nagraj Manjule, director of multi-award winning Fandry , documentary filmmakers Sanjay Joshi and Manoj Singh, who have been behind the Gorakhpur Film Society movement, which takes films to small cities and towns, as well as Ashwini Kumar Pankaj.

“The idea is to explore why the gaps in portrayal of Dalits and tribals exist, and examine their portrayal on screen with particular reference to Hindi films. Often, the point of view of the communities is missing. The few films that do get made which focus on the people do not reach the halls as well,” says Mr. Meena. Filmmaking is also a medium to save tribal languages from perishing, he said, citing the example of Adivasi film directors Niranjan Kujur and Biju Toppo who make films in tribal languages.

However, there has been a shift, even if slow, with technology and word-of-mouth and social media publicity. In fact, India’s entry to the Oscars in 2016, Court , touches on Dalit issues. “Making films likeManjhi and Peepli Live would not have been possible ten years ago. The multiplex factor has been an advantage,” said Mr. Meena.

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Mandal said it was important to talk about issues facing India, including problems facing the Dalit and tribal people. “In India, we think if we do not talk about or see a problem, it will just go away,” he said, adding that statistics on caste have not been updated in a long while. He also called for clearer surveys on areas like the film-going audience as are done in the U.S. to better understand the issues facing filmmaking today.

The two-day conference will look at areas like the absence of the Dalit and tribal reality in Indian cinema, tragedy of the Dalit and tribal woman, and the Dalit in urban life, among other issues. Screening of Biju Toppo’s Kudukh language film Kora Rajee and Tamil Bodhi Kala group's Padyi , Dalit-tribal poetry session and dramas by the Ashutosh Chandan group have also been organised.