Hindi cinema, which is dominated by profit-driven spice films, often gives glory to the social aristocratic class, bypassing Dalit-Bahujan identity and their concerns. The mainstream Bollywood criticized for promoting patriarchal and racist stereotypes, rarely embrace cinema as a tool to challenge social injustice. Additionally, it maintains cultural and political agendas of the traditional social elite, avoiding to engage with Dalit-Basis stories and their social experiences. Popular cinema is hesitant to embrace cinema as a platform for artistic and creative exploration that will detect conservative social practices and sensitive the audience about it.
In recent years, mainstream Hindi cinema has seen rare but important efforts to challenge Bollywood’s orthodox stories through films. Article 15Which exposes the atrocities of the caste through the awakening of a police officer, and BeatingOne who weaves the caste in a sad romance subtle, indicates a change towards socially conscious storytelling. Like other movies Shamshera And VedaThose who address the issues of caste harassment and present strong Dalit heroes to fight such social diseases, are important additions.
This emerging style has yet to make an important place for films that reveal social injustice and advocate reforms, offering a more equitable society vision. Such efforts should be observed and supported, but the traditional ruling nobles of the industry have overcome themselves to a great extent.
Instead, these films are often criticized as a threat to the dominance of social clans, which accuse them of disrupting social harmony by carrying forward Dalit-Bahjan symbols and narratives.
Around recent controversy FuleThe Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) of caste-related materials makes a deliberate effort to suppress stories, marked by the censorship, which dare to challenge the social and political dominance of the governing elite, which highlights the ongoing resistance to transformative cinema.
Arrival of Dalit-sister cinema
This new site of cinema making is an innovative blessing because it brings stories of weak social groups and gives them a dignified mental. This style has introduced the prestigious figures of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule on the silver screen as their thoughts and values ​​are also affecting the story practices of cinema and today receiving a lot of resonance on the silver screen.
Regional cinema (especially Tamil and Marathi) offered influential artistic cinema (eg (eg, eg Sabit, Jayati, Kabali, Asuran Etc.,) It not only entertains the audience with its creative narratives, but also educates them about the issues of social dignity and the need to fight against oppressive Brahminic conservatives.
In these new narratives, Dalit-Bahjan characters are depicted as a strong hero with agency, dignity and purpose, not in the form of inactive victims or background data. They challenge the traditional grammar of Indian cinema and open space for a more democratic cultural discourse.
In doing so, this parallel stream is not only re -shaping representation, but is a desire to redefine mainstream Indian cinema. It is a newborn but promising style, capable of democratizing the Indian film industry.
Brahminical protest
Jyotiba Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar were fierce critics of the Hindu caste system and the priests on the majority oppressed groups were exploited by the castes. He imagined modern India as a free field not only under the aegis of imperialist domination but also from our own Brahmin and patriarchal service.
However, in nationalist history writing and popular culture, these reputed figures were often re -accused as heroes of some caste groups, while other leaders were elevated as prominent representatives of national interest. Popular Hindi cinema also ignored issues related to heroes, historical events and Dalit-Basis people and supported most of the narratives that promote the social and political interests of the traditional social elite.
In case of recent dispute FuleCBFC has created technical barriers for its release. The film set for release on 11 April was delayed by April 25, due to CBFC instructions to remove or replace caste-related materials due to objections to the Brahmin community in Maharashtra and later CBFC instructions. The board directed filmmakers to remove caste-specific words such as “Mahar”, “Mangal”, “muscle”, and “the system of the caste of Manu”, as well as a scene like a person with a broom tied to his waist (a historical reference to Dalit oppression).
Fule It seems that while advocating anti-caste politics, Dalit-Bahjan characters were shown as a prominent hero and offered a strong criticism of the Brahminical social system. It seems that the state is ready to prevent the newborn process that can democrine the cinema industries in favor of the Dalit-Bahjan public to a great extent. Such removal by CBFC will dilute the historical realities of the fighting of Phule against the discrimination of the caste. These editing are mostly meant to purify history to appeal to Brahmin groups, while reduce the purpose of the film to face caste injustice.
On the other hand, cinema that promotes communal concerns (Kerala Story), Manipulates historical facts (Kashmir files) And target Muslim minorities as cruel foreign aggressives (Fervor) And the anti-national is supported and publicized by the current regime at the center. It will be told that like movies Punjab 95, TeesAnd Dhadak 2Those who address social issues also faced a similar sensorship, which suggests a pattern to suppress the narratives challenging the Brahmin price system.
Struggle for representation
A brief examination of Hindi cinema shows that most of the characters embodiment the identity of the social porters on-screen, in which stories mainly reflect their cultural interests. While Muslims and Jatt Sikh identity combine some diversity, focus on the social aristocratic perspective. In this scenario, like movies Fule And Dhadak 2Those who face caste issues, the centers keep the Dalit-Bahjan characters at the center, and challenge the cultural dominance of the Brahminical necklaces, deserve recognition.
Nevertheless, institutions like CBFC are influenced by operating kulin, appearing with the intention of suppressing such narratives, as censorship is encountered by obstacles. FuleThese challenges underline the fact that the fight for social equity and freedom of expression in Indian cinema is incomplete.
Published – April 22, 2025 08:30 AM IST
