Indian cinema, in general, has neglected issues and characters related to the Dalit-Adivasi and Bahujan identities. The transgressive and superhuman capacities of a ‘hero’ are allowed to be portrayed only by characters that represent the identity of the social elites. Upper-caste characters in films are shown as heroes, vanguards or philanthropists, and as the only people who can deliver justice in personal feuds and social problems or can demolish the criminal class.
Similar power and space are not available to Dalit-Bahujan characters in cinema. That a character from a marginalised social background can transform the terrible social structure by the fist of fury or by philanthropist grace is not an admissible narrative.
Mainstreaming of Dalit Cinema Has Only Begun
Even on the few occasions where Dalit characters are depicted on screen, they are portrayed through degraded stereotypical roles, mainly as poor or wretched people with no agency and power to change their precarious conditions.
The early Hindi cinema, in particular, presented Dalit characters as humble and docile (Bimal Roy’s Sujata), physically challenged and drunkard (Shyam Benegal’s Nishant) or with belittling adjectives (Kachra in Lagaan). The possibility of presenting a Dalit-Bahujan character as an alpha male and popular hero who is socially conscious, amicable, and dignified is rare.
Interestingly, stories around the centrality of lower castes and Dalit identity are slowly gaining significance in contemporary Hindi and Tamil cinema. They have brought substantive nuances to their representation.
Recent films like Guddu Rangeela, Masan, Manjhi: The Mountain Man, Newton, Sonchiriya, Mukkabaaz, Article 15, Pareeksha, and Madam Chief Minister showcased a range of Dalit characters, who were also mainstream heroes in many of the movies. Though it is still too early to say that the ‘Dalit cinema’ genre is finding traction in Hindi cinema, the seeds for it are perhaps being sowed.