- Azim Chabra
- Film journalist
Image source, Amazon prime video
Jay Beam has been ranked number one on the IMDb website for best user ratings, behind most popular films such as The Shashank Redemption and The Godfather. Film journalist Azim Chabra writes that this is the latest in a series of Indian films that speak of the oppression of Dalits at the bottom of the caste hierarchy.
Directed by Gnanavel and starring Surya, the film focuses on caste discrimination. Two weeks after its release, various controversies continue.
In the opening scene of the movie Jai Beam, those caught on suspicion are shown to be divided on the basis of caste.
Leaving out the dominant castes. People from Dalit and tribal communities are being told to stay there and false cases are being registered against them.
This is a mind-boggling scene. Those in the group who were terrified knew what was going to happen. The scene is set to remind us of how dangerous the lives of small towns and rural India, especially the Dalits, are.
Dalits make up 20% of India’s population. They have to face discrimination and violence despite the laws to protect them.
Image source, Amazon prime video
Jay Beam means live beam. The leader of the neglected people, the chief architect of the Indian political system, B.R. It was popularized by Ambedkar’s supporters.
Jai Beam is seen as a part of the new trend of Tamil cinema. Many young filmmakers have taken up stories set against the backdrop of caste oppression.
Film historian S Theodore Baskaran says that the Dalit movement has been growing in Tamil Nadu for the last 30 years since the centenary celebrations of Ambedkar in 1991.
“Forgotten Dalit ideologies of the 20th century have been recovered from history. The ideas of Periyar and Ambedkar have permeated the writings of many Dalit writers. Over the past decade, some writers have gone to the cinema and made films. But they used the usual songs, fights and melodrama style.”
Now, Dalit stories have been featured in other Indian language independent films, including Anhe Gorhe da Don (Punjabi), which tells the life of Dalit Sikhs, and Masan (Hindi), Fantry and Siret (both Marathi), about the love between a young man and an upper caste woman from a cremated family. .
Image source, Amazon prime video
Fantry tells the story of a boy who catches pigs in the village and his love for an upper caste woman. The film, which tells the story of caste-denying love, was a box office success. In this series, Koozhangal released in Tamil was selected to represent India at the 2022 Oscars for Best International Film.
But now many of the heroes of mass Tamil cinema are Dalits. Those who fight against long-standing discrimination and assert their rights. When the legal way does not end their grief they are also willing to be physically confronted.
One of the leading directors made the film An Inquiry into the Misery of the Tamil Immigrants in Andhra Pradesh, a monster set against the backdrop of the massacre of the Dalits. Mari Selvaraj and Ba Ranjith are the two main directors who created the stories with the Dalit protagonist.
“The way the Dalit characters were portrayed was painful,” says Pa, who is filming Dalit social tragedies. Ranjith. Spike Lee of the Tamil film industry mentions him.
Image source, WONDERFUL FILMS
In an interview in 2020, Pa Ranjith spoke to “The Wire” about Dalit character creation in previous Tamil films. “Either the Dalit characters were not shown, or their inclusion in the story was considered ‘revolutionary’.”
“In such an environment, I had to think about what my stories could tell,” he added.
“I wanted to show that my culture is based on discrimination and violence … Today, directors are more vigilant when writing Dalit characters.” He said.
Ranjith produced director Mari Selvaraj’s first film Periyerum Perumal. The film begins with the words, “Caste and religion are against humanity.” They want to become a lawyer like Ambedkar, the protagonist of the film.
In the movie Periyerum Perumal, Mari Selvaraj is in the dance troupe for the song “Boradada”. Composed by Ilayaraja in 1983, the song features lyrics such as “Nandan Iname Perum Ariyasaname, Ettuthikum Vetri Ezhume Mannil Oli Vellam Varavu, Pon Uthayam Kanditave Uthiram Mulum Uthirum Udiram”.
The song also features in the background in Mari Selvaraj’s Karnan movie released in 2021. Now it is referred to as the Dalit Anthem.
Image source, Amazon prime video
Boxing story inspired by Mohammed Ali The Charbatta dynasty
Ranjith’s films got more attention due to the film of Tamil cinema superstar Rajinikanth. Frustrated by the stories told to him, Rajinikanth agreed to play the protagonist in Kabbali (the shadow world story of Tamils who migrated to Malaysia) and Kala (the story that takes place in Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia located in Mumbai).
In his latest film, The Charpatta Dynasty, he describes the boxing culture of the Chennai Dalits inspired by Mohammad Ali and his war voices against the Vietnam War and racism.
There are alternative ideas as well. Some feel that the current Dalit representation in Tamil cinema deserves such praise. Leena Manimegala, director of the 2019 film Madathi, says modern cinema has not changed enough.
“The same stories are imposed on the hero, the overly masculine, the omnipresent, the heroic savior,” said Lena Manimegala.
Image source, Neelam Productions
“Female characters in current films are portrayed as mere stumbling blocks to their husbands or lovers, or as cheerleaders.
Yet it is clear that people watch such modern cinema. Jay Beam is yet to be released in theaters. So the box office details are unknown. But Jay Beam topped the IMDb online site with a 9.6 user rating.
With entries by Sudha G Tilak Written by. Azim Chabra is an independent film writer and writer. He recently wrote the book Irfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, The Star.
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