Marxist Reading Of Kammatipaadam.docx

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VOICE OF THE UNHEARD: A MARXIST READING OF KAMMATIPAADAM Project submitted to Mahatma Gandhi University in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Communication Studies By Anagha Pradeep Reg. No. SB15CE004 B.A. English Literature and Communication Studies St. Teresa’s College (Autonomous) Ernakulam-682011 Kerala Supervisor Ms. Belinda Emelin Jones Department of Communicative English St. Teresa’s College (Autonomous) Ernakulam-682011 Kerala 28 February 2018

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

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CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE FILM

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CHAPTER 3 STRUGGLES PORTRAYED THROUGH SONGS

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CHAPTER 4 MARXIST CONCEPTS PORTRAYED IN THE MOVIE

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CHAPTER 5

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CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER I

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INTRODUCTION Kammatipaadam is a 2016 Malayalam Movie directed by Rajeev Ravi with Vinayakan, Dulquer Salman and Shaun Romy playing the lead roles. The film portrays the transformation of Ernakulam from a small town with green paddy fields in the pre 1990 era to a Metro city that resembles a concrete jungle in the post New Economic Policy Era. The film is known for breaking the pre-defined notions of aesthetics of the Malayalam movie audience. Malayalam film industry has for years mostly focused on the stories of the upper-caste section of the society and the movies are often shot in huge mansions like Varikkasseri Manna. The Dalits and the dreadful life they lead have never really been a matter of discussion in the movies except for a few movies like Neelakuyil and Chithariyavar. Lower caste names are often used as curse words in most films and very rarely have people raised their eyebrows on such usages. Kammatipaadam focuses on the lives of the Dalits in Kochi that resembles the lives of the marginalized sections in all such growing cities. The characters in the movie do not fit into our preconceived notions of beauty. With dark skinned characters and realistic portrayal of the lives of the Dalits, the filmmaker hits on the face of the audience the realities of development and humanity itself. The film received A Certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC). Excessive violent content was the reason cited as the reason for the certification and the Board also made many cuts for the same reason. The present study is aimed at an ideological study of the film . The film though not categorized as a political or Marxist film has deep underlying meanings and symbolisms which make it suitable for a Marxist study. Though a communist or Marxist

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wave struck Malayalam movie industry during 2016-17, with movies like Oru Mexican Aparatha, Sakhavu and Comrade in America, the movies concentrated only on student politics and conflicts between different political parties. Kammatipaadam on the other hand portrays the conflict between the Bourgeoisie and labour class and how the former exploits the later, which forms the essence of the Marxist theory. Ideological Theory Every individual, group, associations and culture has their own ideologies that also express their social and psychological need. Ideology can also be defined as the collective views, attitudes, positions and dogmas of a group. Ideology may be visible/invisible; conscious or unconscious; dominant or submissive and determined by time and place. In theoretical terms, ideology is linked to Marxism and explains the society which according to Marx is the domain of the ruling class. Though filmmakers decide upon the story and the occurrence of events as they occur on the screen, the belief system of the people also influences this. It is the audience that reads the meaning of a film. Every filmmaker consciously or unconsciously conveys an ideology through a film. In other words, every film has a direct or an implied ideology as the filmmaker would have his/her own sense of right and wrong. The main type of ideology in film that is used is implicit. Implicit ideology films are where the protagonist and antagonist represent conflicting ideologies. But, ideology is not a huge focus of the film. It represents the world we know that is diverse and full of different value systems. The ideology would also give a political side to the film which may or may not be directly said.

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Explicit ideology films are films that are made to persuade the audience to think in a certain way. Westerns or Patriotic films are often considered as being more explicit in terms of ideology because there is a clear perspective that the director wants the audience to take away with them at the end of the film. Though some films may appear neutral (as their primary objective might be to entertain rather than persuade), it is important that the audience read between the lines and understand the underlying ideologyin the film. It is often this underlying ideology that the filmmaker is actually trying to convey.

Marxism Marxism or Communism is an economic and political doctrine that was put forward by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels. According to the doctrine, the state represented by the upper classes exploit the workers. The workers sell their labour which becomes surplus value for the capitalist, leaving the workers deprived. This often leads to a conflict between the working class and the ownership class. Marxism in short is a radical theory that exposes the relation of powers in a capitalist society

According to the theory, every economic system seeks to maintain itself, and the power-holders in the economy try to impose on the public their ways of thinking, including the idea that it is appropriate that the public is in their control. Marxism talks about the base and superstructure. Base shapes the superstructure and is concerned with means of production (all owned by the bourgeoisie) and relations of production, where the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat. Superstructure for Marx, maintains and legitimates

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the base. It includes religion, politics, mass media, family, and education, everything that has got nothing to do with production in society. Marx and Fredric Engels described ideology as a camera obscura, or a distorting lens. It is through these lenses that classes view the world according to their class interest.

Marxism almost always carries a weight of challenge to ideas of the “purely aesthetic,” the “neutral,” or “disinterested.” Marxism has been involved with every major topic and debate in film and media studies such as realism versus modernism versus postmodernism, the nature of ideology, revolution versus reform, and emotion versus reason in art and communication. Often these discussions are framed within particular backgrounds, audiences, nationalities, fields, and disciplines. The study aims at understanding and studying various Marxist and capitalist elements portrayed in the movie with the help of the ideological theory along with developing an understanding of how the rise of middle men and capitalism in Kochi led to the downfall of the Dalits and other under-privileged sections of the society. Accordingly, Chapter 2 would deal with the background to the settings of the story along with the summary of the movie. Chapter 3 would discuss how the folksongs used in the movie portray the struggles of the working force with special reference to the Dalit community and Chapter would deal with various Marxist concepts portrayed in the movie.

CHAPTER II BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE MOVIE

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The second chapter aims at providing the reader a gist of the background to the story along with a summary of the story highlighting important elements that outwardly project the Marxist Philosophy Background to the story The movie ‘Kammatipaadam’ is one that can be interpreted in different ways. It could be read as a story of disintegrating relationships, as a gangster movie or as a story of the victims of development. The story portrays the transformation of Ernakulam from the 1970s to the present. Kerala’s first government led by EMS Namboothiripaad was the first democratically elected Communist government in India and the second in the world. As soon as they came into power in 1957, they introduced the controversial Land Reform Ordinance in order to put an end to the feudal system. The ordinance set an upper ceiling on the amount of land a family could own and ensured fixity of tenure and protection fromeviction. The tenants and hut dwellers rightfully received a claim in the excess land, on which they had worked for centuries under the feudal system. The popular slogan raised by radical socialists was "the land for tillers", which created deep dissent among the landlord classes in the country. The land reforms in Kerala imparted drastic changes to the political, economic and social outlook. An Education Bill was also passed and together this led to a massive uproar from the landlord classes and also various interest groups like the Catholic Church, Nair Service Sociey and Muslim League. This led to the ‘Liberation Struggle’ which eventually caused the dismissal of the state government in 1959. Later in 1969, the Communist government headed by C. Achutha Menon passed

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the Land Reform Act which eventually put an end to the feudal system and ensured the rights of the tenants. But again with the implementation of the New Economic Policy in the country during the 1990s, development overtook the lives of the underprivileged. In Ernakulam like every other cities, modernization and development was built up on the lives of the poor. They were the worst affected and they were evacuated from their own lands in the name of development. Kammatipaadam Kammatipaadam is an area that no longer exists in reality. Kammatipaadam of the 1970s and 80s consisted of the areas of Ponnurunni, Girinagar, Gandhinagar, Kadavanthra, Kochukadavanthra, Panampilly Nagar, Kumaran Asan Nagar and Jawahar Nagar in Ernakulam.The movie is titled Kammatipaadam, a name that no longer is used for the region. The region is believed to have got its name from the ‘kammatti’ plants that grew in abundance around the fields. The development of the city and the construction of the KSRTC bus stand in the late 1960s reduced the area of Kammattipadam to the few fields around the bus stand. Summary The movie begins with Krishnan played by Dulquer Salman, receiving a call from his childhood friend Ganga. Krishnan currently works as a security officer in Mumbai. Ganga is in some sort of trouble and is in need of Krishnan’s help. Later, Krishnan travels to Kerala to find Ganga. During his journey Krishnan recalls all the problems that he had to face in his hometown Kammattipaadam.

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Krishnan and his family arrives in Kammatipaadam during the late 1970s or early 1980s. The family relocates to Kammatipaadam in pursuit of better economic prospects since Kammatipaadam lies in Ernakulam, which was then a growing town. Krishnan who is then a primary school student, befriends Gangadharan/Ganga and his cousin Anitha with whom Krishnan later falls in love. They belong to a Dalit family and are the real inhabitants of Kammatipaadam. Ganga's brother Balan/Balettan is a thug and is involved in smuggling spirit. The relocation of Krishnan’s family to Kammatipaadam is an indication of the beginning of the Urbanization process in the town which later gulps the town and leads to the establishment of slums. It could be assumed that Balan’s family would have received the land as a result of the Land Reform Act. Balan once revolts against a landlord who tries to stop the tenants from using the water in the background. This shows the attitude the landlords still had against the tenants. The children are all introduced to violence at a veryyoung age and later, Krishnan, Ganga, Balettan, Venu and others form a gang working for a local businessman, SurendranAshaan. The gang once gets involved in a fight and Krishnan ends up killing a Police officer while trying to save Ganga. He is then sent behind the bars. The police force here could represent the state, thus portraying the conflict between the proletariat and the state. On returning to Kammattipadam, Krishnan discovers that the gang has now grown more powerful and are smuggling spirit under the leadership of Surendran Ashaan. The gang creates a lot of foes which includes Johnny. Meanwhile, Ganga is in love with Anitha and wishes to get married to her. The gang then as per the commands of Ashaan

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goes on to interrupt the lives of the locals and destroy their homes. The people are being evacuated in the name of developmental projects. This leaves Ganga's grandfather devastated and he dies of shock when he discovers that his grandchildren have no concern and love for him and their community. The grandfather’s death deeply affects Balettan and he becomes a changed man. He decides to leave his past behind and start a travel agency. One night Balan's wife Rosamma demands to go to a medical store. Ganga and Krishnan also accompanies them. While in the car, Balettan expresses his desire to end all hooliganism and lead a happy life with his family in Kammattipaadam. He also goes on to talk about Anitha and mentions his wish to see Krishnan getting married to her. This infuriates Ganga and he gets out of the car. Balan, Krishnan and Balan's wife Rosamma soon reach a nearby medical store. Rosamma and Krishnan get out of the car and walk towards the medical shop while, Balettan, who is too drunk stays in the car which moments later gets hit by a truck, explodes and leaves Balettan dead. Ganga blames Krishnan for his brother's death and this creates a rift in their friendship. Later, Krishnan starts a travel agency and Ganga still remains a thug.The gang later learns from a friend Sumesh that it was Johnny who had planned Balan's murder. Krishnan and Ganga are enraged and stabs Johnny. The police chases them and Krishnan gets arrested saving Ganga. Meanwhile, Ganga marries Anitha and then Krishnan relocates to Mumbai. Scenes from the past and the present are shown alternatively to portray the stark contrast between the two. As time passes the place becomes more and more urbanized and finally develops into a slum.

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Coming back to the present, Krishnan learns about the mishaps created by Ganga and tries to find him with the help of Rosamma. Rosamm tells Krishnan that Johnny could be the one behind Ganga's missing. Krishnan sets on a journey to find Johnny. Johnny who is paralysed after the encounter with Ganga says that he is not aware of Ganga's whereabouts. Krishnan beats down all of Johnny's gang members but gets stabbed by Johnny's brother. Later, Krishnan is shattered when he comes to know that Ganga's dead body has been found. He seeks the help of Ashaan who is now a big business tycoon to find the real killer only to later discover that it was Ashaan himself who had murdered Ganga. Ashaan discloses to Krishnan that killed Ganga as Ganga was constantly pestering him for money. An enraged Krishnan kills Ashaan by kicking him out the window of his high story apartment. This scene signifies the overthrow of the Bourgeoisie by the proletariat which is the ultimate aim of the Marxist Revolution. In the aftermath, Krishnan says that it is people like Ashaan who pollute and corrupt the city, spilling blood for more lands and profit and that he committed the crime for the sake of Kammattipaadam and its people. It can be easily observed that each character in the movie is representative of different class groups. The characters of Vinayakan, Balan and their families represent the proletariat or the working class. They are the real inhabitants of Kammatipaadam and it is by manipulating and crushing such groups that the city of Kochi grew. Krishnan and his family represents a bit more privileged group. They come to the city in search of better economic prospects. A landlord is also shown in the beginning. It is the exploitative nature of such landlords that had caused them to turn to violence, Surendran

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Ashan is a middle man at the beginning of the story who later rises to the position of a Corporate giant. Surendran Ashan uses Balan and his friends for smuggling spirit and gets them involved in various land mafia deals. Using such people, he finally grows into a rich Businessman and it is this capitalist giant that is finally overpowered or killed by Krishnan for killing Ganga.

CHAPTER III PORTRAYAL OF STRUGGLE THROUGH SONGS

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This chapter would study the songs used in the films on the basis of the Marxist Aesthetics theory and also on how religion becomes a Marxist factor in the song. Marxist Aesthetics is used to analyse artwork, with the idea that art should possess a social function which should be revealing truth and awakening the people to reality of their struggle. Marx believed art should serve the social function of awakening society to their pain, but felt that the destruction of beauty by capitalism anesthetized people to their own suffering. It is keeping in mind this idea that the folksongs used in the movie have been analysed in the chapter. Folk songs were a vital aspect of the lives of the indigenous communities of the state. The songs were widely sung while working on fields or while being involved in any of their traditional works. These songs throw light on both the past and the present lives of the community. It is through such folk songs that they have kept their traditions and rituals alive. There are two folks in the movie –Puzhupulikal and Para Para. Both folks used in the movie are very significant. They describe the plight of the Pulaya community as well as the story of Kammatipaadam. Para Para song This song appears at the initial part of the movie when Krishnan thinks about his childhood at Kammatipaadam. It is in the form of an invocation to the Sun God. The song tells the story of the feudal era when the landlord (who belonged to an upper caste) seized all that the tenants (belonging to lower caste) had harvested. The lyricist of the song Anwar Ali in an interview said that the song was mainly inspired by the tales and songs

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of the Dalit community. He also relied much on a doctoral thesis on Dalits by researcher Sajitha K.R. The song begins with the singer asking the Sun God the reason why he was late to rise that day. To which the God replies that he was late because he was watching swans, peacocks, goats and other birds dancing in mountains where they were never seen. They then go on to ask the Sun God to narrate the story of the land. The story then told is that of Kammattipaadam itself. It is the story of the landlord who took away all that the crops that the poor tenants had cultivated. The landlord belonged to an upper caste whereas the tenants or tillers belonged to the Pulayar community a backward community. The word Pulayar literally translates to the people of the land. But the word in time came to be used as a highly offensive swear word in Malayalam. Rajeev Ravi, the filmmaker faced objection from the CBFC, Central Board of Film Certification, for using words like Pulayar, Pulayadi mon, etc in the movie. He was asked to cut the usage of the word or beep the word. But Rajeev Ravi was adamant on using the word itself as it was just the name of a caste like Nair or Brahmin. This exactly shows how despite all progress even the Central Government bodies like CBFC have not yet been able to get rid of the casteist mind set. The Pulayars spent sleepless nights guarding their crops and looking after the fields. But the landlord punishes them hard for a small mistake on their part.

Puzhupulikal

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The song was penned by the lead actor Vinayakan, who was actually brought up in Kammatipaadam. He has seen the lives of his people and knows what they had to go through. The song is about the downfall of the Pulaya community to which Balan and Ganga belongs. They were manipulated and exploited by the rich. It is in the form of a conversation between a father and his son. The song begins with the son asking the following “Njan ariyum Kuralukalellam entetho Ponnacha.. Nee ariyum Kuralum chankum ellarudem Ponmakane” Kural has two meanings – throat and a variety of rice. So the son asks the father whether it is his own throat/rice that he has chopped. To which, the father replies that the throat/rice that he has chopped was everyone’s meaning that his actions have harmed the entire community. Next the son asks wasn’t the juice that he gulped honey. The father tells him that the juice he gulped was his own blood. Both these instances are very similar to the plot of the movie, where Ganga and Balan has acted as per the commands of Ashaan for money and finally they are killed by the same people who used them. Also, their actions have adversely affected their entire community. When the son asks the father, where has all the Pokkalli that they had cultivated gone? The father replies that it got boiled along with the hot rice that he ate and it is gone forever. Pokkali is a unique saline tolerant rice variety that is cultivated using extensive aquaculture in an organic way in the water-logged coastal regions. In Pokkali cultivation, one season of rice farming is alternated with another season of prawn culture. Pokkali grew in abundance in the region of Kammatipaadam. During the Ganga’s childhood, it is shown that the adults work in the fields, either in such prawns cultivation or in rice cultivation. The father

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further goes on to tell the son that all the mountains, lakes and shores that you see around us neither belongs to us nor does it belong to anybody else. The father also tells the son that from worms to tigers , from insects to eagles and all creatures of wild and gods from different time periods along with us polayadis (people belong to Pulaya community lead a dreaded survival, in this world, we struggle and die in this world, my beloved son. At the end of the song, an announcement from the KSRTC bus stand could be heard. The filmmaker has brilliantly used this to portray what development has done to the people of Kammatipaadam. As they go on to sing songs of their lost land and lives and downfall, on the other side there are chants of development could be heard. The song is again played at the end of the movie with the visuals of the present day Kochi. What might look like a heaven from the point of view of a capitalist and elite class is in reality a hell for the downtrodden and marginalized classes. What at once used to be dwellings of the Pulayar is now malls, flats of the elite class and expensive restaurants. With the song playing in the background one is made to ponder over their whereabouts. The song thus, leaves the audience with a heavy heart forcing to think about the real idea of development. While the song Para Para portrays the lush green place that Kammatipaadam once was, the song Puzhu Pulikal portrays the current Kammatipaadam of skyrocketing buildings with a slum nearby. Thus, it could be said that the filmmaker has succeeded in portraying the cost of development and capitalism with just two songs. This well could be the story of any other Indian city. Religion Another notable thing is that of the use of religion in the songs. There is not a unified

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consensus on the role of Religion among the Marxists. There are difference of opinions among the various Marxist thinkers like Karl Marx, Lenin and Engels. Marx described religion as the heart of a heartless world. In saying so he was not completely discarding or disregarding the concept of God and Religion. In his ‘Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right’ he says that religion was the "sigh of the oppressed creature in a hostile world, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions" and that an understanding of religion has to go hand in hand with an understanding of the social conditions that gave rise to it. Lenin on the other hand was highly critical of religion. In his book ‘Religion’ he says that ‘Atheism is a natural and inseparable part of Marxism, of the theory and practice of scientific socialism’. He also considered it as a part of class struggle as Religious oppression was a product of the Economics in the society. He was also of the opinion that all modern religions and churches are agents of bourgeois reaction, used for the protection of the exploitation and the stupefaction of the working class. Despite all differences, religion is considered a Superstructure in the Marxist theory one which legitimate and justifies the base because it generates an acceptance of one’s conditions as they are. The base here refers to labour and the relationship between the proletariat.

It is interesting to note that there are references to both God and socio-economic conditions made in both ‘Para Para’ and ‘Puzhupulikal’. While the initial song is an invocation and prayer to the God, in Puzhupulikal it is said that the Gods too lead a dreadful life along with them Pulayas, meaning despite their prayers, Gods were not able to save them. In fact, Gods themselves lead an awful life in this place called World.

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Also, Mathai, the ally of Surendran Ashan has a devotional song as his phone’s ringtone. It is this ringtone that helps Krishnan identify the one behind Ganga’s death. The film maker has purposefully used this to show the hidden relationship between religion and capitalist. The capitalists use religion to find solace and to legitimate and justify the unequal class relations and power.

CHAPTER IV MARXIST CONECPTS AS PORTRAYED IN THE MOVIE

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The third chapter would in brief go through the different ways in which various Marxist and capitalist concepts are portrayed in the movie and how they together form the crux of the story. Right from the beginning of the movie, there are many striking elements that outwardly project the Marxist ideology and Marxist concepts. The various concepts that would be discussed are the Class Structure, Urbanization, Solidarity among the work force, Police as a State force, Alienation and Violence, Different Classes It can be easily observed that each character in the movie is representative of different social classes The characters of Vinayakan, Balan and their families represent the proletariat or the working class. They are the real inhabitants of Kammatipaadam and it is by manipulating and crushing such groups that the city of Kochi grew. Krishnan and his family represents a bit more privileged group. They come to the city in search of better economic prospects. A feudal landlord also appears in one of the initial scenes of the movie. He says he has rightfully received the land and tries to stop them from using the water in the pond. To which Balan’s grandfather replies that it is public land. The landlord is representative of the class that is still not ready to let go off the feudal system. It is the exploitative nature of such landlords that had caused the poor to turn to violence. Surendran Ashaan is a middle man at the beginning of the story who later rises to the position of a Corporate giant. He thus easily befits

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into Marxist definition of bourgeoisie. According to Karl Marx, the bourgeois during Middle Ages was most often a self-employed businessman –a merchant, banker, or an entrepreneur. They acted as the financial intermediary between the feudal landlords and the peasant who worked the fief, the land of the lord. By the 18th century, the time of the Industrial Revolution (1750–1850) and of industrial capitalism, the bourgeoisie rose to the status of the economic ruling class who owned the means of production (capital and land), and who controlled the means of coercion (armed forces and legal system, police forces and prison system). Surendran Ashaan uses Balan and his friends for smuggling spirit and gets them involved in various land mafia deals. A scene from the 1990s, shows Surendran Ashaan arriving in a luxurious car of the time, signifying how he has grown rich, while his workers still remain poor. Using such people, he finally grows into a rich and influential businessman and it is this capitalist giant that is finally overpowered or killed by Krishnan for killing Ganga. Urbanization In the beginning, it is shown that Krishnan’s family relocates to Kammatipaadam for better job prospects. The instance is quite similar to Urbanization which was one of the chief characteristics of the Industrial revolution which in turn triggered the rise of Capitalism. Similarly, just like Krishnan’s family, many families arrive at Kammatipaadam. There are three stages of Krishnan’s life depicted in the movie - childhood, youth and adulthood and with each stage the land becomes more and more urbanized. Aerial shots of the landscape during each stage are shown to show the contrast between each

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stage. They arrive during the late 70s or the early 1980s. There is a mention of the Kairali Ship that went missing in 1979. When Krishnan arrives, Kammatipaadam is a beautiful lush green land with paddy fields all around. Children play around in the fields. But as time progresses the vast green land starts disappearing and the region turns into a slum by the end of the narrative. In his youth, when Krishnan comes out of the jail, he is received with the sight of a changed Kammatipaadam. Fences are being built all around and land has been occupied by the rich. Ganga tells him, “The road has become very narrow. The GCDA (Greater Cochin Development Authority) people have taken up all the land, divided the land, built fences and are now selling it...”. The GCDA was the first exclusive agency formed for the development of any urban centre in Kerala. Balan once tells his grandfather, “You people (ancestors) have just taught us to work in the fields. But this entire paddy fields would be soon replaced by flats and factories”, which turns out to be true. When Krishnan traverses in his bike in search of Ganga, what we see is the developed Kochi, the new bus stand, the skyrocketing buildings, the polluted water bodies and the slums. The scene is shown just after a scene from the past to show the sharp difference between the two. This scene justifies what once Marx said - “In proportion as capital accumulates, the lot of the labourer must grow worse. Accumulation of wealth at one pole is at the same time accumulation of misery at the opposite pole.” As the city grows with more skyrocketing building on one side, on the other side lies slum areas that lack basic amenities and sanitation facilities. After his grandfather’s death, Balan has

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a change of mind and tells Ashaan about the conditions of the people they have evacuated from various land. They have been dragged to the strreets and have nowhere to go. Krishnan on is return also tells himself “Ernakulam, my village. No, we should call it a city” When Krishnan comes to Ganga’s house to know about his whereabouts, Ganga’s father says he’s scared and goes on to say that this is the street where Ganga grew up.” But what one could find in the scene is a slum like area with a sky rocketing building nearby. It resembles in no way the place where they used to reside. The scene where Ganga calls Krishnan is worthy to be mentioned here. He sits on top of the fence before his house while talking to Krishnan over phone. He no longer has any land from where he could peacefully talk to his friend. All his land has been taken away in the name of development. The city and the flats are all lit, while darkness engulfs his life and his house. It is through the narrow path near his house, that Ganga’s body is taken for cremation. In the end, when Ashaan confesses that it was he who killed Ganga, he also adds “this city doesn’t need Ganga. He was just garbage.” To which Krishnan replies “Your Ernakulam city, it is not stable. It is built on the swamps of Kammatipaadam. It’s not made of cement or brick but of thick black blood, like that of Ganga.” Also, Krishnan presently works in Mumbai as a security officer. Mumbai again is one of the most urbanized metropolitan cities in India. Krishnan’s shift to Mumbai is again indicative of Urbanization in Man’s pursuit for economic prospects.

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Solidarity among the workforce Krishnan,

Balan,

Vinayakan

and

their

friends

grow

up

in

Kammatipaadam and are often involved in fights with local goons. Under the commands of Surendran Ashaan, the gang once attacks a local union leader. When Ashaan instructs Balan regarding the attack, in background the slogan ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ meaning ‘Long Live Revolution’ could be heard. The filmmaker here uses the irony of the working class itself attacking the working class

to

magnify

the

effect

in

the

viewer.

Also, Balan and the gang attack the inhabitants of Thevara colony for Surendran Ashaan’s construction works. They too belong to the working class and are not ready to leave the place as they would not be able to lead a life in Ernakulam city with the meagre compensation that they receive for the land. It should also be noted that in the movie is when the group splits up that they start digging their own graves. Towards the later part of the story, everybody leaves for their own. According to the Marxist concept, capitalism divides people into polarized economic classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Unity and solidarity among the working class is a must in order to overthrow the Capitalists.

Police force as a symbol of the state

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According to the Marxian theory, “the State is nothing more than a machine for the oppression of one class by another”. Though the state is not a visible force in the movie, the state gets represented through the Police. The Police force is a major tool that the state uses to suppress revolutions and uprisings. There are recurring fight sequences with the Police force in the movie which represents the State versus Proletariat conflict. During one such initial encounter the Flag of the state’s leftist party is also shown in the background. In another encounter, a police officer is killed by Krishnan. These two scenes thus portray the Marxist concept of over throwing the system of state once the working class or the proletariat gains economic and social status.

Alienation According to Karl Marx, Capitalism is alienating. It alienates the workers from other human beings, from the product of their work and from the act of labour. Alienation of human beings from one another is a major theme of the movie. Ganga is in all ways a victim of such alienation. By the end of the narrative, he has nobody to give him a shoulder, neither does he have any money or own land. He also starts feeling detached from himself and is disappointed with his own life. Ganga makes the phone call to Krishnan out of his in deep desire for some support and companionship. Meanwhile, Krishnan who is in Mumbai is also a victim of such alienation. He shares only a materialistic relationship with people around him. A female colleague of his expresses her love for him and at the same time tells him that she understands that the

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relationship has no future”. His father back home also stays alone as he has issues with his daughter’s husband. Balan’s grandfather is shocked to hear the news of Balan and his gang forcefully evacuating people from a nearby neighbourhood. He says it is the land of their forefathers and their people still leave there, to which Balan replies “What have they left for us...”. Later the grandfather tells Krishnan, “ Everyone is going their own way” and the very next scene is the death of the grandfather. Sumesh who informs Krishnan and Ganga about the ones behind Balan’s murder is also a victim of such alienation. He tells them about how Surendran Ashaan has been ignoring him and how everybody he trusted has betrayed him.

Violence In ‘The Principles of Communism’, Fredreich Engels argues that violence is the only way to combat suppression as suppression itself is enforced through violence. The last paragraph of Communist Manifesto states that “the proletariat have nothing to lose but their chains. But they have a world to win.”. Violence is a major element of the movie. In the movie it is such suppression that gives rise to violence. The first instance is that with the landlord. They then get into a fight with a local gangster who rules over everybody. So it could be said that right from the beginning violence and fights dominates the movie. The fight portrayed is realistic and makes one feel disgusted. The movie ends with Krishnan killing Surendran Ashaan representing the Marxist idea of overthrowing of the Capitalist once the working class have acquired power.

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Krishnan tells him “blood for blood” and kicks him out through the huge window pane. But here again the question remains whether the working class has acquired power. The working class is still exploited by the rich though the ways of exploitation have changed.

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CHAPTER V CONCLUSION Cinema and Marxism are inter-related as both of them deal with the masses. Cinema influences masses and vice versa. According to Marxist aesthetics, art should be able to cause a revolution. Thus, Kammatipaadam could be described as the filmmaker’s way to that revolution. The objective of this study was to find how effectively the Marxist ideology has been put forward in the movie Kammatipaadam, which at a glance might look like a gangster flick. But Kammatipaadam is much more than a usual gangster flick. It talks about friendship, caste, politics, society and more importantly the effects of blind policies of development. At the same time, it does not fit into the concept of the leftist propaganda genre movies that Malayalam audience is used to watching on screen. Rajeev Ravi, the filmmaker who also happens to be the first person to have conceived the idea of Kammatipaadam has explicitly stated his leaning towards the Marxist ideology. A film for him, he says, is a strong medium of expression, to articulate his views on particular subjects and bring to light stories that we overlook of communities and people around us. In various interviews he has strongly spoken in favour of the left ideology and how he tries to incorporate the ideas in his films. He also feels that films are increasingly becoming a tool in the hands of the capitalist to deceive the working class and squeeze out their little earnings out of them. This belief of his stands in close alliance with Karl Marx’s view that capitalism has brought a monetary value to art, turning viewers into consumers, and taking away the human desire to experience true beauty. The original duration of the movie was four hours but it had to be

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cut down to two hours and fifty minutes for theatrical purpose. This again is an instance of how commercialism affects art and cinema. Rajeev Ravi has so far directed three movies and in each of the movies he has tried to portray reality as it is. According to him, in order to portray reality in movies, it is necessary that the conventional or established reference images of beauty, love, fights, gender, etc are done away with. This is what Rajeev Ravi tries to do with his films. With dark-skinned actors playing majority of the characters and the fair-hero falling in love with the dark skinned heroine, the idea of beauty has well been done away with the movie. Also, the audience does not get to see any of the usual glorified violence or clichéd romantic scenes in the movie. Krishnan who is the narrator of the story is also only a witness to the development of the story. Though he has deep bonds with the people of Kammatipaadam, he could be well described as a frequent visitor. He comes there at the age of five or six, after growing up he is sent to jail for few years then comes back to Kammatipaadam, again gets involved in fights, is sent to jail and then finally shifts to Mumbai. The filmmaker has cleverly used him as a frequent visitor to effectively portray the changes happening in the city at every phase. Each time he comes back the spaces get more congested. Rajeev Ravi also admits that it was after a lot of deliberations and pondering that the scriptwriter, P. Balachandran, and he decided the climax in which Krishnan kills Surendran Ashan. He says had Krishnan not killed Surendran Ashaan, the film would support the view of submitting

to

the

power

of

Capitalism

without

doing

anything

about

it.

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With the study it could be concluded that Rajeev Ravi, the filmmaker has very well integrated various Marxian ideas and concepts to fit into a Dalit set up. The Base according to Marxian theory which comprises of the forces of production and the relations of production( relation between the capitalist and proletariat) has been portrayed through the characters of Ganga’s forefathers and the landlords, Ganga and his friends and Surendran Ashan, the struggle for land, etc Caste is used as a superstructure in the movie. While class was a major discriminating factor in Europe, caste ruled and continues to rule over the political, social and economic dominion of the Indian society. Despite all the progress class is still linked to caste. Rajeev Ravi has excellently fused both these factors to talk about the Marxian concept. His work reflects his understanding of the state of Dalits who are the most exploited and oppressed group in the country. Kammatipaadam tells the story of how the real inhabitants of a land became the landless while encroachers established themselves as the inhabitants of the land. The role of state in the movie though not represented through the stereotyped images of politicians and ministers is still a strong factor. State is represented as a hidden force with only the Police coming up as a visible indication of the state. Thus the movie portrays the characters as the base and caste, religion and the police force as the superstructure which the capitalist uses to justify the unequal power system.

Though the film has succeeded in portraying the lives of the marginalized, the state of women has not been discussed well enough in the movie. Even though the movie does not stereotype women or portray women as eye candy characters, the women characters

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lack depth when compared to their male counterparts. While Anitha and Rosamma are portrayed as strong characters, the observer feels that there is a lot more to be told about them. It is important that when stories of class struggle are told, women being equal citizens are also given their deserving prominence in the story. It is important that we see stories from their perspective too.