Opinion: Pushpa Vs Jai Bhim

Is the trend of violence, over-the-top dramas harbinger of new-age cinema?

By Dr Karamala Areesh Kumar, Aaron Nair

The present trend of Indian cinema, characterised by violent and over-the-top dramas, has caught the attention of audiences. Movies like KGF Chapters 1 and 2, Pushpa 1 and 2, and Animal are examples of films that have embraced this trend. This trend is also being called the harbinger of a new age of cinema and the stepping stone to the zenith that Indian cinema aspires globally.

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While most audiences and cine-goers may disagree, it is this kind of cinema that at present stands for Indian cinema across the globe, and going by the statements of the makers, this is just the beginning, and they would continue to profit by churning out stories of underdog, grey characters.

Being Awarded
Amid the uproar most of these films got at the box office, Pushpa also earned the rare distinction of helping Allu Arjun, who plays the titular character, to be the first Telugu Actor to win the Best Actor Award at the 69th National Film Awards. The National Film Awards has been a hallmark of cinema appreciation and recognition for years.

In its early days, these awards were mainly given to cinemas that spoke of social problems, education and national integration, while commercial films were not appreciated. However, it was not long before mainstream films were also recognised, and awards were given considering performance and the general mass appeal of the movies.

The National Awards has always been under the scanner of many critics and the general film-going audience, as well as how most governments use it to appease certain sections of the influential cinema industry.

The recent example of Allu Arjun winning the award raised questions about the same flavour. In the same year, movies like Jai Bhim and Karnan were released, raising questions about injustice while speaking of social equality. However, these movies did not get their due recognition because the politics in most of them were, in essence, anti-establishment.

Differently Similar
Pushpa and Jai Bhim have certain similarities among their jarring differences. Both films have downtrodden characters as the focal point. However, the titular character in Pushpa uses might and disdain to rise above prejudice. At the same time, in Jai Bhim, a person is arrested based on misinformation and killed, with no repentance, just because of his caste.

Jai Bhim, directed by TJ Gnanavel, has its politics written all over. The audience is transported to a relatable world wherein such incidents are common, yet there is no one to question authorities over their bias. A brilliant Suriya plays Justice K Chandru, a social activist and former Judge of Madras High Court, to near perfection.

Allu Arjun won the National Award for Pushpa while in the same year, movies like Jai Bhim and Karnan did not get their due recognition

In contrast, Pushpa is a story of a man born to a marginalised caste mother who is disowned by his father’s family, with the film solely focusing on his rise from being a coolie to the leader of the syndicate that deals with sandalwood smuggling, an illegal occupation.

Pushpa is built around a fantasy world wherein the law is unimportant, and the hero can do his bidding with no one to stop him. The police and other agencies of law are shown negatively in both films, but in Jai Bhim, the lawyer understands the importance of constitutional means to achieve justice, a philosophy that almost seems alien to the extravagant character Allu Arjun plays with flair. Even the smuggling of sandalwood is performed with such overtness that it almost seems right to do so without considering the environmental damage.

Glorifying Violence
In a way, films like this are also responsible for portraying violence in a manner that glorifies it. While there is enough violence in Jai Bhim as well, it is portrayed in a way that makes the audience detest police brutality and yearn for justice. However, Pushpa ensures that violence is given a hero’s welcome. The ease with which Pushpa beats up his enemies and the police is celebrated and considered manly or heroic. In this manner, it is extremely easy to predict the audience’s taste and how cinema must be conceived in the future for box-office success.

Formulaic stunts, fights, songs and the use of female characters as props have long been the adjectives of mainstream content in India. Still, movies like Jai Bhim occasionally show courage in speaking of female characters who would go any distance for justice without considering the consequences.

No Surprises
Thus, it was unsurprising to many that films like Jai Bhim got snubbed at the National Awards despite the movie being a masterfully scripted social drama. It is obvious that Suriya, not receiving the Best Actor Award, had specific indications towards his problematic politics, for he protested the withdrawal of NEET exams while questioning the central government’s inaction.

The previous year, he had won the highest honour at the National Awards, but that was for a movie that did not have much politics to speak of. In the present context, however, the awards seem like a tool for the government to appreciate movies that align with their politics and award artists who are silent spectators rather than active social citizens.

The same year, Kashmir Files won the Best Film for National Integration Award, again raising eyebrows about how a movie that explicitly demonises one community and pits two communities against each other could be awarded for integration. The National Awards are no longer seen as an honour presented to worthy individuals. Instead, it has become a pro-establishment propaganda spinning machine, leading to most good cinema being under-presented and underappreciated.

(Dr Karamala Areesh Kumar is Head and Aaron Nair is Research Scholar, Department of International Relations, Peace and Public Policy, St Joseph’s University, Bengaluru)