Portrayal of Same-Sex Relationship in Malayalam Cinema
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I N S I G H T: An International Multilingual Journal for Arts and Humanities Peer Reviewed and Referred: ISSN: 2582-8002 University Research Publications, Ernakulam, Kerala VOL 1-ISSUE 4: JUNE 2021 Portrayal of Same-Sex Relationship in Malayalam Cinema Namitha V. S Research Scholar Department of English St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri Calicut, Kerala, India. Abstract There were many unwritten rules regarding what the subject matter of Malayalam films should be. The Malayalam film industry have managed to depict strife, violence, sibling rivalry, infidelity, murder and crime on the screen. But the filmmakers never had the courage to discuss the third gender onscreen. Dominant films portray homosexuality as indecent or immoral. Gay men and women are either shown as sadists, psychopaths or anti-social villains. Alternative sexuality is predominantly the object of ridicule and contempt in Malayalam film scenario. Malayalam cinema was always interested in depicting heterosexual couplings and the movie makers have never attempted to portray anything other than this on the screen. Anyhow there were some attempts from the part of film makers to show alternative sexualities, but the society has never approached it from a serious point of view. This paper tries a resistant reading of many of the established films in Malayalam industry by using the premises of queer theory. Keywords: Alternative Sexuality, homosexuality and homosociality, laughter films Malayalam movies, queer theory, same-sex relationship. In our society, family is the cornerstone of civilization. Inseparably linked to that tenet is the belief that marriage; that is, one woman and one man living together in a lifelong, monogamous relationship is the foundational element of the family unit. The world of Malayalam film making has entertained us with topics that have been picked out from every possible nook and corner of the Malayali’s psyche and social systems. But it is a matter of wonder that homosexuality has hardly been featured in any of them. People consider homosexuality as one of the taboo subjects which is difficult to talk about, especially in Kerala. This was the attitude of the filmmakers too: The filmmakers dared not break such images built after long years of oral and visual tradition, and with which the audience easily identified…Characters and situations that 69 I N S I G H T: An International Multilingual Journal for Arts and Humanities Peer Reviewed and Referred: ISSN: 2582-8002 University Research Publications, Ernakulam, Kerala VOL 1-ISSUE 4: JUNE 2021 they thought the public could easily identify with, thus became the stock material of a screen or magazine writer, and stereotyping invariably crept in long before one became conscious of it. (Nair 28) Discussing films as a reflection of society, it is interesting to see its people looking for a place to hide or a direction to turn away when it comes to illustrating Homosexuality. There is a beautiful, enlightening, insightful note on our attitude towards what we perceive as deviant behaviour - same-sex relationships, transsexuals, effeminate males - that still runs through the Malayali psyche. In Malayalam film industry, “normative masculinity is strictly centred on such notions of heterosexuality wherein any other social behaviour-such as homosexuality- is considered to be deviant, abnormal and emasculating” (Rowena 129). The Malayali audience exhibit a highly prejudiced mind set on sexuality and alternative sexuality. Portrayal and discussion of alternative sexualities are considered by an average Keralite as incremental events that at any time threaten to intrude our normalcy. And reports state that sexual minorities are so harassed that they are forced to leave Kerala for other states. People in Kerala pretend that gays, lesbians and transsexuals do not exist in the State. Same is done by the film makers too. So far the Malayalam cinema had been revolving around the hero and the heroine, their love affair, problems that they face in succeeding their love, and finally the solution of all problems that lead to the marriage between them. This is how the basic thread of Malayalam films work. Among the Malayali audiences, who are extremely homophobic, it is difficult to have a movie with a difference. Almost all Malayalam films end with a marriage or a heterosexual coupling. Even if such couplings are not shown on the screen, the story line gives many hints that the hero/heroine is going to marry a person belonging to the opposite sex. It can be said that the queer sensations of Kerala society are apparently “closeted in the rationale of heterosexual narratives” (Sedgwick 916). There are lots of reasons behind this, the important one being our old customs and traditions regarding sexual relations. The filmmakers are afraid how the society will receive the films dealing with sexual minorities. As Collins rightly says, “popular film is the dominant/hegemonic ideology writ in celluloid” (90). But it is high time that they should realise that these are the real things happening in our society. Sexuality is not anybody’s choice or an illness that some people misunderstand. For our society, being a gay or a lesbian has always been a problem of our heritage, problem for the old traditions and customs who thinks our 70 I N S I G H T: An International Multilingual Journal for Arts and Humanities Peer Reviewed and Referred: ISSN: 2582-8002 University Research Publications, Ernakulam, Kerala VOL 1-ISSUE 4: JUNE 2021 culture is based on discourses of heteronormativity. But the fact is that, even in all the period of the ages same sex love and attraction had existed. We can see the examples, artistic proud of India which portraits lesbian and homosexual relations, in ancient temples including Khajuraho Temples. People were sceptical when Notebook (2006) discussed the pregnancy issue of a teenage girl. Problems raised when Ente Veedu Appoonteyum (2003) dealt with a school boy killing his younger brother. Even the educated population of the present day consider Rathi Nirvedam (1978) and Avalude Ravukal (1978) as porn movies which they hesitate to watch in public. Depictions in Chandupottu (2005) somehow tend to make pithy caricatures than real characterisations. The Malayali audience have been accustomed to watching every possible human emotion, ranging from wild passion to hatred and violence. But our film makers either do not make films about homosexuals, or picture them in a ridiculing way. Their existence is a social reality and it is a big social mistake to portray them as funny characters, as film makers have done before. Tackling sexuality within Malayalam cinema comes up against an established tradition of equating politics with the public sphere of economy and culture. Sexuality is also spoken of in jokes, conversations between friends, in cheap books sold on the side walk, and in folksong. But they are never dealt with as an important topic. In the last twenty years the queer identity has come to be taken more seriously in arts. Books had men declaring their sexual identity in no uncertain terms while cinema struggled to strike a balance between the morally acceptable lines the makers still complied to with the changing times. Anyhow film industry in Kerala hasn’t dared to break concepts of male-male bonding. The same-sex love shown on screen was only lesbianism. There were minor attempts to portray same-sex relations on the Malayalam screen. The earliest references to queer theme in Malayalam cinema was Randu Penkuttikal in 1978. Based on a story by Nanda Kumar, director Mohan narrated the obsessive love of a woman for a danseuse. There are homoerotic references in Deshadanakkilikal Karayaarilla (1986). Ligy J Pullappally’s Sancharram (2004) portrayed the dilemma of two village belles embracing their sexuality, and there was a hasty queer portrayal in Sufi Paranja Katha (2010). However, some directors had the courage and boldness to reveal the real things happening in our society, regarding sexuality. Finally, someone gained enough courage and 71 I N S I G H T: An International Multilingual Journal for Arts and Humanities Peer Reviewed and Referred: ISSN: 2582-8002 University Research Publications, Ernakulam, Kerala VOL 1-ISSUE 4: JUNE 2021 weaved homosexuality into the persona of a lead protagonist in a mainstream Malayalam film. Mumbai Police (2013) directed by Rosshan Andrrews was the first of its kind in Malayalam popular cinema, to represent a gay hero, a gay police officer, in which the lead role is played by Prithviraj. The film makes homosexuality the crux, the focal point of the narrative. Here there are no hints and assumptions; the situation is clear. No other film makers have dared to point out explicitly such a fact in Malayalam cinema. The film could at least represent the emotions and feelings of gays. In Kerala, coming out of a guy or a girl regarding his or her sexuality is really complicated. But the fact is that, though the director has made a land mark in Malayalam cinema by portraying a gay, the text indirectly views it as a bad thing. It is interesting to note that if the story wouldn’t be likewise, it would have been great difficult for our society to accept such a cinema. Another notable movie that represented gay relationship is English: An Autumn in London (2013), directed by Shyamaprasad. The film written by Ajayan Venugopalan, stars Jayasurya, Mukesh, NivinPauly, Nadia Moidu, Remya Nambeesan and others. It tells the story of the lives of some Keralites living in London. It follows the lives of four characters from diverse backgrounds whose passage to the UK and its aftermath are dealt with in the film. Dr. Ram (played by Murali Menon) is among one of them, a well settled doctor, belonging to a Tamil Brahmin family.