Several Dalit feminist activists had objected to the fair skinned Parvati Thiruvoth playing the role of Rachiyamma in her upcoming movie ‘Uroobinte Rachiyamma’ to be directed by Venu as in Uroob’s short story by the same name, Rachiyamma has a dark complexion. Image Source: Recently, several Dalit feminist activists had objected to the fair skinned Parvati Thiruvoth playing the role of Rachiyamma in her upcoming movie ‘Uroobinte Rachiyamma’ to be directed by Venu as in Uroob’s short story by the same name, Rachiyamma has a dark complexion. Dark skinned heroines are by themselves a rarity in the Malayalam film industry which as rule of thumb even precludes the possibility of the heroine sporting a colour shade darker than wheatish. While Dalit Malayalam actors such as Vinayakan and Manikandan are being represented and amassing a fan following for their talent in the recent past, the search for a Dalit Malayalam heroine seems elusive.
In fact, one is at great odds to find a dark skinned, Dalit Malayalam heroine from the film industry. What complicates the issue even further is the near absence of conversations regarding caste and colour by film actors who constantly deny caste privileges that they enjoy both as characters on the silver screen and as real-life celebrities. Even in these movies which had a Dalit woman as the chief protagonist, the characters were not essayed by Dalit Malayalam actresses but by upper caste women, with dark complexioned heroines being almost absent from the Malayalam silver screen. After P K Rosy, the industry is yet to see a Dalit Malayalam film heroine.Ĭaste is still an issue which most mainstream Malayalam film-makers shy away from, though there are brilliant exceptions such as that of Neelakuyil (1956), Kammatipaddom (2016) and Kismath (2016) which took the issue head on. She played the role of an upper caste Nair woman Sarojini in the movie which incensed many upper caste men who allegedly burnt down her house and drove her out of Kerala, for daring to be a Dalit Malayalam actor. Born in a Pulaya family, P K Rosy was a skilled artiste in Kakarissi natkam, a folk theatre which made J C Daniel chose her as the heroine for the first ever movie made in Malayalam. The life story of PK Rosy is a telling predicament of Malayalam cinema’s complicated relationship with caste. PK Rosy played the role of an upper caste Nair woman Sarojini in the movie which incensed many upper caste men who allegedly burnt down her house and drove her out of Kerala, for daring to be a Dalit Malayalam actor.
Following up on Kani’s reactions, there has also been a petition to rename the Best Actress Award as the P K Rosy Award. While Malayalam cinema has been lauded for artistic sensibilities and its new wave progressive film making in the recent past, what often goes unspoken in the Malayalam film industry is a dismissal of caste as a theme in film making and also conversations about its deep entrenchment in the industry. It was indeed heartening that after 50 years of the institution of the State awards, an actor has dared to speak about caste in Malayali cinema using the platform of Kerala State Awards. Recently Kani Kusurti who won the award for the Kerala State Best Actress dedicated her award to Malayalam film industry’s first heroine – P K Rosy, the Dalit Malayalam actor “ who was driven away from the industry for playing the role of an upper caste woman.” In the interview given to The Hindu, she also spoke about the long-standing narrative of caste and colour in the Malayalam film industry.
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