With a lot talked about episode 5 of Made in Heaven 2, Neeraj Ghaywan redefines the discourse on caste in mainstream Hindi filmmaking. While many movies coping with the theme of caste prejudices have been made within the final decade, virtually all of them method caste as a system of discrimination and place their hopes in modernity and a mirage of a casteless society.

The episode is radical as a result of it questions the very thought of a casteless society, because it calls for adherence to upper-caste norms and the erasure of the Dalit previous. Instead of advocating Dalits becoming a member of the mainstream by forgetting their previous, it asks for the reclamation of historical past and its celebration.

A nonetheless from Made In Heaven 2: The Heart Skipped A Beat

Neeraj Ghaywan has constantly made movies on Dalit themes, and along with his profession, the discourse round Dalit points has additionally developed. Tracing his cinematic work, one can even see a journey of the theme itself.

Masaan (2015), Ghaywan’s debut movie, traces the journey of a Dalit boy and an higher caste lady. Both of them escape an oppressive society that thrives on the concepts of caste and honour. Their employment with the Railways, the automobile of modernity, brings them to Allahabad (now, Prayagraj), town of confluence, and the movie ends on a feel-good observe the place caste appears to have gotten irrelevant as a result of not one of the characters practises their caste-based occupations. As migrant staff of modernity, they’re in the identical boat.

The ending of Masaan is feelgood as a result of it assumes that when individuals from completely different castes get employed in fashionable workplaces equivalent to railways, caste-based prejudices will stop to exist.

Ghaywan revisits this assumption in his quick, Geeli Puchi (Part of the 2021 Netflix anthology Ajeeb Daastaans). Here, two ladies work in a contemporary manufacturing facility, however nonetheless, the Dalit lady faces discrimination in the case of profession development. Though the movie intricately tells the tales of the central characters, Ghaywan scrutinises his earlier assumption and affords a brand new discovering. As lengthy because the higher castes personal the technique of manufacturing, the Dalit staff will proceed to face discrimination except they study the shrewdness of the higher castes.

The a lot talked about fifth episode of Made in Heaven 2 takes us into the long run and scrutinises the belief that Masaan made, simply that genders are reversed, and the category distinction has narrowed.  

In the casteless society of the USA, a Dalit lady and an upper-caste man fall in love and resolve to get married. So far, so good, as there are not any raised eyebrows of oldsters, no elopement or honour killing. Everything goes and not using a glitch till the ritual of marriage is mentioned.

The Dalit lady would not need a Brahmanical ritualistic marriage, and the person is okay with it, however his household is not. They need a transient ritual of pheras after the registration of the wedding. When the lady asserts and needs to have a Dalit Buddhist wedding ceremony to observe the pheras, the household tries many methods to get her to drop the thought. Even worse, her groom-to-be fails to empathise along with her. The episode ends with the higher caste man’s realisation of his household’s hidden prejudices towards the lady’s assertion of her id. And lastly, Ghaywan reveals us what a Dalit wedding ceremony might appear like.

A nonetheless from Made In Heaven 2: The Heart Skipped A Beat

The episode re-examines a few of the assumptions on which Masaan ends. Will caste nonetheless matter in a casteless society? The reply that Masaan brings forth is: “maybe”. But, Ghaywan revises the reply within the episode and says, “Yes, caste still matters when it comes to the rituals of marriage if not marriage itself.”

The query of equality is revisited, too. Will caste stop to matter if individuals take up fashionable professions? And, when the financial class distinction narrows?

The reply that the episode presents could be very completely different from Masaan‘s. Episode 5 is politically extra complicated because it reveals how problematic slogans equivalent to bringing Dalits into the mainstream is. It means acceptance solely so long as Dalits stay in denial of their previous and assume the codes of higher castes. However, when a Dalit particular person asserts her id and calls for a celebration of her heritage, it makes the higher caste family uncomfortable.

This episode is essential as a result of it proclaims a big departure in Dalit discourse in mainstream Hindi filmmaking, from the portrayal of oppression to the assertion of id. However, there’s a catch that the episode captures superbly.

While the bride-to-be asserts her Dalit id unapologetically, her household, significantly her youthful brother, holds it towards her. Why? He says he will not like being recognized as a “quota student” in his school. So, the assertion is a path fraught with dangers, like it’s for the brother in a caste-ridden society like India.

With this episode, Ghaywan busts the parable of the mainstream and defines it as an thought of cultural subjugation. Instead of looking for admission into the mainstream by accepting Brahmanical rituals, Ghaywan advocates the necessity for brand spanking new symbols and new rituals. And, who higher to show to for that than Buddha and Ambedkar?

While Ghaywan and the writers of the present Alankrita Shrivastava, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti and extra author Rahul Nair deserve all of the credit score for redefining the Dalit discourse into the mainstream, it is considerably tragic that creators resorted to chilly legality after Yashica Dutt (Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir) demanded credit score within the episode claiming that part of the Dalit lady’s character is predicated on her. Strangely, Ghaywan had even acknowledged her as an inspiration for the character (significantly the interview scene) earlier than posting her demand’s rebuttal on Instagram. One would have anticipated extra grace and empathy from the creators of a present which efficiently raises the problems of discrimination. Would it have damage to acknowledge her contribution on the display screen in the event that they already did so on social media? Isn’t the controversy primarily the identical denial the episode claims to reveal?

(Bikas Mishra is an award-winning writer-director based mostly in Mumbai)

Disclaimer: These are the non-public opinions of the writer.