![]() ![]() Lead actor Ruturaj’s presence on screen as a dominating and rustic admirer of Shivaji is impressive. Though the film lacks in technical finesse and production quality, and on occasions, the writing appears a bit loud and preachy, it scores better on other elements. ![]() Jayanti Takes Caste Beyond Personal Crises & Social Struggles The film invites socially marginalised groups (including Muslims) to reflect upon their precarious social habitat and motivates them to build progressive, collective aspirations. While building his own personality, he doesn’t forget his responsibility to fight for an Adivasi rape survivor. Santosh learns about Shivaji Maharaj’s life, and Babasaheb Ambedkar’s writings motivate him to become a socially conscious person. However, he is transformed into a hardworking, socially conscious entrepreneur after receiving education from a Phule-Ambedkarite schoolteacher (Milind Shinde). ![]() Jayanti narrates the story of a small-time goon, Santosh (Ruturaj Wankhede), who works for the local MLA (Kishor Kadam) and has no qualms about his communal and patriarchal behaviour. It supplements the promises that are made by the powerful Dalit movement in the state. It is a bold story with sincere Ambedkarite-Bahujan values and is supported by technical and artistic teams that can present cinema with an alternative social and political vision. The film focuses on the Dalit-Bahujan’s ideological merits and announces the arrival of a hero who is unapologetic about his non-Brahmanical social identity. Jayanti, A Bold Story With Sincere Ambedkarite-Bahujan ValuesĪgainst this background, Shailesh Narwade’s Jayanti is a refreshing chapter in Marathi cinema. Though it is still too early to say that the ‘Dalit cinema’ genre is finding traction in Hindi cinema, the seeds for it are perhaps being sowed. Recent films like Guddu Rangeela, Masan, Manjhi: The Mountain Man, Newton, Sonchiriya, Mukkabaaz, Article 15, Pareeksha, and Madam Chief Minister showcased a range of Dalit characters, who were also mainstream heroes in many of the movies. They have brought substantive nuances to their representation. Interestingly, stories around the centrality of lower castes and Dalit identity are slowly gaining significance in contemporary Hindi and Tamil cinema. The possibility of presenting a Dalit-Bahujan character as an alpha male and popular hero who is socially conscious, amicable, and dignified is rare. The early Hindi cinema, in particular, presented Dalit characters as humble and docile (Bimal Roy’s Sujata), physically challenged and drunkard (Shyam Benegal’s Nishant) or with belittling adjectives (Kachra in Lagaan). Mainstreaming of Dalit Cinema Has Only BegunĮven on the few occasions where Dalit characters are depicted on screen, they are portrayed through degraded stereotypical roles, mainly as poor or wretched people with no agency and power to change their precarious conditions. ![]()
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