Petta and Viswasam: Thalaivar, Thala and Caste

It has been over fifty days since the release of Rajinikanth’s Petta and Ajith’s Viswasam. It can be safely said that both, Thalaivar and Thala ,were winners at the box office.  Released during the Pongal season in Tamil Nadu earlier this year, and also across the country and the world, both the movies were unstoppable. Competing only against each other, both the mass entertainers split the moolah raked in amongst themselves.

However, in the midst of all the fan fare surrounding the two stars, did we miss an important inclusion within their movies?-The caste angle that clearly demarcated their characters from the rest. 

Ardent fans of both the stars may have one’s head on a pike for committing the travesty of attributing such a controversial undercurrent to their recent box office conquests. However, the tones of cast valour and masculinity in the portrayal of the two characters are strikingly similar to ones popularised by Tamil Cinema over the years.

Different Stories being the only difference

Directed by Karthik Subbaraj, Petta was an exercise in invoking the fan in all of us by paying homage to Rajnikanth’s career in a single movie. Loaded with references and nods to some of Rajinikanth’s most iconic roles and movies, fans left cinemas high on Thalaivar Nostalagia. The movie went in interesting directions. What seemed like a love story in a sleepy hill station, turned into a revenge drama with a flashback that seemed like a rurally-set Masala flick, and finally, a Gangs of Wasseypur-esque climax. In the middle of this was Rajnikanth’s Kaali, who is also known as Petta Velan, who at one point is a mustachio village ruffian, and later transforms into a stylish middle aged man with captivating swag. Viswasam, directed by Siva, on the other hand was a rather simple story of another village ruffian, Thooku Durai, who vies to win back his estranged city-bred wife’s trust and unacquainted daughter’s love. In the pursuit of this goal, Ajith’s as the  salt and pepper haired Durai, bashes up numerous henchmen of an egotistical industrialist who is hell bent on killing Durai’s daughter. This also forms the only sub-plot of the movie. However, the dissimilarities between the two money spinners end with the difference in stories.

Common caste markers in Tamil Cinema

Both the films are set in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu that are historically associated with caste-based violence- Madurai and Theni. The political landscape of these regions are shaped by the dominance of the Thevars, a trifecta of three social groups– Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar. In the  paper titled, Madurai Formula Films: Caste Pride and Politics in Tamil Cinema by Karthikeyan Damodaran and Hugo Gorringe, the authors argue that the relationship between cinema and caste politics is a symbiotic one. In it, caste markers and narratives are naturalized, which in turn help in the survival of the relationship. They also posit that  the stories set in the southern districts of the state can be called ‘Madurai Formula Films’ or the 3M films, where the three Ms stand for Murder, Mayhem and Madurai. A key element in these movies is the glorification of the Aruval(the sickle like machete) that signifies caste valour, honour and pride. These movies explicitly or implicitly, serve as mediums that memorialise the assertion and dominance of these intermediate castes. Another caste marker that they draw attention to is the distinctive facial hairstyle that the characters in these movies sport to exude their martial caste pride. As far as behavioural markers go, they are characterised by their willingness to engage in violence, and sometimes even murder.

The Kamal Hassan starrer, Thevar Magan (1992) is an ideal example of such a movie, and has often been attributed as the movie the inspired the mobilisation of these castes in order to flex their political muscles. It encompasses all the mentioned distinctive markers. Another Kamal Hassan flick that stayed true to these established patterns of depiction even after a decade was Virumaandi (2004). The similarity in the sheer physical likeness of the Kaali/Velan in the flashback, and Thooku Durai throughou, are uncannily similar to Hassan’s in the mentioned movies.

How do these markers reveal themselves in Petta and Viswasam?

Though Rajnikanth’s Velan avatar is seen only during the third act of Petta, his presence is long enough for one to engage in some quick caste semiotics.  He bears the classic mustache and carries a cocky aggressive attitude that enables him to engage in physical aggression on demand. Velan is shown to have no hesitation while breaking the leg of Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s character in one scene, or while coolly suggesting the murder of a minor antagonists in the movie to resolve a problem. Though integral to the plot, they fall well within the established caste indicators. Despite sickles not being used, Velan shows an affinity for guns to carry out his violent exploits.

On the other hand, Ajith’s Thooku Durai revels in it throughout Viswasam. In addition to the masculine facial hairstyle and the characteristic Dhoti, Durai loves wielding the Aruval. For example, in the song Vettikattu, a massy opening track introducing the character, he is shown brandishing the machete with vainglorious abandon. Disturbing as it may be, in a brief scene involving the settlement of a dispute, Durai flaunts the aruval in one hand while cradling his infant daughter in the other. The penchant he shows for putting people through glass windows or shattering toilet cubicles with the heads of henchmen, requires no explanation.

Why did we overlook them?

Thalaivar and Thala. Need we say more? After a long departure from his usual apolitical mass entertainers in Kabali and Kaala, Subbaraj’s homage to a star that can send millions of fans across different generations into frantic fan frenzy was exactly what his fervid admirers were waiting for. Staying true to his cemented characterization of an invincible one man army, Rajnikanth’s magical onscreen allure was enough to make one not look beyond him.

Laden with familiar clichés and abundant melodrama, Viswasam was an Ajith vehicle all the way. Armed with a disarming smile, oodles of confidence and unrivaled swag, Ajith’s Durai kept audiences hooked to the love story and family drama. However, it cannot be denied that the caste references were visibly explicit. At a time when film makers across the country are making headway in redrawing caste representation and constructs on the silver screen, such depictions are regressive. What is more concerning is that popular stars such as Rajnikanth and Ajith, though inadvertently, through their portrayals of such characters may help normalise such depictions that celebrate the violent expressions of caste identity again. While they may not openly discriminate, glorification helps in establishing a position of superiority. That qualifies as discrimination too. Right?