The increasing visibility of Dalit perspectives in regional Indian cinema signals a decisive transformation in how caste is imagined and represented on screen (“Debate: The Return of the Dalit in the New Cinema of South India”). For much of its history, Indian cinema—particularly mainstream Hindi cinema—either marginalized Dalit characters or reduced them to stereotypes framed through an upper-caste perspective (Homegrown). In recent decades, however, several regional film industries have emerged as crucial spaces for articulating Dalit experiences, political consciousness, and cultural self-assertion (The Print). This paper examines how Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, and Malayalam cinemas have contributed to this shift by foregrounding Dalit protagonists and centering narratives of resistance rather than victimhood. Through a comparative analysis of key films and filmmakers, the study argues that regional cinema has become a powerful cultural site where caste is no longer hidden or neutralized but openly confronted (“Dalits in South Indian Films”). By combining realism, symbolism, and political memory, these films challenge dominant cinematic traditions and reconfigure the relationship between cinema, caste, and social justice in contemporary India.
Savakare et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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