Gautham Vasudev Menon courts controversy for statement on caste, surname. Why it's an issue

A recent statement by filmmaker and actor Gautham Vasudev Menon on caste and his surname has courted controversy. Gautham said, in an interview, that there is no relevance for films with caste as the theme in the present day. He also said that his surname ‘Menon’ need not be considered as a reference to his caste. Being married to a Christian, Gautham said that caste or religion has no place in his house.

Ironically, Gautham made the statement about caste differences at a time when honour killings and caste discrimination were being reported in the country. In the interview with Gopinath, Gautham said, “caste-based discrimination does not exist in present society. Directors making films on the subject prefer to place the period of these works in the 1980s and 90s. Such movies are irrelevant in the present day, and don’t need to be produced.”

Gautham, in the same interview, said ‘Menon’ in his name should not be considered as a reference to caste but only considered as a surname. “My name in all official records is Gautham Vasudev Menon,” he said. Gautham further said that neither caste nor religion has a place in his house and his wife follows the Christian faith.

GVM's films

Gautham Vasudev Menon is a representative of the Indian middle class society and most of the major characters in his movies belong to either the urban middle class or upper middle class. The only exceptions have been 'Anpuselvam,' the orphan hero in ‘Kaakha Kaakha’ or Muthuveeran, the lead character in ‘Venthu Thaninthathu Kaadu’.

The stories of many of Gautham’s films deal with the lives, loves, and friendships of middle class people in convent school and or while pursuing BTech courses. These stories take place not in villages or small towns, but metro cities. Gautham has also succeeded in giving justice to his middle class themes, faithfully presenting the crises and financial problems of people belonging to this section of society.

Addressing class, not caste

Gautham’s films have addressed the issue of class, not caste. At the same time, Gautham has never glorified caste. The most popular characters in several Malayalam movies have belonged to the higher castes and Indian cinema too has presented numerous heroes hailing from this section of society as paragons of virtue and wisdom. Some of these films created a dangerous binary by depicting the adversaries as belonging to lower castes or minority communities. There are also several examples of Indian films with themes denigrating women and the Dalits. However, Gautham’s movies have never resorted to caste or gender glorification - he has always respectably presented his women characters.

Still, Gautham’s heroines have always been shown abiding by the symbols of beauty according to the men belonging to the middle class – all his female leads have fair complexion. However, these women are independent and have an identity of their own. Even then, you will never find a major female character with dark skin tone in any of Gautham’s movies. This is a peculiarity of not only Gautham’s films, but also Indian commercial cinema.

Among the various film industries in the country, Tamil cinema has dealt with stories of caste discrimination boldly. Tamil Nadu is also recognised for Dravidian politics, which is known for its rebellion against the dominant upper-caste politics prevalent at the national level.

There is no other state than Tamil Nadu in India where cinema and life have merged seamlessly. Cinema is now a part of the popular culture of the Tamil people. In fact, directors such as Pa. Ranjith and Mari Selvaraj, who are advocates of Ambedkarite politics, create their movies based on the discrimination faced in their own lives. Similarly, Vetrimaran’s ‘Visaranai’ and Gnanavel’s ‘Jai Bhim’ have been inspired by real incidents. Meanwhile, Gautham has taken a stand that rejects all lives that are unfamiliar to him or not experienced by him.

As the world’s most popular and powerful art form, cinema exerts a huge influence on all sections of the people. Cinema simultaneously has both artistic as well as commercial aspects. It is a director’s liberty to create entirely commercial, entertainment, or fiction movies. But, cinema, as an art form, can achieve its biggest success only if it brings about a change in the discrimination, inequalities, and wrong traditions existing in society for generations. In such a situation, Gautham Menon should adopt a more liberal attitude towards all genres of movies and correct his position, if he goes wrong.