Filmmaker Pa. Ranjith, who has carved a space for the Dalit perspective in Tamil cinema, will participate in the Dalit Film and Culture Festival 2019 in February in the United States. Screenings will be held at the Columbia University and New School on February 23 and 24.
Two Tamil films are already in the fray. Pa. Ranjith’s last directorial venture Kaala that had actor Rajinikanth in the lead and his latest blockbuster production, Pariyerum Perumal have been shortlisted as a part of the festival. These films will compete with four other noted films — Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan , Jayan K. Cherian’s Papilio Buddha , Nagaraj Manjule’s Fandry and Subodh Nagdeve’s Bole India Jai Bhim . Mr. Ranjith said that he hopes to understand and share how films with a Dalit perspective are perceived and how people react to the them.
“I don’t know if the effort to present a Dalit perspective in cinema has become a movement yet. But, there are certain pockets in the film industry that have changed and there is attention to the cause. It has created a space for us to inform the society about the social reality,” he said.
Guests of honour
The filmmaker will be one of the three guests of honour. The other two are noted Marathi filmmaker and National Film Award winner Nagaraj Manjule and former Miss India Earth and actor Niharika Singh.
The film festival will also feature documentaries such Pistulya (Nagaraj Manjule), We have Not Come Here to Die (Dhanraj), Kakoos (Divya Bharathi), The Battle Of Bhima Koregaon (Somnath Waghmare), Dalan Series (Nepal) and Gandhi, Untouchables and Me (Rampilla Rao). The festival is organised by U.S.-based Ambedkar International Mission.
Filmmaker Mr. Ranjith is currently working on a new film based on the life of freedom fighter Birsa Munda.
