Shattering Our Idols: Understanding Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Vision for Cinema in India

Abstract

While an anti-caste, Ambedkarite reading of Indian cinema(s) is gaining traction in contemporary Indian film and media scholarship, Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s own views on film remain underexplored. Through an archival investigation, this article performs a close reading of a rare interview of Ambedkar that appeared in the June 1942 edition of filmindia, one of the most widely read film magazines of its time. Some crucial aspects that emerge from the interview include Ambedkar’s idea of film as a pedagogical tool, his grudges against the extant use of film in India to spread Hindu dogmatism, and his cinematic utopias. In this article, I map Ambedkar’s location within filmindia, trace the circumstances leading to the appearance of this interview, engage with its themes and read into the ways in which Ambedkar’s views on film echo his larger socio-political thought. I argue that this interview acts as a portal, allowing us to imagine ways in which we could insert film into Ambedkar’s intellectual thought and political praxis, that could potentially have useful implications for future anti-caste, Ambedkarite readings of films in India.