Translation as Transference of Identity and Resistance: (Re)presentations of Dalits in Pa. Ranjit’s Kaala

Abstract

Translation is generally defined as the rendering of a text from one language to another. But in its broadest etymological sense, translation means something that is being carried across. When the process of translation is considered an act of creativity, translation is the transference of the self-identity of the creator from one language or medium to another. Therefore, the process of transferring the identity into creativity itself is a form of translation. Social identity theory proposed by John Turner and Henri Tajfel explains that a person’s social group will contribute to their sense of self as well. In India, Dalit identity is a social identity that aids a Dalit individual to form his personal identity as well. Dalit identity gets formed as an after-effect of not only the distinctive experience that they live through but also the discrimination and oppression that they face being socially marginalized groups. The revocation of their Dalit identity gradually leads them to engage in various forms of resistance through mediums such as politics, literature, and arts, by ensuring the representation and participation of Dalits in the respective fields. Cinema is one such medium, which had not opened its doors to Dalit representations until the twenty-first century. This discrimination resulted in creating an unspoken void in representing true Dalithood, their history, resistance, and representation in the field of cinema. Tamil cinema industry is an example of a brave exception regarding this from the recent past. A number of directors, claiming their Dalit identity and their politics behind making films, which honestly talk about Dalit issues in a collective sense have come up. This article tries to analyse how these filmmakers translated their identity into representation and resistance through their films, taking Pa. Ranjit’s Kaala as an example.