Art of Society through K Vishwanath's eyes

 

K Vishwanath, one of the most renowned directors of the Indian film industry left behind a legacy of films when he passed away. Take any film of his and I assure you, you will not be disappointed. 

Last weekend, I decided to watch 3 very famous movies of his. Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, and Swarabhishekam. Apart from the fact that all three of the films start their names with ‘S’, all three of them are movies with amazing songs and filmography that glorifies Indian cinema. Although his movies may seem like art films, they are definitely not of that genre. Vishwanath’s movies are a complete package of entertainment that the audience desire. He taught the industry to use music, art, and dance to talk about serious issues like caste, religion, and other problems the society faces. 

Sankarabharanam, one of Vishwanath’s greatest accomplishments is a movie that cannot be missed. Portraying a story about caste and the consequences it has on people, it’s stellar cast and performances cannot be missed. With songs that will be etched in your heart forever, it’s a must-watch. Through the medium of music, the director has portrayed the caste issues people faced in early India. The protagonist of this film is from an upper-caste family whereas the heroine of this film is a ‘dasi’ or a servant who belongs to the lower-caste. In this film, K. Vishwanath has shown that music and its rich culture transcends all problems that caste has. Be it the fact that people shun Shankara Shastri, the protagonist when he lets Tulasi, the dasi stay with him, or how Tulasi’s son becomes Shastri’s disciple, every part of this film is laced with music. No matter what the issue might be, he’s explained the most serious of issues with the utmost ease. How has he done it? With the help of music. 

Moving on to Sagara Sangamam, this movie uses dance forms like Bharatanatyam and Kuchupudi to enhance the story. This movie tells the story of Balu (Kamal Hassan), who is a good dancer but can’t stoop down to any level to be commercially successful. He meets Jayaprada’s character who helps him participate in competitions. Eventually, they fall in love. When Balu knows that she was married, he breaks up with her. Years pass by and Balu becomes an art critic who is an alcoholic. He doesn’t know he has a child with Jayaprada. But, by the end of the film, he teachers his daughter dance. The issue of the extramarital affair has been tackled beautifully with dance in this movie. A situation that was extremely progressive and controversial in that era was easily shown through the film. Such an issue was portrayed in a way that the story of the film was told through dance.

The last movie that I saw was Swarabhishekam. K Vishwanath has acted and directed in the film. Core issues that every family face like jealousy, ego, and competition are portrayed in this film. It tells the story of two brothers who are both Carnatic singers. After the younger brother gets married, his wife feels a sense of resentment towards her brother-in-law. She feels that her husband should get better recognition as he does most of the work. Meanwhile, the elder brother gets awarded with a Padmashri and the problems only worsen. Issues keep on rising and it reaches a point where the brother has a fallout with each other. At the end of the movie, the younger brother’s wife realizes her mistake and strives hard to bring back the family together. Familial problems that happen everywhere are shown in this film with the utmost ease. Music accompanies the whole length of the film.

Through Vishwanath’s film, he tries to portray various serious issues like caste and religion. He has also tried to express various scenarios like mental health awareness, sexual abuse, and even the remarriage of a widow. No matter what movies of his you see, all of them will have a dance, music, and culture playing a central role. Be it casteism or even extramarital affairs, he says the stories and the issues he wants to talk about with ease.

The Horrifying tale of Caste System in India

When we talk about the horrifying scenario of casteism in India, we'll have to begin from the old age. Ever since the Manusmriti prescribed the caste system for understanding the roles and occupation each person has to do in society, the man decided to do it his way. He devoured the caste system and made it his weapon to show who is superior and who is inferior. After this, this system has been used for everything, except for the right reasons.

The caste system is very much prevalent in India. Be it our politics, economy, or our society, we can see the shadow of caste everywhere we look. The reservation system that we follow, 'oonch-neech' jaati we talk about, or even marriage from the caste, it's all because of the caste system we started to follow long back. When it comes to politics, it plays a major role. While the concept of castes holds some importance, politics takes a person and makes their bond with caste identity stronger. For instance, in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, people who are from the higher castes only win elections. If a candidate from a lower caste wins, they are not even taken seriously. Although the lower castes do have higher political interests, it is the upper castes who have higher political awareness. The lower castes want to come into power so that the atrocity that they still face can be put to an end. But what we see here today is that power shifts from one dominant caste to another where people’s loyalties towards their castes are tested.

Coming to the role caste plays in an economy, you would have by now realized that no matter where you look, caste will be there. We have to understand that caste inequality is directly associated with economic equalities. Statistics show that people from the higher castes do the greatest number of white-collar jobs. Just because you may be from a lower caste maybe the reason you missed out on a job that you were more qualified for than another person who was from the higher caste. Although there is the reservation system that promises the upliftment of the lower caste society, that mostly works for public sector jobs.

And lastly, let’s discuss the relationship the caste system has with society. The most brutal of them all, society is thrown to shambles when caste comes into play. The honour killings, starving people, brutally raping and murdering people just because they belong to the lower castes are just examples of how badly people are treated. When people from the lower castes are killed ruthlessly for doing nothing, it gets into people’s heads that if you belong to a higher caste family, then you can do as you please. And, if you are from a lower caste family, you are inferior and have to adjust to and serve the upper class.

Many redressals have been taken up by the Government to solve this problem. Untouchability was abolished in the late 20^th century. Inequality on the basis of caste was made illegal. Of course, one cannot forget Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who fought for the rights of the people from the lower classes. For the major part of his life, he has fought for those people who have been tormented by the society as he was also one among them.  Reservation has been made mandatory for all jobs and economic help to those who are financially unstable. Various schemes like the Scheduled Castes Welfare Programmes, Post-Matric Scholarships for Lower Castes etc. Various articles like Article 17, Article 335, and Article 46 was made in interest of the lower classes.