Analyzing the Display of Gendered Identities Through the Patriarchal Set Up in the Great Indian Kitchen

Abstract

Every art form has the ability to comprehend and communicate with the audience by displaying an array of human feelings, emotions and understanding. Cinema too is an art that has in recent years gained a coveted position as one of the major sources of entertainment as well as edutainment. Indian cinema is one branch of the world cinema that is multilingual and diverse in its approach. The post-independence cinema in India has played a vital role in shaping, nurturing and binding the Indian society together. It has been the voice of the neglected and has been instrumental in providing a platform to the subjugated identities ranging from race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender, class, space etc. Amongst these mentioned identities it is the gendered identities that have been constructed through cinema either to affirm the social construct or subvert it. Indian cinema, whether commercial, parallel or regional in the recent times, has been a rich ground to study the justification of gendered identity in the patriarchal set up. Through this paper there will be an analysis of the Malayalam film THE GREAT INDIAN KITCHEN to study the display of gendered identities in the patriarchal set-up within Indian society and its far reaching impact on the society. The paper will also look into the core social issues prevalent in the society and its impact while exploring the effects of deep rooted patriarchy which has been responsible for the subjugation of the female gender. The paper will also look through the lens of the filmmaker the message to advocate for female rights that the film conveys for its audience.