The ontological politics of the spoof image in Tamil cinema

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines Thamizh Padam (‘Tamil Film’, dir. C. S. Amudhan), a 2010 spoof of the Tamil cinema of south India. While Thamizh Padam mocked near every aspect of mainstream Tamil cinema, its main target was the industry’s ‘mass heroes’, those larger-than-life stars whose image blurs onscreen and offscreen. While recalling Bazin’s discussion of the ontological identity of the photographic film image and its object, the auratic presence of the mass hero’s image affords a populist political potency that runs counter to Bazin’s liberal humanism and realist aesthetics. Drawing on analysis of Thamizh Padam and interviews with its makers, I show how Thamizh Padam attempted to undermine the ontology of the mass-hero’s image, its mode of production, and political charge. In its place, Thamizh Padam advocated for a narrative representationalism guided by the director and his script/story. The article concludes by rethiking Bazin’s discussion of the ontology of the film image, suggesting that it can be productively reframed by attention to the ontological politics of and for images.