Some are like that...

Bad Girl (Tamil, 2025)

Written & Directed: Varsha Bharath 

https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/vetri-maaran-anurag
-kashyap-bad-girl-teaser-mohan-g-brahmin-protagonist/article69149508.ece

The feminists often complain that they are living in a toxic world filled with archaic rules dictated by a patriarchal society. They frequently quote excerpts from ancient Indian scriptures, such as the Manu Smriti, to support their argument. Spiritual masters, on the other hand, defend the ancient text, saying it has been taken out of context. 

Nevertheless, the effort to rectify the ancestors' wrongs never ceased. The aggressive struggle by these warriors may have just shifted the balance. Instead of finding the right place within the gender dynamics, they may have gone too far. They forget that both genders are biologically designed differently to perform different roles. 

This realisation must have dawned on the protagonist by the end of the film. Ramya begins as a teenager in a strict Brahmin family, deeply immersed in traditional beliefs, such as not entering the kitchen during menstruation and adhering to the family's hierarchical order. She feels suffocated because her school is similarly rigid. The private school maintains strict discipline, and to make matters worse, her mother also teaches there. 

Unable to cope with her challenges at school, such as being caught in close proximity with a boy and failing miserably in her exams, Ramya's parents decide to send her to a boarding school. Things go awry without parental supervision. She goes rogue, befriending seniors, smoking, drinking, and engaging in casual sex. 

A quick look at her behaviour might suggest that Ramya is showing all the obvious signs of a typical Gen-Z, or it could be something more alarming, like bipolar disorder. She believes she is the centre of the universe, is hedonistic, and has tangled priorities. The recurring theme is a desire for validation and immediate gratification. Ramya also connects better with animals than with humans. A pet means more to her than her own parents. Of course, these are merely distractions from the main issue. 

The years dragged by. After many failed relationships, fleeting jobs, changing circles of friends, and a strained relationship with her family, Ramya is in her mid-thirties. She realises her peers have settled into life and have a clear path to follow, while she is still moving forward, with no permanent place to stay and no one to return to each night. 

She believes there could be value in following the path most commonly taken by those who came before us. 

P.S. Upon the release of its trailer, the producer and director received plenty of brickbats for depicting underage drinking, portraying the Brahmins negatively, and for vulgarity. Protests were taken to court, and vulgarities were bleeped. Still, this reflects reality. In every community and society, some outliers follow the least conventional path. It suits them just fine. The moral guardians prefer to whitewash society, suggesting that everyone follows a single, paved path. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

div style="text-align: center;">

Anti-Brahmin sentiments ?

Ghatashraddha (Kannada, The Death Ritual; 1977)
Director, Screenplay: Girish Kasaravalli

There must be a reason why Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, George Lucas' Family Foundation, and Film Heritage Foundation decided to restore the film from the original negatives in 2024. In 2002, it was voted one of the 20 best films in Indian cinema. It also snatched the Best Feature Film award, among other awards, in 1977. Looking at current world sentiments about India, the elephant in the room is that the film is about Brahmin bashing.

The colonial masters are to be blamed for anti-Brahminic feelings running high among the Indian public at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. The British wanted to understand how the Indian society was spread out. For simplicity, they used the European class system when they commenced their census taking. The varna system in India was too complicated for the Europeans to comprehend. Hence, a hierarchical system was devised with the Brahmins at the top of the food chain. The British had a vested interest. They wanted to dismantle the gokul schooling system and the teaching of Sanskrit. The Brahmins were held for fort for Sanskrit and knowledge. There was a compelling need to paint the Brahmins. So, it came to be. 
 

EV Ramasamy and many South leaders had a beef with the Indian Congress Party during the pre-Independence era. They saw their lack of opportunities to partake in the Independence struggle as a Brahmin-controlled problem. Through the Self-Respect movement, they marketed themselves as anti-Hindu. Their brand of politics persists today. As the world sees leap by bounds economically and socially, the enemies of India look at this distorted interpretation of Sanathana Dharma as the perfect weapon to run India down.

To say that caste discrimination is non-existent may be an understatement, as evidenced by the writings and experiences of many scholars and writers.

The movie is about the experience of a young student, Naani, at a dilapidated  Vedic school. The teacher's daughter, Yamuna, is a sad young widow. Yamuna has an affair with another teacher and gets pregnant. She tries to conceal her pregnancy from the inquisitive neighbours and tries to get it aborted illegally. She is exposed and is humiliated. Her father ex-communicates with her by performing Ghatshradda,  a death ritual signifying that his daughter is dead to her.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

And no religion too

Courtesy: iyermatter.wordpress.com

I have a friend whose ancestors hail from the land of the Kamasutra. Even though born and bred here, he has not quite severed his umbilical attachment to his roots. His roots are still deeply rooted there. His religious conviction handed down by his ancestors are quite strong and has no qualms displaying his beliefs. He makes frequent pilgrimage trips there and is quite in tune with the latest flavour of the month of the sub-continent.

He once told me of a relative holding quite a high post in the Indian Air Force. Like my Brahmin friend, this guy was steadfast in continuing his Vedic practices through rituals, prayers, regalia to display of proof of his theological conviction on his forehead, vermilion, ash, sandalwood paste and all.

But once he dons his uniform and leaves his abode, he makes it a point to take a glance himself at the mirror to erase all traces of his religious beliefs. He, being a servant of the state, had to display a secular image serving all his brothers and sisters irrespective of their beliefs. He did not want his external appearance be an excuse for his actions to be construed as bias towards or against one section of society. What more, in a society whereby the days, everything is viewed in a rose-tinted lens of religion. Even if his move was in accordance to standard operating protocol, his avatar could be an excuse for favouritism!

It has come to this. There was a time when the public viewed a person of faith as a stable individual who would execute his duties with just. He is assumed to perform with a divine force as the witness without fear or favour. That was a different era in a galaxy far far away. Now, it is a question of my God is 'better than yours'! Anything and everything can be penalised and a mountain can be created out of a molehill, dying to be broadcasted to be sensationalised devoid of merits. The place a man of faith held has been hijacked by bad publicity. A group of fame-seeking and attention yearning leaders have no shame in uttering ridiculous statements for their time in the spotlight, just to be in the limelight.

http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy