Chennai: Filmmaker and producer Pa Ranjith has said that it is essential to talk about casteism in movies when the society is divided over religion and caste differences.
The Post Graduate Department of Communication, Women’s Christian College organised a lecture on ”Films, Politics & Caste” on the college premises Wednesday.
“Addressing the students about the history of politics in Tamil cinema and film as a tool to discuss caste issues, Ranjith lauded social media for paving way for open discussions on many socially relevant issues including caste”, a press release said. The director ascertained the power of cinema in bringing a change in the society by saying, ”Films are an easy way to question and criticise the politics of a country, even though many restrictions are still imposed on the filmmakers.”
”Both the resistance and oppression have increased in magnitude and are now at equal level. It is a fundamental duty of everyone of us to voice out our political opinion,” he said.
Ranjith also spoke about lack of women technicians in the film industry which fuels the misrepresentation of female characters in films. ”I request all the youngsters to take part in the process of filmmaking, especially women. There are hardly a few women writers in Tamil cinema to write from their perspectives,” the director said.
WCC principal Lilian I Jasper and MA Communication Department head Punitha Dorairajan were among those who were present. The endowment lecture was constituted in the name of Dr Renuka Mukerji Somasekar, who was the sixth principal for the college and widely known for her service to the cause of women’s education, the press release said.