From Achhut Kanya to Chauranga, how things have changed yet remained same

Category: Entertainment

This was way back in 1936, when Himanshu Rai’s Achhut Kanya touched upon the subject of untouchability in our society. Pratap and Kasturi who have grown up together aren’t allowed to marry each other as their fathers – who by the way happen to be good friends – state their unwillingness to do so because of the difference in caste hierarchy. While the movie could have easily been the story of any two lovers who are not allowed to be together by their families, caste, as the main contentious issue cannot be ignored. Come 2015, we are still dealing with the same societal problem. But stories on such topics are few and far between on the screen. Bollywood’s obsession with ultra-rich characters from the upper middle class usually with surnames like Oberoi, Malhotra and Khanna, is still going strong, but there is a simmering wave of cinema that is taking chances to unravel stories hidden in the earthen constructs of India. Stories that not only show us the age-old urban-rural divide and the uncompromising stand of people in each milieu, but also the ingrained divide by caste, religion and social standing that almost hits us a like a slap on our faces reminding us of our own people’s ghastliness.