ABSTRACT
This chapter draws attention to the difficulty of re-configuring Dalit histories through the reading of Bollywood films like Article 15 directed by Anubhav Sinha. The ways in which the relationship between caste and politics is regularly made invisible by Bollywood cinema forms the backdrop of this discussion. While caste is ostensibly an age-old method of stratification of Indian societies, the argument points to the ways in which it gets modified in new ways and reformulates the relationship between caste and politics. Using the concept of Hayden White’s historiophoty, the chapter demonstrates the complex dimensions of historical thinking in Article 15 through a nuanced analysis of different Dalit histories that run in parallel trajectories and tie into the issues of Dalit citizenship. Through a juxtaposition of the discourses of justice, untouchability, reservations, and electoral politics, the chapter demonstrates the reconfiguration of histories from counter hegemonic perspectives. It then explores the processes by which these histories emerge as discontinuous moments through cracks and fissures and engage with the narratives of justice and constitutionality. This chapter contends that in offering a strong critical vision, Article 15 shows the ways in which popular cinema can challenge nationalist historiographies.
