ABSTRACT
In a case study of the film Padmaavat (2018), this chapter demystifies and deconstructs Savarna culture which is often pushed as a representative of Indian identity, history, and culture. It proposes some key arguments such as culture as the site of contestation for the display and exercise of power, the role of representation in enabling the sustenance of caste and cultural hegemony, and Savarna culture as a commodity that is actively produced and consumed. It questions the synonymous understanding of caste with Dalits and argues for a study of the established cultural stereotypes of/for Savarnas achieved through the use of language, clothes, songs, dance, body language, etc. harking on popular cultural platforms such as cinema. In turn it also insinuates the consequences that such stereotypes may bear on Dalit-Bahujans who are continued to be seen through ‘lack’ thereof.
