ABSTRACT
The chapter explores how the Dalit aesthetic is being redefined, with evident deviations from modern notions of progress, development, democracy, etc. The multitude of the postmodern Dalit experience in contemporary India and abroad is brought to light through a deliberate use of such locales that historically witnessed Dalit migrations. The films also invoke the histories of Dalit struggles for social and political justice, thereby standing apart from Tamil films that attempt an assumed ‘realistic’ portrayal of casteism, with its depiction of pain and pathos. The chapter also tries to understand how the ‘superstar’ image of Rajnikanth is employed in the creation of the new-age Dalit in Tamil films and how the director counter-hegemonises to capture the popular with its own icons.
