Share:


Padmarajan’s creative illustration of masculinities

    Jayasree Niranjana Affiliation
    ; Yadamala Sreenivasulu Affiliation

Abstract

Padmarajan is an eminent personality of Indian cinema whose passionate and exquisite oeuvre of films grappled with the minds of viewers in India but remains underexplored in international academia. This article focuses on the creative representation of masculinities by Padmarajan with the aid of varied masculinity theories starting from the foundational masculinity ideas of Raewyn Connell to the alternate masculinity concepts rooted in the South Asian socio-cultural milieu. The paper examines how skilfully Padmarajan presents different forms of masculinity primarily subverting the traditional depictions in his select films.

Keyword : Malayalam cinema, masculinities, Padmarajan, performance, subversion

How to Cite
Niranjana, J., & Sreenivasulu, Y. (2024). Padmarajan’s creative illustration of masculinities. Creativity Studies, 17(1), 274–281. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2024.18916
Published in Issue
May 21, 2024
Abstract Views
100
PDF Downloads
67
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Aiyappan, A. (2020). Padmarajan’s enigmatic and enduring relationships. Film International, 18(1), 66–73. https://doi.org/10.1386/fint_00008_1

Banerjee, N. A. (2019). The never ending rain: Padmarajan and his female characters in Thoovanathmbikal. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 6(2), 852–857.

Connell, R. W. (1987). Gender and power: Society, the person, and sexual politics. Stanford University Press.

Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities. University of California Press.

Gopinath, P., & Sundar, P. (2020). Introduction: Masculinities. South Asian Popular Culture, 18(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746689.2020.1736819

Kurup, A. (2020). How Padmarajan’s Peruvazhiyambalam is forerunner to Malayalam’s angry-young-men films. The News Minute. https://www.thenewsminute.com/flix/how-padmarajan-s-peruvazhiyambalam-forerunner-malayalam-s-angry-young-men-films-115404

Meghana, A. K., & Sreenivasan, B. B. (2016, 3–4 March). Revisiting the classic through the corridors of uncertainty: A comparative reading of Udakappola and Thoovanathumbikal. In B. B. Sreenivasan (Ed.), Verbal to Visual: The Aesthetic Semiotics of Classics as Movies: Proceedings of the UGC Sponsored National Seminar during 3–4th March 2016 (pp. 85–87). University Grants Commission Sponsored National Seminar. Cochin University of Science and Technology, India. Cochin University of Science and Technology.

Menon, N. (2021). Padmarajan’s “Thoovanathumbikal”: Sensuality, guilt and a vulnerable hero. The News Minute. https://www.thenewsminute.com/kerala/padmarajans-thoovanathumbikal-sensuality-guilt-and-vulnerable-hero-153049

Nandakumar, K. (2017). The multiplicity of the hero in P. Padmarajan’s Aparan. Asia Pacific Journal of Research, 1(57), 308–311.

Niranjana, J., & Sreenivasulu, Y. (2022). Female masculinity and homosociality: Reconnoitering the female bond in Padmarajan’s Deshadanakkili Karayarilla. Literary Voice, 19, 137–144.

Niranjana, J., & Sreenivasulu, Y. (2023). Enactment of violence: Padmarajan’s masculine subjectivities. Film International, 21(1), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1386/fint_00204_1

Osella, C., & Osella, F. (2006). Men and masculinities in South India. Anthem Press.

Pillai, M. T. (2013). Matriliny to masculinity: Performing modernity and gender in Malayalam cinema. In M. Gokulsing & W. Dissanayake (Eds.), Routledge handbooks. Routledge handbook of Indian cinemas (pp. 102–114). Routledge.

Radhakrishnan, R. (2012). Aesthetic dislocations: A re-take on Malayalam cinema of the 1970s. South Asian Popular Culture, 10(1), 91–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746689.2012.655111

Raghavendra, M. K. (2013). Director’s cut: 50 major film-makers of the modern era. HarperCollins.

Ratnakaran, B., Anil, S. S., Thomas, S., & Ampanattu, Sh. D. (2015). Psychiatric disorders in Malayalam cinema. Kerala Journal of Psychiatry, 28(2), 195–203.

Reeser, T. W. (2023). Masculinities in theory: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons.

Sreedevi, T., & Ravi, B. K. (2020). Portrayal of women in P. Padmarajan’s cinema: With special reference to Novemberinte Nashtam. Educational Research International, 9(2), 32–39.

Sreeraj, G., Sabu, D., Anjali, M. R., & Priya, M. G. (2021). Myth in select Malayalam movies: An analysis of Anandabhadram, Njan Gandharvan and Vaisali. Annals of the Romanian Society for Cell Biology, 25(4), 17661–17668.

Stein, E. (1982). CALCUTTA India, Inc. Film Comment, 18(4), 69–75.