Kuzhali Manickavel
Kuzhali Manickavel News
Revisiting Singaravelan: Nine thoughts on watching '90s Kamal Haasan-starrer
Singaravelan was released in 1992, a time when in our little corner of the world, the only options for entertainment were the non-AC cinema theatres and hanging out at the railway station. If you were a dude, I mean. If you were not a dude, lol.
Singaravelan: Was Kamal Haasan's 1992 film swashbuckling bucket of family fun, or sexist stalking saga?
Singaravelan was released in 1992, a time when in our little corner of the world, the only options for entertainment were the non-AC cinema theatres and hanging out at the railway station. If you were a dude, I mean. If you were not a dude, lol.
The Love Guru: Racism of Mike Myers' 2008 film is just one sparkling gem in its diadem of problematic-ness
We’ve covered some pretty God-awful films in this column and even otherwise, I have watched some really, really bad movies in my lifetime. The Love Guru managed to stand out among all of these as a truly horrific feat of cinematic putrescence. | Kuzhali Manickavel writes
Allegedly Problematic: Mike Myers' 2008 film The Love Guru shows us that white dudes really can do anything
If I were to categorise The Love Guru, I think it would come under ‘white-dude-makes-movie-about-India/Indian-things- without-knowing-anything-about-these-things’. This is an extremely popular genre among white dudes. | Kuzhali Manickavel writes
'Benny Lava' and the buffalax-ing of Indian songs: A weird way of keeping India's perceived exoticism alive
We can’t deny that our songs can be pretty ridiculous. But perhaps there is something uncomfortable about unintentionally being a big part of a joke created by someone else (as with the buffalax videos) .
'Benny Lava' and the buffalax-ing of Indian songs: Was onetime internet trend racist, or harmless fun?
The 'Benny Lava' buffalax was originally labelled as ‘Crazy Indian Video, Real Title Unknown’, as if it was some terribly obscure alien artefact that was of course just-so-Indian-and-so-crazy. Which is interesting because it was actually a pretty mainstream, run-of-the-mill, and ultimately forgettable Tamil movie song featuring a very well-known actor (at least in Tamil Nadu).
Little Black Sambo: Why the many attempts to rectify racism of Helen Bannerman's popular story failed
Why has Little Brave Sambo (or Little Black Sambo) endured, why do people defend it so passionately and perhaps most intriguing of all, why do people keep re-writing it to try and make it more politically correct?
Little Black Sambo: A look at the bizarre history of Helen Bannerman's racism-riddled children’s story
Why has Little Brave Sambo (or Little Black Sambo) endured, why do people defend it so passionately and perhaps most intriguing of all, why do people keep re-writing it to try and make it more politically correct?
The curious case of Hrundi V Bakshi: Deconstructing Peter Sellers' brownface act in The Party
In many ways, Hrundi V Bakshi from The Party is no different from the many other characters Peter Sellers has portrayed and while the brownface is definitely super-awkward, it doesn’t seem to be particularly malicious. Which then leads to the question: why? | Kuzhali Manickavel writes
Peter Sellers' The Party is the go-to movie for expressing anger over brownface: Is the ire warranted?
I don’t really understand why Peter Sellers felt the need to darken his face for the role in The Party. While I don’t think it makes him look Indian, it certainly makes him look greasy and a little blotchy, unless the belief at the time was that Indians, as an entire race, were a greasy and blotchy people | Kuzhali Manickavel writes in her monthly column 'Allegedly Problematic'
Of 'miserable Hindoo ladies' and barbaric tribes: Reading Favell Lee Mortimer's 'educational' book on India
According to Mrs Mortimer, mothers were the bane of Hindostan. Remember, she was never here and it can be safely said that she was never a Hindoo mother herself but again, she doesn’t let that stop her.
Favell Lee Mortimer's Far Off: How a 19th century Englishwoman wrote about India — without having seen it
The author of Far Off, Favell Lee Mortimer, was best known for a book called 'The peep of day, or, A series of the earliest religious instruction the infant mind is capable of receiving' which has been called “one of the most outspokenly sadistic children's books ever written”.