From BR Ambedkar to Jyotirao Phule, the BJP and RSS are weaving the stories of social reformers into the pages of textbooks, the frames of films, and political narratives. While this might appear to be an attempt to “mainstream” historical icons from marginalised non-Brahmin communities, the truth is quite different. Beneath the surface, something more disturbing is happening: a systematic distortion of their inspirational roles and revolutionary ideas. The recently released Marathi movie Satyashodhak (2024) is an example of how dominant groups are systematically derailing the non-Brahmin population from their authentic cultural and revolutionary inspiration, Jyotirao Govindrao Phule.
Also Read: Jotiba Phule’s 1869 satirical poem against Brahmin teachers is relevant even today
Brahmanical symbolic violence in Satyashodhak
Despite being an inspiration for many OBC, SC, and ST communities, Phule’s original work has been largely overlooked in Maharashtra’s political, literary, and cinematic narratives. The release of Satyashodhak this year perhaps indicates a belated recognition by entertainment market players of the enormous viewership represented by the vast cultural consumer base influenced by Phule.
However, several aspects of the film, from the casting choices to characterisations, raise crucial questions. Is it a genuine representation of the reformism of Phule and his wife Savitribai? Or is it a calculated, profit-driven distortion of their revolutionary essence?
First, the casting of two Brahmin actors—Rajshri Deshpande and Sandeep Kulkarni—as non-Brahmin revolutionaries Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule has drawn criticism, including the almost foreign-sounding linguistic features of their ‘Brahminical Puneri’ Marathi.
The use of Brahmin actors to play the roles of non-Brahmin icons is a form of what the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu called “symbolic violence”. In Satyashodhak, Brahminical symbolic violence is apparent in how the dominant varna manipulates the symbols and icons of non-Brahmins to reinforce their social and cultural superiority. Older Marathi films such as Samna (1974), Sinhasan (1979), and Mukta (1994) also followed similar casting patterns, but are yet to be questioned for perpetuating symbolic violence.
The next issue lies within the narrative, which centres on the 19th-century cultural revolutionary Jyotirao Phule and his Satyashodhak movement that strove to promote education and social justice for marginalised groups.
In the film, Phule is portrayed as a staunch critic of Brahmins and their religious orthodoxy. However, the film fails to explore the cultural ecosystem of the Brahmin-dominated society of the time. Practices like untouchability and other forms of oppression of non-Brahmins through various superstitious beliefs and ritualistic impositions are not visible in the film, making it difficult to grasp the importance of Phule’s groundbreaking cultural interventions.
Phule’s wife, Savitribai, is mainly depicted as a dedicated teacher and supportive wife, downplaying her reformist contributions as a poet and thinker. Another subtle distortion of historical facts is evident in the portrayal of Lahuji Salve, who provided physical training to Jyotirao Phule during his childhood. Lahuji’s role is exaggerated, presenting him as a private security force for Phule. This representation conceals the sociocultural solidarities within marginalised non-Brahmin castes organised through Phule’s cultural movement.
The movie pays particular attention to art direction, highlighting Brahminical society and its typical cultural symbolism. Within this backdrop, Phule is portrayed as an ally of Brahmin reformists who fight against the authoritarian and orthodox members of their community rather than as a standalone non-Brahmin hero. Overall, the film failed to feature the social, historical, and political nuances of Phule’s reformist odyssey.
Satyashodhak wrongly portrays Phule as a stereotypical ‘Brahmin basher’ in a melodramatic manner, overshadowing his innovative, creative, and diplomatic approaches to advocacy and activism. Despite this distortion, the film received a positive reception, much of it unsurprisingly from non-Brahmin communities. However, the cinematic narrative cannot just be viewed from the lenses of entertainment and history, but also within the realm of contemporary politics.
A political need for ‘sympathetic’ narratives for OBCs
The release of Satyashodhak coincided with political tensions in Maharashtra between the Maratha and OBC communities regarding reservations. The verbal attacks on OBC leaders during the Maratha reservation demonstrations created anxiety among socially vulnerable OBCs, leading to a low turnout for street protests to defend their quotas.
Maratha political hostility towards OBCs has been fuelled by the perception that the OBC vote bank is crucial for the BJP’s success. The party’s rise in Maharashtra since 2014 has weakened the Maratha political front, resulting in a resurfacing of resentment rooted in the post-Mandal Commission era. The BJP leadership in Maharashtra has avoided confrontation with Maratha politics by adopting a politically and socially safe posture. However, to avoid alienating OBCs in turn, there was a political need for a narrative portraying exaggerated sympathy towards them.
Satyashodhak, therefore, came at an opportune moment, implicitly reinforcing political solidarity between the right wing and OBC communities. The film, significantly, was granted tax-free status in Maharashtra after a cabinet meeting earlier this month. Through symbolic choices like casting Brahmin actors and highlighting progressive Brahmins from Phule’s time, the film arguably strengthens varna-caste political equations in favour of right-wing politics.
While subtler than overtly politically weaponised films like The Kashmir Files (2022), Satyashodhak still conveys political messages beyond entertainment.
Also Read: India has entered a new era of reservation devoid of social justice
Fallacies in left-liberal critique
In Maharashtra’s political landscape, the manipulation of caste-varna-religion vote banks has always kept the OBC front weak and disorganised. Any attempt, whether through films, books, or political narratives, to empower OBC communities is seen as a risk. Anything realigning OBCs with Phule’s authentic cultural friction is a direct threat to the historical Brahmin-Maratha alliance in Maharashtra’s politics. This context underscores the critical need for the sensitive and careful handling of Satyashodhak.
Despite subtly perpetuating Brahmanical symbolic violence, the film has succeeded in sustaining the state-wide and possibly national perception that OBCs are being taken care of as voters of the BJP.
Satyashodhak propagates an exaggerated political sympathy for OBC communities and promotes a Brahminical aka RSS-BJP version of Mahatma Phule’s reformist legacy. At the same time, it strategically conceals Phule’s true contestation of oppressive Brahminism.
Ironically, perpetuating Brahmanical symbolic violence as a subtle tool has been facilitated by Marxist-Brahminical left-liberal groups. The historical alignment of left-liberalism with Brahminical right-wing politics is evident in their collective disregard of Phule’s cultural revolutionary strategies.
Despite the opportunity for nuanced dialogue, the left-liberal critique of Satyashodhak failed to uncover the film’s deeper layers of Brahminical symbolic violence. The Marxist-Brahminical obsession with class and feudalism meant that critiques were limited to villainising so-called Brahminical hegemony without highlighting its actual nature and modus operandi as Phule had done through the Satyashodhak movement. This deceptive approach of left-liberal critique blinds Phule’s OBC, SC, and ST followers to the film’s quiet undermining of Phule’s cultural revolution.
Left-liberal ideologues publicly honour Phule to appeal to non-Brahmin communities while staying detached from the essence of his cultural revolution. Endorsing the film despite awareness of its historical fallacies contributes to the erosion of Phule’s legacy and the sociopolitical realities of non-Brahmins.
Despite Satyashodhak‘s role in serving the agendas of the left-liberal and right-wing alliance, Phule’s non-Brahmin resistance movement continues to have an impact on the sociopolitical and cultural front.
Dr Govind Dhaske is a social-cultural theorist. He tweets @GlobalGovind. Gayatri Sutar is a media professional and research assistant. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)