Aryaman Kakkar's Archive

  The three films we have studied this semester have been touted as feminist films. Chak De! India, Dangal, and Saand ki Aankh feature women who rise to the top of their respective sporting fields through perseverance and hardwork. It shows women combating patriarchal super-structures and the establishment at every step of the way, being empowered through their sport. The fact that these films depict empowered women as the lead roles somehow wins them the title of being a ‘feminist’ film, and yet one of these three films does not make the cut.  What I wish to focus on in these three films are displays of female and feminine solidarity. In my previous essay on Aligarh, I mentioned how the lack of scenes of queer solidarity drowned the alleged queer narrative of the movie, and how it was Prof. Siras’ empathy and queerness that saved the film. I will be building on these arguments of empathy and representation to demonstrate how it is empathetic community-building and shows of s...

Healing is slow. It doesn’t start with kneeling or obedience. It starts with a sound. The grunt of giving in and playing cards with them, suffering the puns and smirking at the inside jokes. Soft-spoken instead of speaking with anger. Sharing in the music at twilight on the highway and not pulling your earphones, muting the world from beginning to end.  Healing is not all-accepting. Sometimes, it means knowing that the scars will itch, and the heart will ache over the disagreements, when they can’t see how they hurt you. It means walking away when respect is due but not freely given: you will always feel the lightness of your years then. The difference remains the same.  The only thing you can do is pull them aside from the battling crowds, sit down, and explain. No cacophony. No interruptions. A conversation in essence, rather than by name.  Talking back is still ‘disrespectful’, make no mistake. It is still ‘rude’. It is still ‘wrong’. A friend once told me about the co...