The Use of Folklore in the Promotion of Violence in Recent Gangster Movies in Telugu
Abstract
Dr. Brian Mendonça
Folklore is usually seen to be a placid activity of a story – usually of valour – being transmitted down to generations. One recalls the legends of the chieftain Kushtoba who harassed the Portuguese in Goa.When folklore is transmitted through film to promote an ideology, it becomes even more potent. This is because film has the capacity to move the masses. When violence is sanctioned by the divine, retribution is justified – the stuff some movies of the Telugu film industry are made of.
This paper seeks to explore how folklore is used to promote violence in Telugu film. In Gangs of Godavari (2024) released in May, the layered narrative valorizes violence in the practice of kaththi kattadam – placing a trident to extract vengeance. Being a gangster movie, the influence is all the more compelling, garnering mass appeal, because it sets off one gang after another. The fact that folklore is implicitly linked to a particular religion makes that religion and its folk practices dominant over others.
Pushpa – The Rise (2021) and Pushpa 2 – The Rule (2024) based on the life of the sandalwood smuggler Veerappan also have elements of folklore that power the film. The Gangamma Jathra exploits the famous festival of Andhra Pradesh and is set in its ethos. The paper will attempt to understand the penchant for violence in Tollywood and how folklore is implicated in this dynamic.
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