Redefining Love: Slap as a Tool of Gendered Power in Malayalam Cinema

The portrayal of love in films are most often flawed. Malayalam cinema, a regional film industry, has in the past pioneered films that invoked critical discussions. For instance, the first Malayalam cinema, Balan, was a social drama which was unique to Indian Cinema at that time. However, there is another side in Malayalam cinema that displays a problematic depiction of relationships marked by love. Mainstream commercial Malayalam films very evidently portrays the role of women as secondary. The study tends to analyze the portrayal of love in those films celebrated as romantic tales. An attempt is done to re-read the concept of love from the perspective of feminist studies and to see how often women become victims of misogyny. It also uses the notion of Michel Foucault’s Power to address the issue of slapping as degrading the dignity of women- and its normalization in films. Films taken for the study include Gandharvam (1993), Mithunam (1993), Pidakkozhi Koovunna Nootandu (1994), Njangal Santhushtaranu (1999), Ishtam (2001), Chronic Bachelor (2003), Theevandi (2018), Sara’s (2021), Vaashi (2022) and Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum (2023).