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Abstract
Many regional writers have highlighted the Brahmin way of life, particularly the orthodoxies and patriarchal oppression practiced on women among the upper caste Brahmins in India. The present article focuses on contemporary Indian cinemas that present patriarchal Hindu attitudes to women and sexuality as in need of reform. Selected films have met with hostility from Hindu conservatives and have also been accused of Orientalist misrepresentations. While these objections highlight the contested nature of “authentic” Hindu identity remain powerful indictments of patriarchal hegemony in Hinduism. This paper seeks to explore how power is operated in Brahmanical patriarchy. Generally, Brahmanical patriarchy uses power to subjugate women as passive victims of patriarchal oppression and in the case of men they use power for male domination. For this study, I have selected two – Mohan Sharma’s 1912 Malayalam drama film Gramam, Deepa Mehta’s 2005 Hindi/ English movie Water which explores the plight of a young woman in a patriarchal Hindu family in the nineteenth century. This paper analyzes the hypocrisy and two-facedness of Brahmins in executing their power. These films question the Brahmanical roots and the customs and rituals associated with it. He also hits at the caste and religious codes, traditional and cultural values.