Papilio Buddha is a 2013 Indian film written and directed by Jayan K. Cherian. The film focuses on the atrocities committed against Dalits, women and the environment. It features S. P. Sreekumar, David Briggs and Saritha Sunil while Padmapriya, Prakash Bare and Thampy Antony play supporting roles. Kerala-based environmentalist Kallen Pokkudan appears in another important role in the film which also cast 150 Adivasis. The film was completely shot from Wayanad in Kerala and the cinematography was done by M J Radhakrishnan. The story deals with discrimination against landless Dalits and the politics of suppression of their struggle against the upper castes and other powerful elements locally.
Plot
The film unfolds in fictional space, in a Dalit settlement called Meppara. It explores the life of a group of displaced Dalits in the Western Ghats of India and probes the new identity politics based on Ambedkarism, gaining momentum among the Dalits in the region, in the milieu of an ongoing land struggle. A band of displaced untouchables in Western Ghats of India embrace Buddhism in order to escape from caste oppression. The on-screen happenings are from the perspective of a youth Sankaran, a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) dropout, whose insecurity and reticence are in stark contrast to the deep-rooted faith and conviction of his father Kandal Kariyan.
Shankaran, a young Dalit man, befriends a white gay American lepidopterist Jack, for whom he helps catch butterflies, including the rare and beautiful Papilio buddha, and it turns out the two men are romantically involved. While to the displeasure of Shankaran's elderly father, homosexuality is of little consequence among this Dalit community.
Shankaran's father is a communist who feels let down by the failure to achieve equal rights. Meanwhile, Manju, a strong-minded woman who has a job as a rickshaw driver, struggles to avoid prejudice in a male-dominated career.
When Manjusree hits a lecherous union leader, and Shankaran is arrested for illegally catching butterflies, the events spark off two acts of violence which politicise and radicalise the community, some of whom are queer, who decide to shun the peaceful tactics proscribed by Mahatma Gandhi in favour of rebellion.
The film brings into focus, an example of the epic land struggles, which was fought in various regions of the state and across India, and the oppression of indigenous people by the powerful political and social establishments. It also maps environmental degradation and abuse of pristine mountain habitats by outside forces.
Cast
S. P. Sreekumar as Shankaran
David Briggs as Jack
Saritha Kukku as Manju
Kallen Pokkudan as Kandal Kariyan
Thampi Antony as Ramdasji
Padmapriya as Collector
Prakash Bare as SP
Surabhi Lakshmi
Production
The film marks the debut of Jayan K. Cherian as a feature filmmaker. A student of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, he had previously done several experimental films and short fictions including Shape of the Shapeless, Love in the Time of Foreclosure, Hidden Things, Soul of Solomon and Capturing the Signs of God.
Papilio Buddha is inspired by several events that happened in various Dalit communities in Kerala, including their struggle for land in places such as Chengara, Meppadi, and Muthanga, and its effect on the Dalit population. The director travelled all over Kerala and tried to integrate real life experiences of Dalits, after talking to them. The film was shot from Muthanga in Wayanad district, Kerala. Principal photography for the film was completed in 19 days.