The Socio-Political Ramifications of Family Man 2
Content Warning:
This article makes mention of rape and sexual violence.
‘I will kill them all,” asserts Samantha Akkineni, clad in full brownface and tiger-striped camouflage, in the latest trailer for the Amazon Prime Series Family Man 2. The actress, a household name among avid South Indian film watchers, plays Raji, a female member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in the tv-series. Family Man 2 releases on the streaming service on June 4th. However, the trailer alone amassed calls for boycotts of the tv-show. Recently, the Tamil Nadu government called to stop and/or ban the release of the series. Major Indian news outlets have applauded Samantha for taking on the role, calling it an “extreme risk” and a “brave choice.” The unwavering power of our resistance continues to be a miscalculation by India and Sri Lanka. With that, these genocidal states will fold.
Many online have expressed their disappointment with the disingenuous portrayal of the LTTE and the prevalence of shadeism in the Indian Film Industry. Over the last two weeks, the disappointment expressed online, this article included, articulates the frustration with racist portrayals of Eelam Tamils by the Indian Film Industry. In addition to inaccurate representations of the Eelam Tamil liberation movement, the Indian Film Industry uses Eelam Tamil identity to reinforce right-wing Indian Nationalist narratives.
Amazon Prime released the trailer for the series on May 18th, Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, a day marked by Tamils as the height of the genocidal onslaught by internationally backed Sri Lankan Armed Forces that claimed the lives of over 146,000 Eelam Tamils. Family Man 2 was strategically curated to depict a storyline of the LTTE as a terrorist organization and to present a narrow perspective of the fight for national freedom of Eelam Tamils. At first glance, seemingly harmless and under the foliage of the film industry, this movie has garnered extreme notoriety as its impending release on Amazon Prime captured the contesting views among Eelam Tamils and Indians alike.
On a deeper level, the film carries extremely problematic juxtapositions as the fight for Tamil Eelam’s liberation is paralleled with India’s involvement. It is no surprise to those who have studied the early years of the LTTE’s liberation struggle that India's involvement in aiding and abetting in training allowed for building the LTTE’s military capacity. Later, as pressure mounted, when India secured its allyship with Sri Lanka it dismantled the alliance between the LTTE and the Indian State.
The Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of 1987 introduced covertly and through political manipulation resulted in the relationship becoming cemented between the two countries. What came afterwards was the brutal attacks on Tamils by India’s Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) which landed in Sri Lanka following the signing of the agreement. For a period of 32 months, Tamils on the island endured the most petrifying onslaught of human life and violation of one's autonomy as the IPKF supposedly fought with the Tigers to maintain peace on the island. The reality was far more exhaustive as the fighting also placed civilians in the way of direct targets. Adding to this violence was the preexisting destruction of human life by the Sri Lankan state and its military. During this 32-month stint by the IPKF, Tamils experienced increased sexualized violence, including rape, abuse, and death. Key events that presented the failure of IPKF and India included the arrest and suicide of 12 LTTE cadres, two of whom were colonels, the fast unto death of Thileepan Anna and Annai Poothathy. Continuing this legacy, India actively uses media to further anti-Tamil racism.
As such, the Indian film industry consistently employs Indian Nationalism through its films. The industry waters down and inaccurately portrays the Eelam Tamil resistance movement to serve right-wing Indian Nationalist narratives. This weak trope is especially prevalent in Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal. Madhavan, who plays a writer in the movie, uses the refugees he meets in Rameswaram as subjects in his short stories, including baby Amutha who he later adopts. The film received criticism for its depiction of the LTTE, primarily due to its on-screen emphasis of a talking point that diminishes legitimate liberation movements: Suicide bombers and child soldiers. Here, the film makes yet another commentary on the Indian saviourism; Madhavan’s adoption of an Eelam Tamil child symbolizes the necessity for Indian intervention to keep Tamil children “safe.”
So how did @Samanthaprabhu2 you prepare for this role?
— Mr.பழுவேட்டரையர் (@mrpaluvets) May 19, 2021
Was it hard to unlearn Tamil, paint yourself in black, project Tamil resistence as terrorism and betray the Tamil community, or did it come naturally to you?#FamilyMan2_against_Tamils
Similarly, Family Man 2 uses the same tactics as Mani Ratnam’s film to further solidify the insidious presence of the Indian State in the region. The tv-series places Samantha’s character as a threat to the state according to the supposed alliance between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the LTTE, as showcased in the trailer. Through this fictional alliance, Family Man 2 constructs Tamils and Muslims as perpetual outsiders who forever pose a threat to the authority and legitimacy of the nation-states. The anti-Tamil racism and Islamophobia in India and Sri Lanka continue to result in dire consequences, most recently evident through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Further, the character of the female LTTE fighter is a deliberate choice. Not only do these on-screen portrayals place the female fighter in direct opposition to the authority of the liberal state. Including them in the plot as antagonists opens discussion around another issue often seen in Indian cinema: it attempts to signal to audiences that women, particularly Tamil women, need to be disciplined. In other words, the cunning depiction of Tamil women in liberation movements by India and its architects, carry a dual tone where women 1) are forcibly conscripted and 2) unable to think for themselves—fundamentally reducing women’s right to choice and participation within the strongholds of a male-dominated space, the military. Simultaneously, the question of womanhood and India’s perception of what it means to be a woman becomes blatantly clear. Repetitively through the media, India has reflected the positionality of women where women belong within the home. The portrayal of women as army wives, domesticated, unintelligent and fragile beings is a common state production. Very few films accurately counter a women’s internal liberation without the forced confinement of these domesticated ways of being. The placement of Tamil women within the context of unruly, brazen and proactive reinforces the ideas of mainstream misogyny and state violence. Therefore effectively maintaining a woman's capacity within the male gaze of “a suitable woman” tied to gendered norms and expectations. Additionally, the film and India discredit the fierce Eelam Women’s contributions, political will, and independent will to pick up arms and confront violent states and the genocide forced upon Tamils. The women within the LTTE and its various wings shattered these archaic norms that India and Sri Lanka continue to hold onto. These women displayed the true valour of what it meant to fight for our nation and displaced gender from the construct of the social space. Strikingly the male gaze and the Indian film industry’s limited conceptualization of beauty rooted in Indo-Aryanism reflected through the tv series equates melanin-rich skin as a nuisance.
Fuck you @Samanthaprabhu2 https://t.co/QcmukhxSgJ
— சுந்தர் / sunthar / 🌞 (@suntharv) May 19, 2021
Samantha, who wears dark brown makeup to portray the character Raji, participates in a deeply discriminatory act of brownface. While not directly related to the history of blackface, which dates to mid-19th century minstrel shows in the US, brownface, often used by the Indian Film Industry, points to how power within the South Asian community is negotiated according to your skin colour. In Kannathil Muthamittal, Amutha enters the conversation about the difference between her and her adoptive parents by asking why her skin tone is darker in comparison. In Family Man 2, while the entire premise of the tv-series relating to the Eelam Tamil struggle is offensive, brownface by Samantha only further showcases how deeply racist the Indian Film Industry continues to be. The continued calls for better representation within the industry, including the valid call for hiring melanin-rich actresses, have gone unmet. However, replacing actresses will not remedy the issues highlighted in this article. It is deeply offensive to have non-Tamil actors involved in projects that sensationalize the liberation movement. Deepa Mehta’s Funny Boy is a prime example of the harm this presents to a community experiencing genocide. Further, Samantha’s role taints the sanctity of the movement and outwardly disrespects the families of martyrs. That in itself is an act of violence.
The series is an intentional and calculated scheme where the revisionist history attempts to do the following:
Reposition India’s role in the Genocide of Tamils.
Reaffirming the allyship with Sri Lanka.
Many are aware of the relationship between Sri Lanka and India, and the need for India and other countries to gain access to the island to build a strong force in the region. China has successfully established the footing India has been desperately trying to access since before the Indo-Lankan Accord. At the same time, India is using the Tamil cause to show to the Tamil populace it is willing to apply pressure on Sri Lanka. The approval of the series by India’s film board counters the strides taken and reminds us where India stands regarding the concerns of Tamils. India is confused about identifying a suitable approach to building a relationship with the once accord signing country. India has displayed little regard it has for the Tamil people and their grievances consistently. The significance of this film and the narrative of the LTTE as a terrorist organization outright bootlick the same narrative applied by Sri Lanka. A last attempt to get on Sri Lanka’s good side while knowingly harming and defaming the LTTE and the Tamil people.
This article was co-written by Pugazh and Editor-in-Chief of Thaen X, Laxana Paskaran.
