P.K Rosy (1903–1988)
India’s first female actress in the first Malayalam cinema
P. K Rosy was a Dalit Christian woman from Pevad, Thiruvanathapuram in Kerala, India. She is remembered as the first heroine of the first film in Malayalam, Vigathakumaran.
The film was directed by J. C Daniel. in 1928 and has been a source of much contention in the Kerala film industry. Many films have tried to capture the story of her life such as Celluloid directed by Kamal based on the life of J. C Daniel. The film is based on the novel Nashta Naayika by Vinu Abraham that narrates the life of Rosy who played the lead role in his first film. Other films such have been released that are loosely based on her life such as The Lost Child and This is Rosy’s Story (Rosiyude Katha).
Kunnukuzhi Mani, a prominent journalist and Dalit activist spent years visiting Rosy’s relatives to try and create a comprehensive story of her past and has written about her in several Malyalam magazines such as Chithrabhumi, Chandrika, Tejas, Samakalina Masika.
There have been several attempts to re-introduce P.K Rosy as a prominent Dalit actress in Malayalam cinema such as the P K Rosy Smaraka Samithi that was inaugurated by Cinema Minister of Kerala, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan in memory of P.K Rosy.
Similarly, the first P.K Rosy Memorial Lecture held in Jamia Millia Islamia in 2013, which was presided by Jenny Rowena.
The lecture focused on the politics of caste-based discrimination faced in Malayalam cinema speaking of Dalit women. It introduces the theory of caste-based oppression experienced by Dalit actresses and class politics that are present in the film industry.
Early Life
P. K Rosy was born in 1903 in Trivandrum to a Pulaya family. Her father passed away when she was very young thereby leaving her responsible to take care of her brother and aging mother.
She then moved to stay with her uncles at Kavalur where she continued to work as a labourer along with her family members. She came from a family of grass-cutters, where in the Indian Caste system was from the group of sub-caste Dalits (or untouchables).
Her affinity and interest towards theatre began at a very young age. She was fond of acting in plays and insisted on going for rehearsals at the traditional school of performing arts where she studied Kakkarashi (folk dance and drama).
This was at a time when women were not included into performative theatre. This field was dominated by men and women that fought against the gender politics of the industry were labelled as indecent and were socially pushed to the fringes of the industry.
P.K Rosy continued this against the wishes of her grandfather and joined a drama company in Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram, where she stayed. Rosy embraced her passion for theatre at a time when there were grave limitations on the entry of women into theatre and cinema.
There have been debates regarding the conversion of P. K Rosy to Christianity as many members of her family have disputed the assumption that she was Christian claiming that her step-father was the one who had converted in order to admit her into a local Christian missionary school. Yet her sons admit that their mother hailed from a Nair family, the same caste as they identify themselves with. She is known to have been the first female Dalit actress.
P. K Rosy rose as a figure that questioned the prevailing beliefs that were held thereby restricting women from other classes to include themselves in theatre. It was widely practiced that entrances into theatre and cinema were allowed only if they belonged to the upper caste actresses. This was present in the Malayalam cinema industry which is where P.K Rosy was operating.
Her story helps us shed a light to understanding the the limitations of the upper-caste dominated industry and presents with an understanding of the politics of gender, caste, society and cinema in India.
Career
Her breakthrough performance into the cinema industry began with the shooting of the silent film Vigathakumaran, directed, produced and written by J.C Daniel. This story of the film followed kidnapping of the son of a rich man to Ceylon. She played the role of a Nair woman in this film. This move was contested by many cinephiles — directors, producers and actors alike.
Prior to this, she had acted and participated in various theatre roles as a skilled and experienced actor for Tamil Dalit Theatre called Kaakarashi. Her participation in the local theatre was what led to her discovery by director J. C Daniel.
On the release of her movie Vigathakumaran, the public started to get violent. They protested her role in the film and the reasons that were cited tell us about the prevailing beliefs that were held in popular theatre and cinema. Many members of the feudal Nair community were infuriated to see a Dalit women portray a Nair woman.
This was also present at a time when Dalits in Indian society where looked at as untouchables and were relegated to menial and dehumanising jobs such as manual scavenging, tanning and preparing leather along with the removing of human excreta.
Many prominent members of the film industry refused to come to the opening of the film if Rosy was to be present. J. C Daniel, the director, himself did not lend his hand out to invite her to the screening of the movie. Rosy attended the movie but was made to watch the second show as Malloor Govinda Pillai, an imminent lawyer that was to inaugurate the film refused to do so if she was present.
A scene that aggravated the audience saw P.K Rosy showing her lover kissing a flower that she had worn on her hair.
This angered the crowd as the unthinkable display of affection of an upper-caste man towards a Dalit woman was shown on the reel screen.The audience began to riot and vandalize the theatre tearing down the screen and proceed to hunt down Rosy who had to escape the angry crowd.
The violence continued for days after the release of the movie. P.K Rosy had to find shelter at the drama company where she used to work but the mob eventually found her. The violence was extended to her family who managed to escape the burning down of their house. All of this was in reaction to the class ridden anger that followed the release of the film.
Life after cinema
Rosy managed to escape when a lorry heading to Tamil Nadu driven by Kesava Pillai. He decided to take her onto the lorry that went back to Nagercoil. The incident was reported to the Nagercoil Police Station where she was taken back to his home.
This marked the end of Rosy’s involvement in cinema. She married the driver of the truck who hailed from a Nair household. Many find this story ironic as her role in her only movie, Vigathakumaran, was her playing the role of a Nair woman. She then married Kesava Pillai, a Nair.
She and her children would later identified themselves as Nairs. There have been accounts that suggest that Pillai was thrown out of his home because of their marriage. Some say that she was Pillai’s second wife when he abandoned his family upon their marriage.
Legacy and Death
Rosy never rose to great fame following the release of the film and instead remained secluded from her previous life of acting.
It was not until Dalit activists presented the story of her life through the politicisation and lack of representation of Dalit Women in mainstream cinema that we have learnt of her story.
Many Dalit activists such as Jenny Rowena have spoken about the systematic exclusion of Dalit women into the public life of Kerala. She goes on to discuss the narratives of caste and gender and the roles they play in present day industry politics as well.
Many believe that the Dalit roles in mainstream cinema are characterised by hyper-sexualized portrayals by upper-caste or Nair actresses that deepen the lack of Dalit representation into cinema.
This is believed to be true as Charu Gupta, associate professor at Delhi University who has written numerous books and papers that deal with the identification of the patriarchy and dominant brahmanical ideologies that controlled Indian society.
She explains that women in Indian society were portrayed as binaries with the dominant caste being that of the upper caste. The shadow of the “other” was casted on Dalit women. Leaving them to be identified as the opposite of the ideal — the chaste, pure, dutiful and religious wife or woman. While upper caste women were seen as pavitra, the untouchables or Dalits are cited in contemporary literature were the achut.
Caste hegemony is another concept that Dalit activists are trying to address. The recognition that they are trying to achieve for P. K Rosy has led to various avenues opening up such as the P K Rosy Smaraka Samithi that was announced by Kerela’s Chief Minister Ommen Chandy.
References
- Sebastian, Meryl Mary (June 2013). “The Name of the Rose”. TBIP. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- “The Name of the Rose | The Big Indian Picture”. thebigindianpicture.com. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- Rowena, J. (2013, February 24). P K Rosy: Can A Dalit Woman Play a Nair Role in Malayalam Cinema Today? Retrieved 26 April 2019
- Gupta, C. (2015). Embodying Resistance: Representing Dalits in Colonial India. South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
There have been several attempts to re-introduce P.K Rosy as a prominent Dalit actress in Malayalam cinema such as the P K Rosy Smaraka Samithi that was inaugurated by Cinema Minister of Kerala, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan in memory of P.K Rosy. Similarly, the first P.K Rosy Memorial Lecture held in Jamia Millia Islamia in 2013, which was presided by Jenny Rowena. The lecture focused on the politics of caste-based discrimination faced in Malayalam cinema speaking of Dalit women. It introduces the theory of caste-based oppression experienced by Dalit actresses and class politics that are present in the film industry.
