Janal Talks: Skin: A surface history of caste in early Malayalam cinema

This talk examines how early cinema engaged with the questions of the visible body by reading sketches, film scripts, archival material, and periodicals. This talk also examines the picture board and illustrations for a film by Ramavarma Appan Thampuran, as well as writings on cinema from 1900 to 1950 and archival documents on film exhibitions.

Dr. Bindu Menon Mannil is Associate Professor of Media Studies at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.
Her work and research lie at the intersection of Film History, Media Theory, Feminist Theory, migration and media, and Indian Ocean history.