Seththumaan Review: Debutant director Thamizh's Seththumaan is a power-packed drama on caste politics of food

Seththumaan marks an impressive directorial debut by Thamizh as he unravels what it feels like to be a Dalit in rural India even after seven decades of independence. He throws in some food politics, too. And here, he talks about Seththumaan (pig), which is considered 'unclean' and is consumed by the oppressed communities.

A still from Seththumaan

Story: Basket weaver Poochiyappa's only dream is to educate his grandson, whose parents were killed in a caste riot. He believes that education is the only way to social mobility and would go any lengths to ensure that his grandson gets educated. In a parallel layer, Poochi's landlord has this undying craving to consume pork, a food that is commonly associated with Dalits.

Review: Basket weaver Poochiyappa's (Manickam) only dream is to educate his grandson Kumaresan (Ashwin), whose parents were killed in a caste riot, which involved the consumption of beef. The graphic images in the beginning of the film, gives us a sneak peek into the caste crime. And this means he doesn't mind walking miles and miles in rugged terrain to drop him at school. The reason he has to walk that long is because he lives outside the vicinity of the village, as he hails from an oppressed caste. When his grandson questions him about why they have to live that far, he doesn't answer but constantly nudges Kumaresan to study well, get into a position of power so that he doesn't have to bend in front of anyone, which gives us a picture of the idea of how much the old man had silently battled caste oppression in his life. Poochi is someone who has made peace with the fact that he has to live through caste discrimination. But he doesn't want his grandson to undergo the same fate and wants him to 'fly away far like a bird'. And education is the only means for that.

Poochiyappa is servile to his landlord Vellaiyan and does odd jobs for him. Vellayian is a tad empathetic to Poochi as the latter is deferential to him and never questions his authority. Vellaiyan has this undying desire to consume pork meat, but is hesitant to openly admit that he loves the meat, as pork belongs to the bottom of the meat hierarchy as it consumes shit! He is constantly reminded of the same by his wife, who rebukes him saying that it's only because of Poochi (indicating that he hails from a lower caste) that he developed the urge to consume pork meat. Poochi's relationship with Vellaiyan's wife is not an easy one. He is constantly subjected to ridicule because of his caste.

But when Seththumaan is finally caught and fried, it's the upper caste men who gather around for their share. And this includes Kumaresan's teacher who belongs to a dominant caste. He even tells Kumaresan that he will give him first rank in class if he doesn't tell anyone that he consumed pork.

The film aptly unlayers food and its association with caste. Pork and beef are an essential part of Dalit cuisine. In an earlier scene, where Kumaresan tells his grandfather that his teacher asked him about what kind of meats he consumed and when he replied 'all kinds', his teacher had started laughing. Poochi then strongly remarks that it's those who laugh who eat meat indiscreetly.

There is yet another rebellious character called Rangan ( a pig rearer hailing from an oppressed caste), who constantly questions the status quo and is billed as a trouble maker. Be it asking a tea seller to serve tea in a glass just like others or questioning Kumaresan's teacher about why he sends her daughter to buy tea during class hours, Rangan is someone who never takes nonsense. And hence, those belonging to the dominant caste, including Vellaiyan, who sort of has an empathic relationship towards Poochi, can't stand Ranga.

Throughout the film, we also keep hearing about the announcement of Ramnath Kovind's candidature for the presidential election, who eventually goes to become the second Dalit President of India by the time the film ends. It indicates that though a handful of Dalits are empowered, the life of an average Dalit in the country hasn't changed much.

Seththumaan, at times, gives us the feeling of watching a documentary and drags at certain places, but at no point of time, does thte plot stop being interesting

Verdict: An impressive maiden venture by director Thamizh

Share