A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE PORTRAYAL OF COMMUNISM IN THE

SELECTED KERALA STATE AWARD MOVIES – MOOLADHANAM (1969),

MUKHAMUGAM (1984), AND ARABIKKATHA (2007)
MEDIA POLITICS AND SYMBOLS

ABSTRACT
Communism is an ideology that supports political and economic ideology, with the aim of the
establishment of a communist society within the absence of social class. “Communism” has been adopted
by many filmmakers in and around the world. They portrayed communism and communist ideologies,
some based on true events or as a tool to educate the masses. In Kerala, Communism was either portrayed
based on a real incident or the true portrayal of the state’s Communism.
Communism in Kerala is the powerful presence of communist ideas in the state. This research
attempts to study the portrayal of communism in the selected Kerala State Award movies. The study
employs Ideology and ideological State Apparatuses by Louis Althusser. Under this theory, Althusser has
termed it into Repressive State Apparatuses (RSA) and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA).
Repressive State Apparatuses function as the hard power. The power that operates by the means
of repression and oppression. RSA uses physical violence to bring the populace under their control.
Ideological State Apparatuses is the soft power, the power that operates by the means of ideology. It uses
methods other than physical violence to control the populace. Educational institutions, churches, and
families are some of the places where they try to implement the ideology.
The researcher intends to analyze RSA (violence and destruction, police brutality) and ISA
(family, religion), the physical representation (symbols- portraits, red colour), communist revolutionary
ideologies (class struggle, bureaucratic control) in the selected movies.
The selected had communism as a theme, but it is differently portrayed in each film.
Mooladhanam has shown a very positive side of communist leaders, while the movie Mukhamugam
covers two periods and portrays the rise and fall of the communist leader Sridharan and in Arabikkatha, it
depicts the differences within the communist party. RSA and ISA were used mostly in Mooladhanam. The
physical representation of communism is seen in two movies like communist leaders, the red colour in
flags, banners, etc, and the party symbol. The class struggle -the ambition of the working class in
achieving their goals, the control of the rich and the powerful, everything is so evident in all the selected
movies. All three movies had communism in their storyline. When Mooladhanam was presented in full
support of communism, Mukhamugam and Arabikkatha showed the two sides of a communist party.
KEYWORDS: Communism, Communist Movies, Filming Politics, Ideology and Ideological State
Apparatuses, Malayalam Cinema.

 INTRODUCTION

A cinema is an art of simulating experience to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings,

beauty, or atmosphere by the system of recording customized moving images alongside other
intangible incitements (Antony, 2016). A cinema can portray current events or social conditions
which are present in our society. It conveys ideas, historical knowledge, or stories with the help
of visuals along with sound effects.
Communism is an ideology that supports political and economic ideology, with the aim
of the establishment of a communist society within the absence of social class. Communism in
Kerala is the powerful presence of communist ideas in the state. The party functions under the
conditions of liberal democracy, supporting the success of multi-party elections. The Communist
government started ruling Kerala in 1957, and in 1964 with the Sino-Soviet split between the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the
communist party in Kerala was split. The two communist parties in Kerala politics are the
Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M). As of
2021, the alliance of the left-wing political parties- Left Democratic Front (LDF) is ruling the
state of Kerala. This research is going to focus on the portrayal of Communism in the selected
three Malayalam communist movies - Mooladhanam (1969), Mukhamugam (1984), and
Arabikkatha (2007). These three films have also received Kerala State Awards in the film
category.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The study employs Ideology and ideological State Apparatuses by Louis Althusser (16 October
1918 – 22 October 1990), a French Marxist philosopher. Under this theory, Althusser has termed
it into Repressive State Apparatuses and Ideological State Apparatuses. Using this theory, the
researcher intends to analyse how communism is portrayed in the selected Malayalam Kerala
award movies.

IDEOLOGICAL STATE APPARATUSES (ISA)

“Ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of
existence” (Althusser, 1970). According to Althusser, Ideological State Apparatuses is the soft
power, the power that operates by the means of ideology. It uses methods other than physical
violence to control the populace. Educational institutions, churches, and families are some of the
places where they try to implement the ideology. Instead of oppressing and imposing order
through physical violence, ISA uses ideologies to get control over the working class. ISA
functions mainly by ideology.

 REPRESSIVE STATE APPARATUSES (RSA)

Repressive State Apparatuses function as the hard power. The power that operates by the
means of repression and oppression. RSA uses physical violence to bring the populace under
their control. The ruling class consists of the Courts, the Police, the Judiciary, the Army, and
impose orders through physical violence. It functions as an institution, a unified entity to
dominate the working class. This paper uses Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses theory,
where Repressive State Apparatus and Ideological State Apparatus can be used in identifying the
ideology deployed in the selected films. This theory will examine the parameters to study and
understand communism and its presence in the selected cinemas. Thus, this study will help in
understanding the parameters used in portraying communism using the theory and will help in a
deeper understanding of the ideology presented in the movies.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Qualitative Analysis is carried out in this research to study the portrayal of communism in
the selected Malayalam Kerala State Award movies - Mooladhanam (1969), Mukhamugam
(1984), and Arabikkatha (2007).

OBJECTIVES
1. To analyse the Repressive State Apparatuses (RSA) (violence and destruction, police brutality)
and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) (family, religion) represented in the selected movies.
2. To study the physical representation (symbols- portraits, red colour) of communism in the
selected movies.
3. To analyse the communist revolutionary ideologies (class struggle, bureaucratic control) in the
selected movies.

FINDINGS
• The film Mooladhanam had a total of 97 scenes in which 21 scenes matched the selected
parameters of the study. The film was based on a true story that took place in Kerala. The film
portrayed the early communist leaders and their dedication towards the party and the people. The
leaders in the movie never stood for themselves, rather they sacrificed their life and family to
fight against the government. They all are ready to sacrifice their life for the country.
• Mukhamugam shows the same communist leader in two different ways. From a stranger in the
small town to being everything to the people over there. Then the second half, where the hero
becomes a useless drunkard. The film shows communist leaders with power and without power.
The first half of the film shows how sincere and committed the hero is. Creating a trade union
and fighting for the rights denied from the workers, supporting the workers and their families

 during the strike, training a young boy on how to be a true communist, etc. Then it all ends, the
hero cares for no one and he himself becomes a headache for the people and his family.
• Arabikkatha deals with two types of communist leaders. One is the committed leader, who is
even ready to sacrifice his life for the poor and the society. The other is the new face of modern
politics, the most astute person inside the party. The film shows both the good and bad sides of
politics. Even when all the situations turn around, the good leader is not ready to give up his
party’s ethics. He believes in his party and never makes any compromises insulting his party.
Rather, the other leader, the new face of the party is all self-concerned. He is ready to make any
compromises for his own sake and development. Situations change, people change accordingly,
but the main leader never compromises any ethics of the party. He is represented as a real
communist in the movie.
• All the three movies have communism as a theme, but it is portrayed in each film differently.
Mooladhanam has shown a very positive side of communist leaders, where the leaders work for
the poor. They are not even bothered about their life and existence. On the other hand, the movie
Mukhamugam covers two periods, the two sides of communism. The first part is set in the
decade ending in 1955 and the second part starts from 1965. The movie portrays the rise, fall of
the Communist leader Sridharan. And in the movie Arabikkatha, it deals with differences within
the Communist party. The two different leaders- one committed to the party and the other who
sees himself more than the party. The film educates the people about different types of leaders in
the same party. Thus, it shows the good and bad sides of a political party.

5.2 KEY FINDINGS

Objective 1
To analyse the Repressive State Apparatuses (RSA) (violence and destruction, police
brutality) and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) (family, religion) represented in the
selected movies.
Repressive State Apparatuses is the hard power that operates by the means of repression and
oppression. RSA uses physical violence to bring the populace under their control. Ideological
State Apparatuses is the soft power, the power that operates by the means of ideology. It uses
methods other than physical violence to control the populace.

Total number of scenes: -

 Sn. No. Film Number of scenes

1. Mooladhanam 9 (RSA – 6, ISA – 3)

2. Mukhamugam 3 (RSA – 3, ISA – 0)

3. Arabikkatha 3 (RSA – 3, ISA – 0)

RSA has been used in all three films, where they control the people using violence. The main
force, like police, takes orders from the rich and the powerful and controls the poor people in
their own way. They beat people who are against them and try to have control over everyone.
The rich and the powerful have all the control and decision-making power. They issue notices
that make the poor suffer. When people oppose it, the police with support from the rich and
powerful dominant class attack them. The police do whatever they want to scare the people and
to have control over them. Whereas the usage of ISA is limited to scenes. ISA was only used in
the movie Mooladhanam. There it uses families, friends, and religion to make the people to their
side. Sometimes it can be seen as torturing, as they threaten the family member.
The usage of ISA is so limited as it’s only seen in movie one (Mooladhanam). Both ISA and RSA
can be totalled to 15 scenes, where RSA covers 12 scenes and the remaining 3 come under ISA.

Objective 2
To study the physical representation (symbols- portraits, red colour) of communism in the
selected movies.
The physical representation of communism is presented in the form of colour, symbols, the use
of garlands, flags, and the portraits of communist leaders.

Total number of scenes: -

Sn. No. Film Number of scenes

1. Mooladhanam 0

2. Mukhamugam 9

3. Arabikkatha 6

Mooladhanam is a black and white movie that has no physical representation of communism.
But in Mukhamugam and Arabikkatha, it has used the physical representation of communism.
The great communist leaders, the red colour in flags, banners, etc, and the party symbol are being

 used in both films. These all together portray the importance as well as the high presence of
communism in the selected films.

Objective 3
To analyse the communist revolutionary ideologies (class struggle, bureaucratic control) in
the selected movies.
The struggles people in the working-class faced, and the methods used to overcome to achieve
their ambitions. The use of power to shut the people who raise their voice for the rights and
freedom they are denied.

Total number of scenes: -

Sn. No. Film Number of scenes

1. Mooladhanam 15

2. Mukhamugam 11

3. Arabikkatha 3

The class struggle -the ambition of the working class in achieving their goals, the control of the
rich and the powerful, everything is so evident in all the selected movies. Mooladhanam stands
high with 15 scenes, where the film portrays the helpless situations of the leaders and
the farmers. Even when they all are tortured and locked up, they stay united to attain the freedom
they’re denied off. They together face all the tortures and the bureaucratic control over them. In
Mukhamugam, the same happens. The class is ready to sacrifice anything for a better future.
They all go through utter poverty without proper food and nutrition. But with the aim for a better
future, they all are ready to sacrifice anything. in Arabikkatha it is limited to three scenes.
Bureaucratic control takes the major share. When the communist leaders try to shut down a
factory that pollutes the nearby environment, the proprietor of the factory bribes the police and
asks them to attack the leaders who were protesting in front of the factory. So, this shows the
power the rich people have on the police and the government.

CONCLUSION
• The movie Mooladhanam portrays the sacrifice and life of the communist leaders, their
families, and the labourers who are in support. The amount of sacrifice and struggle to have a
proper life and to get back the freedom and the rights they’re denied, are seen in the movie.

• Mukhamugam, the story of a stranger who arrives in a small town and tries to make a big
difference in the lives of the people there. He organizes people in the local factory to form a trade

 union and fight for the rights they are being denied. He emerges as the leader of the trade union
giving hopes and dreams to the people. The movie portrays the rise, fall of the Communist leader
Sridharan. The movie covers two periods. The first part is set in the decade ending in 1955 and
the second part starts from 1965.
• Arabikkatha deals with differences within the Communist party. It narrates the story of an
ordinary man “Cuba” Mukundan, who is a hard-core communist. Mukundan lives for the party.
The portrayal of communism in selected films is different in its own ways. The study with the
help of Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses by Louis Althusser helped in identifying
certain ways in which communism in films can be studied. Under this theory, Althusser has
termed it into Repressive State Apparatuses and Ideological State Apparatuses. Using this theory,
and with the set of parameters the researcher measured the presence of communism in the
selected communist films. RSA and ISA were used mostly in the first film. The usage of RSA
and ISA helped in identifying the level of theory used. A total of 15 scenes were used clubbing
all three movies. The physical representation of communism is seen in two movies. The portraits
of great communist leaders, the red colour in flags, banners, etc, and the party symbol are being
used in both films. These all together portray the importance as well as the high presence of
communism in the selected films. The class struggle -the ambition of the working class in
achieving their goals, the control of the rich and the powerful, everything is so evident in all the
selected movies.

All three movies had communism in their storyline. When Mooladhanam was presented in full
support of communism, Mukhamugam and Arabikkatha showed the two sides of a communist
party. Mooladhanam, a story based on a true story that happened in Kerala. Mukhamugam was
about a stranger who came to a town and initiated strikes and protests against the dominant
control and left in the middle. He came back as a drunkard, and everyone was disappointed to
see him. When Mukhamugam presented one leader in two ways, Arabikkatha showed the
conflicts and corruptions inside the party. There were two leaders- one who dedicated his life to
the party and for the people, the other who worked for his development. All three movies in a
way showed the presence of communism. This study will help to understand the difference in the
portrayal of communism in Malayalam movies. All the selected movies are studied using the
selected theory and its parameters. This research goes through different elements and studies the
portrayal of communism.

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