The Politics and Aesthetics of Male Homosexuality in Malayalam Cinema: Contextualizing the Film Ka Bodyscapes (2016)

Abstract

Focusing on the Malayalam film Ka Bodyscapes (2016), this article attempts to historically trace and critically engage with the representations of gay sexuality in Malayalam cinema from the South Indian state of Kerala. It interrogates how Ka Bodyscapes brought to the forefront hitherto unexplored visual dynamics of the gay male body and homoeroticism on screen while troubling the heterosexual dynamics of the Malayalam film industry. By situating this film within the history of representation of male homosexuality in Malayalam cinema and the changing regimes of queer politics and feminist interventions in Kerala in the last decade, the article argues how the film’s radical visual representation of gay sexuality at the intersection of caste and religion problematizes the heterosexual family/state, thereby challenging the patriarchal masculinity that marginalizes women and sexual minorities in Kerala. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.