Why Richa Chadha is wrong to defend 'Madam Chief Minister' poster

She needs to see that fashioning oneself as anti-caste is not the same as endorsing a brand of soap or toothpaste

On January 4, 2021, Bollywood actor Richa Chadha unveiled the poster of her new film on Twitter with this accompanying note: “Glad to present to you all, my new movie #MadamChiefMinister, a political drama about an 'untouchable' who hustles and makes it big in life! Out in cinemas on 22nd January! Stay tuned!” The character played by Chadha is shown wielding a broom like a weapon. The words “Untouchable, Unstoppable” appear at the bottom of the poster.

While Chadha received many compliments from people who appreciate her work and look forward to more, she also got some critical remarks from people who take her political statements seriously and care to hold her accountable. Chadha has been drawing on her social media presence to discuss casteism in Indian matrimonial advertisements and caste discrimination in Silicon Valley, so her nonchalant use of the humiliating term ‘untouchable’ came as a shock.

Actor-artist-activist Jyotsna Siddharth, who runs a digital platform called “Project Anti-Caste, Love” to create awareness about how casteism manifests in intimate relationships, tweeted, “What does ‘Untouchable Unstoppable’ mean? Why was this tagline used at all? ‘Untouchable’ is not the word to be used, as the community itself doesn't represent themselves like that. How long (will) the industry directors and producers continue to create such shameful taglines and misrepresent?”

Written and directed by Subhash Kapoor, the film Madam Chief Minister claims to be a work of fiction in its trailer. However, the protagonist bears a striking resemblance to former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati who was elected to this position for four terms. She now serves as the National President of the Bahujan Samaj Party. While the parallels between fact and fiction will be revealed only when the movie is released, the first look has caused quite a stir.

It has been argued that any critique directed at the poster should not single out Chadha because she has neither created the poster nor commissioned it; that she is only the face of the film. This line of thought does not seem convincing because Chadha has consistently positioned herself as a politically aware person. She has spoken out against the police crackdown on students at Jamia Millia Islamia protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Deeksha Nitin Raut, who is “a pilot by choice, journalist by accident, staunch rationalist by attitude, social worker by habit, and a hardcore Ambedkarite by education,” pointed out why the poster is offensive. She tweeted, “Stereotyping tantamount to perpetuating. Period. Be it racism, be it casteism. It’s cringey that even if a lady becomes CM, yet it’s unfathomable that dalit is portrayed without a broom or not in a sewer or without torn clothes! Unlearn stereotyping @RichaChadha.”

While Chadha has received the Bharat Ratna Dr. Ambedkar Award in 2020 from the Governor of Maharashtra, she has not been receptive to the constructive feedback that has come her way after the release of the poster. She has dismissed it as “cancel culture” and “woke agni-pariksha.” This is disappointing because the trailer shows that she plays a politician who holds Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar – also known as the chief architect of the Indian Constitution – in high regard.

Film actors gain a lot of publicity by attaching themselves to social justice issues, so the scrutiny they are exposed to seems justified. Fashioning oneself as anti-caste is not the same as endorsing a brand of soap or toothpaste. People who continue to bear the brunt of caste oppression in various aspects of life such as housing, employment, and access to public services, are not voiceless charity cases in need of a celebrity spokesperson who shuts them down when they speak up.

Chadha might benefit from reading Amita Sinha and Rajat Kant’s article “Mayawati and Memorial Parks in Lucknow, India: Landscapes of Empowerment” (2015) in the journal Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes. Sinha and Kant write, “By reclaiming public spaces through Dalit symbols and iconography, Mayawati is not only asserting Dalit identity but also building collective memory, instilling pride in their past, and helping them gain self-respect.”

As a person who works in the film industry, Chadha is familiar with the lasting impact of visuals. It is a mystery as to why she is unwilling to accept that the poster is casteist. Mayawati has earned three degrees – a BA, an LLB, and a B.Ed. She has worked as a teacher before she joined politics. The broom in the poster is a grave disservice to her and the legacy of all anti-caste leaders who have shunned hereditary occupations and embraced the transformative power of education.

(Chintan Girish Modi is a writer, educator and researcher who tweets @chintan_connect)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.