Abstract
The chapter examines Achhut Kanya (The Untouchable Girl, dir. Frantz Osten, 1936) by contextualising it with the help of the Gandhi-Ambedkar debate on intercaste marriage and interdinning. It argues that the film neither adheres to Gandhi nor Ambedkar’s ideas on the caste question but instead endorses caste hierarchy. Further, the chapter studies film’s reception in the then media discourses and academic writings by exploring relevant documents and paratexts. It claims that both ignore the caste Hindu overtones of the film. They instead celebrate Achhut Kanya as the film bridging the caste divide. The chapter discusses the Otherisation of Dalit protagonists in colonial Hindi cinema and uses Edward Said’s and Stuart Hall’s ideas to discuss the stereotyping of Dalits as the Other of caste Hindus in Hindi popular cinema.
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