Vijay Tendulkar’s “Kamala”: Masculine Violence and Media

Media plays a significant role in exposing the drawbacks of institutions but there are instances where media itself is subject to criticism on account of gender discrimination and unethical professionalism. This paper attempts to trace the construction of masculinity in the Indian context and relate it to violence against women, where media is involved. The paper would brief the sociologist Connell’s masculinity theory and then it would delineate the construction of masculinities in India. Masculinity rests on power that forces men and women to adhere to its pressure and authority. Working within this framework, the paper would analyse how the protagonist, who is one of the leading reporters of his area employs deviant means to attain success at the cost of discrimination of women, patriarchy and abuse of the power of media. His working strategy not only hurts his ego but also ends in a crucial social position where he is subjected to disgrace for interfering in matters that involve people in more powerful social standing. This results in his gradual relegation to a subordinate masculine position from the earlier hegemonic one. His attitude of extreme discrimination against women and the use of women to climb the ladder of success suffer a reversal due to the influence of greater powerful forces that control his life and change his perception of media power. This way, one understands how media has its political games that affect the construction of masculinities, which is influenced by several factors that include age, class, gender, caste, status and social rank.

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