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@article{189099,
        author = {Karthika K},
        title = {Sacred Groves, Forbidden Desires, and Colonial Imaginaries: Spatial Politics of Ecology, Sexuality, and Power in Malayalam Cinema},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {7},
        pages = {4743-4753},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=189099},
        abstract = {The article critically examines the representation of indigenous belief systems, ecological–spiritual spaces, and ritualised intimacy in select Malayalam films, situating them within postcolonial, feminist, and intersectional theoretical frameworks. Drawing upon key cinematic texts—Gandharvakshethram (1972), Rathinirvedam (1978), Adharvam (1989), and Anandabhadram (2005)—the study interrogates how colonial epistemologies continue to shape visual narratives of desire, gender, caste, and spirituality. Particular attention is paid to Rathinirvedam, adapted from P. Padmarajan’s novel of the same name, first published in 1974, which remains a seminal literary work in Malayalam for its candid exploration of adolescent sexuality and moral anxiety. Anchored in feminist intersectionality, eco-theological criticism, and postcolonial film theory, the article analyses how sacred groves (kavu, sarppakavu) and ritual landscapes are transformed into sites of erotic danger, moral panic, and ideological control. The author argues that these cinematic spaces frequently reproduce colonial binaries of civilisation and primitivism, while disproportionately disciplining female and subaltern bodies. The primary aim of the article is to unpack the gendered and caste-based politics embedded in cinematic depictions of eco-theological spaces. Its objective is to demonstrate how Malayalam cinema, while engaging indigenous spirituality, often re-inscribes patriarchal and colonial hierarchies under the guise of cultural representation.},
        keywords = {Eco-theology, Indigenous spirituality, Gender and desire, Malayalam cinema.},
        month = {December},
        }