From Repression to Resistance: A Study of Subalterns in two Odia Films Udandi Sita and Balidana

With Independence, colonialism didn't end, rather the legacy was transmitted to the new elites who absorbed the attitude of colonizers and continued to oppress the subalterns consolidating their power and wealth through exploitative and unethical means. In Odisha, the new elite class, consisting of the Government officials and landlords, money-lenders of middle-class community perpetuated the colonial evils and exploited the poor subalterns resulting in their dispossession, destitution and displacement. The literature of the period and after tries to record these atrocities unleashed by the middleclass and how the subalterns reacted to it. This paper explores the representation of inexpressible oppression meted out to the subalterns, their sufferings, and their resistance in post-independence Odisha through two landmark Odia films, Udandi Sita (1992) and Balidana (1978). Through a counter-dominant narrative, the films aim to awaken societal consciousness about the plight of the oppressed and advocate for resistance against systemic injustices.