https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i4.111
Gender and Identity of Sound in Malayalam Cinema
MOHAMMED MUSTHAFA KP
Research Scholar
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
University of Calicut, Kerala
Abstract: Sound in cinema is not merely a sensory experience; it is a complex signifying system that communicates identity, emotion, and ideology. This paper approaches sound not as a secondary or supporting element, but as a central mode of meaning-making in Malayalam cinema. It focuses on how sound functions ideologically: how it establishes character identities, reinforces or subverts gender norms, marks caste and religious boundaries. The analysis begins with the premise that sound in film is a semiotic system, influenced by cultural codes, technological mediation, and audience expectations.
The study explores how Malayalam cinema constructed and conceived sound in relationship with images. The study uses the framework of the concepts of visual contract Chion (1994)- the contract between the image on the screen and the sound that embody the image. By analysing the films, the study argues that, earlier Malayalam cinema denied the chance for female artists to voice for their characters by denying a chance to dub for their own performances.
Keywords: Sound in Cinema, Aural Identity, Inter-Aurality, Gendered Sound, Malayalam Cinema
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