https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i4.079
Redefining Heteronormative Family Structures: Queer Aesthetics and Gender in Sachin Kundalkar’s Cobalt Blue (2022)
KAVYA PRASAD S
Department of English and Foreign Languages
School of Humanities and Languages
Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi, India
DR. MAHIMA RAJ C
Assistant Professor
Department of English and Foreign Languages
School of Humanities and Languages
Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi, India
Abstract: Families within the Indian socio-cultural fabric are generally shaped and regulated by heteronormative structures that define the notions of gender, sexuality and their affective and performative functions. While there are a significant number of theoretical and scholarly interventions that highlight the fluid aspect of gender and sexual identities, structures of families, especially in the Indian context, continue to impose and draw rigid gender boundaries that effectively sideline non-heteronormative identities and experiences. The paper examines how Sachin Kundalkar’s film Cobalt Blue (2022) constructs familial/ domestic spaces and represents queer desire through its characters. The article draws upon leading scholars in queer theory, focusing on Sara Ahmed’s understanding of queer phenomenology and Gilles Deleuze’s concept of colour as affect. The paper argues that the film employs a variety of narrative and cinematic techniques in its attempts to redefine traditional gender boundaries within a domestic space such as the Indian family. The film challenges the heteronormative structures of a traditional Indian family through the use of chromatic aesthetics, emotional silences and symbolism instead of overt and explicit declarations. By foregrounding emotional vulnerability and ambiguity, the structures of heteronormative families are quietly redrawn, effectively contributing towards the reimagination of Indian family structures and presenting family as a contestable and negotiable entity. The film Cobalt Blue thus gains significance within the realms of identity and the construction of selfhood, contributing further to contemporary debates on Indian family structures and queer aesthetics.
Keywords: Gender, Sexuality, Queer, Heteronormative, Indian Families, Chromatics, Queer Aesthetics
Read Full Manuscript PDF