Oppari is a traditional Tamil oral lament form, performed historically by women during funerals as a ceremonial expression of grief. Largely existing within marginalised communities, especially among lower caste groups, Oppari is faced with the challenge of extinction due to various reasons such as urban migration and the lack of institutional recognition. In contemporary times, this lament tradition has been taken up by professional male Oppari singers and has come into visibility to a larger audience via its portrayals in Tamil cinema. This paper aims to explore how the cinematic portrayals resonate, reshape and recontextualise their cultural meanings. The study aims to look at the visual context, the performance dynamics, the narrative and the commercialisation of the lament through an integrated theoretical framework, combining Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural capital and Douglas Kellner’s media culture, coupled with content analysis. Select Tamil film songs, including ‘Karuppi’ from the film Pariyerum Perumal (2018), ‘Padavathi’ from Vaazhai (2024) and ‘Makka Kalangudhapa’ from Dharmadurai (2016), were closely examined. Findings reveal a considerable gendered shift in performance, where a historically female-dominated tradition has been substituted by professional male performers. This transition has reformed both the function and content of the lament songs. Far from serving as vessels of personal catharsis, these lament songs embody the wider realities in which they are situated.

Authors:
Kethan Preethi B, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, India

About the Presenter(s)
Kethan Preethi. B, research scholar, BITS Pilani, Rajasthan, India. My personal interests include reading novels, swimming, singing, and hiking. My current research project is on analysing the media representation of Oppari: A Tamil lament tradition.

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