Rebel rhythms: Revolutionary voice of Dalit Subbaiah reborn on film

The documentary Dalit Subbaiah: Voice of the Rebels opens with the rituals of his passing, but very quickly, the singer returns to us. In the songs he left behind, in the laughter of his family, in the memories held by his community, Subbaiah steps back into the spotlight. His presence moves softly through the film, as if he never really left. It shows him not only as a singer, but as a man who lived by conviction. Subbaiah never sang for wealth; he sang for justice. His voice rose against caste discrimination, against landlessness, and even against the subtle casteism he observed within Christian communities. Influenced by Periyar, BR Ambedkar and Buddhism, Subbaiah wrote songs that gave courage to those who felt unheard. His wife preserved photos, letters and small treasures from his journey, keeping his communitys memories safe. Today, with the film winning at the International Documentary & Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) and reaching the Academy Screening Room, his voice travels farther than he ever imagined. Director Gridaran MKP speaks to CE about the making of the film, the artistic struggle behind it and the long road ahead. Excerpts follow: How did the win at IDSFFK change the journey of the film? The moment we won, certain festival-linked channels became available. Through that, we realised we could actually submit the documentary to the Academy Screening Room. Until then, it wasnt even in our imagination. That win created the route. So the Oscar possibility began from there? Yes. Once you enter the Academy Screening Room pool, the film carries a different weight globally. It becomes part of an international conversation. We began taking the work more seriously, thinking carefully about each step ahead. Pa Ranjith and Gridaran with the citation from IDSFFK What are the practical challenges now? The next one or two months are crucial. We must market the film within a tight window so that Academy members actually watch it. That is the difficult part. We dont know how far our reach can go or what unforeseen expenses will appear. Were simply taking it step by step. People say the Oscar race itself is expensive. Do you feel that pressure? Definitely. Film festivals and the Oscar ecosystem require big names, people who will push and promote the film repeatedly. At IDSFFK, we learned how the festival system works. But the Oscars are a completely different world. The scale is enormous. What role did Neelam and Yazhi Films, who produced the documentary, play in shaping it? Pa Ranjith sir gave us the idea. He suggested telling a story about Margazhi Makkalisai artistes. Once he began documenting the event himself, the direction of the project shifted. After watching our early footage, he encouraged us to explore the layered experiences of oppression and resistance. After IDSFFK, he called again and told us: Documentaries dont end with making the film. We must take it to people. That clarity helped. His name brought visibility. Many screenings opened up because of it. Did you watch many documentaries before working on this? Hardly. I only began watching while we were already deep into production. I saw things like Hip-Hop Evolution to understand the trend, though the language was difficult for me. Years ago, Id watched documentaries which taught me that even pure visual records can be emotionally strong. But I didnt want to imitate anything or make it too intellectual. We wanted something simple, raw and honest. What, according to you, makes Dalit Subbaiahs music protest music? Subbaiah never wrote songs for entertainment. Everything he sang came directly from the people around him their pain, their anger, their landlessness, their caste struggles. He listened to their problems and turned them into songs. That honesty is what makes his music political. His emotions never hide the problem, they make it sharper. What do you hope young musicians take from Subbaiahs work? That protest music isnt about shouting slogans. Its about the truth. Subbaiah showed that you can sing with beauty and still hit the political nerve. If even one young artist listens to him and thinks, I should speak honestly about my world, that itself is a continuation of his rebellion. The documentary uses animation at crucial points. Why did you choose that? We could never capture some events through live footage, either because they were sensitive or because there was simply no material available. Animation allowed us to depict these truths without compromising anyones safety. It also added a certain emotional rhythm, something close to docu-drama. The minimal style came from our tight timeline, especially approaching the festival deadline. Editing seems to have been one of the hardest parts. Why? We only had small bits of footage fragments, not full scenes. Creating a rhythm out of that was extremely difficult. The film was nearly two hours long in the beginning. We kept refining until it was 88 minutes. The fear was always there: Will this get boring? Will the tone slip? Our producers, Manoj and Pa Ranjith, never interfered creatively. Their only advice was, Dont let the film become sentimental. Keep the emotion, but dont drown in it. That helped a lot. What were the biggest production challenges? Documentary-making itself. It requires enormous time and labour, but people rarely value that. Many in our team worked without expecting anything. The sound team never asked for extra payment. Hari did six months of animation and then asked if he could help further. Even our editor sat with us for two to three extra months, every day from morning to night. Without that dedication, the film wouldnt exist the way it does. Did constraints affect the final look of the film? Absolutely. Ideally, everything should be polished to perfection, what we call 5.1 clarity. But some locations allowed only one day of work. Some scenes remain raw because of that. Surprisingly, these limitations added honesty to the film. We used 4K equipment, and what mattered was clarity. How did you ensure that the revolutionary tone of his writing was preserved in the documentary? Our producers were very clear about not interfering with the political content. They didnt ask us to soften anything. Their only suggestion was that the emotion should not drag the film into sentimentality. We had to keep Subbiahs anger, his clarity, and his politics intact. The story had to lead everything. Structurally, the documentary is non-linear. Why? Subbaiahs life has a clear timeline, but showing it plainly felt too simple. Manoj asked me, How can such an important person exist without us knowing him? So we broke the chronology. We allowed friends, activists, singers, and ordinary workers to enter at different points. Those 15-20 minutes of voices workers, theatre artists are my favourite. What do you hope global viewers take away from this? Many people outside India still wonder if caste is real because they dont see it around them. Through Subbiahs life, they can understand its depth and violence. If the film reaches people who hold power, on a social, cultural, and political level, and shifts something even a little, that is enough. Personally, what does this documentary mean to you? To me, this film is an archive. A history. And also a continuation of Subbiahs rebellion. If one viewer walks away asking, What am I responsible for?, then the purpose is fulfilled. What comes next? Weve applied to Berlin, Sundance, Rotterdam, and Hot Docs filmfestivals. Were waiting. Meanwhile, were screening the film anywhere people ask, even in small villages and film schools like Yatra Film Academy in Puducherry. As many people as possible should watch it and critique it. That is how these films grow.