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Why denotified tribes are missing from Indian cinema | Dakxin Chharra
In this episode of Frontline Conversations, filmmaker and theatre director Dakxin Chharra speaks about what it means to grow up in a community historically branded as “criminal”—and why that colonial stigma continues to shape policing, housing, cinema, and everyday life in India.
Chharra discusses his journey from community theatre in Ahmedabad to founding Budhan Theatre, one of India’s most influential grassroots cultural movements. He explains how art became a form of survival and resistance for communities routinely pushed to the margins of citizenship.
Drawing on lived experience, Chharra challenges the idea that Indian cinema and cultural institutions are neutral spaces. He argues that while stories of denotified tribes are often welcomed, storytellers from these communities are systematically excluded from resources, funding, and creative control. Through personal anecdotes and industry experiences, he exposes how narratives are frequently appropriated, sanitised, or retold without those who have lived them.
Highlights:
-What it means to be born into a “criminalised” community
-Why colonial stigma still shapes policing and public perception
-How Budhan Theatre turned art into a tool for justice
-The politics of funding, caste, and control in Indian cinema
-Why lived experience matters in representation
-How theatre helped secure housing rights through the courts
-Why denotified tribes remain invisible or misrepresented on screen
Perfect for viewers interested in:
-Denotified and nomadic tribes in India
-Caste, community, and state violence
-Indian cinema and cultural exclusion
-Art as resistance and political theatre
-Police custodial violence and human rights
-Marginalised voices in storytelling
Credits:
Host: Saatvika Radhakrishna
Editing: Razal Pareed
Camera and Producers: Kavya Pradeep M and Mridula Vijayarangakumar
Subscribe to Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/online...
Follow us on:
Facebook - / frontlineindia
Twitter - / frontline_india
Instagram - / frontline.magazine
LinkedIn - / frontline-magazine-b12921295
View all episodes
By FrontlineIn this episode of Frontline Conversations, filmmaker and theatre director Dakxin Chharra speaks about what it means to grow up in a community historically branded as “criminal”—and why that colonial stigma continues to shape policing, housing, cinema, and everyday life in India.
Chharra discusses his journey from community theatre in Ahmedabad to founding Budhan Theatre, one of India’s most influential grassroots cultural movements. He explains how art became a form of survival and resistance for communities routinely pushed to the margins of citizenship.
Drawing on lived experience, Chharra challenges the idea that Indian cinema and cultural institutions are neutral spaces. He argues that while stories of denotified tribes are often welcomed, storytellers from these communities are systematically excluded from resources, funding, and creative control. Through personal anecdotes and industry experiences, he exposes how narratives are frequently appropriated, sanitised, or retold without those who have lived them.
Highlights:
-What it means to be born into a “criminalised” community
-Why colonial stigma still shapes policing and public perception
-How Budhan Theatre turned art into a tool for justice
-The politics of funding, caste, and control in Indian cinema
-Why lived experience matters in representation
-How theatre helped secure housing rights through the courts
-Why denotified tribes remain invisible or misrepresented on screen
Perfect for viewers interested in:
-Denotified and nomadic tribes in India
-Caste, community, and state violence
-Indian cinema and cultural exclusion
-Art as resistance and political theatre
-Police custodial violence and human rights
-Marginalised voices in storytelling
Credits:
Host: Saatvika Radhakrishna
Editing: Razal Pareed
Camera and Producers: Kavya Pradeep M and Mridula Vijayarangakumar
Subscribe to Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/online...
Follow us on:
Facebook - / frontlineindia
Twitter - / frontline_india
Instagram - / frontline.magazine
LinkedIn - / frontline-magazine-b12921295