Migration and mobility in petrolands: Reflections on home films of Kerala

ABSTRACT This article examines the representation of pravasam (gulf migration) and pravasi (gulf migrant) in two “home films” from Malabar, South India, and identifies the shift in the representation of the Gulf in mainstream Malayalam popular culture with the arrival of “home films” in the 2000s. Most of the home films in the early period had the gulf migration as the central theme and the migrant as the central character. Most of these films were also made by gulf migrants themselves, making them self-representations to an extent. The article also examines the various connotations the term pravasi (migrant) acquires at various phases such as when the migrant lives in the gulf, visits the homeland on leave, and finally returns home forever. This article argues that while religion, society, and profession pose challenges to the migrant’s expected, imagined and practiced identity, his/her struggle to (re)-fit into the societal frame reflects on his/her self and family, and explores how home films address these issues.