Ontological Hybridity and Social Movements in Bihar: A Narrative Analysis of Gangs of Wasseypur and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

Abstract

The article is divided into four sections. The first is an introduction of the analysis of social movement theory and the definition of Ontological Hybridity as a narrative strategy in describing social movement and social ontology. This is followed by the analysis of two films Gangs of Wasseypur and Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi, which are set in Bihar and attempt to narrate Bihar’s social movements through an ontologically hybrid lens. The ontological hybridity in these films discusses Bihar’s violent social churnings through a hybridity of character arcs, identities and socio-political transformations that impact various social formulations in complex and interconnected ways. This is then followed by a comparative assessment of their hybridities alongside their engagement and impact with their intended audiences is discussed, leading to a conclusion on how ontologically hybrid narratives of a social movement emerge as a fuller, engaging and socially informative mode of description and recreation of social movements.