‘Sudani From Nigeria’: Sensitising Concepts in Mainstream Indian Cinema

Soccer is a way of life, even more so in the southern Indian state of Kerala, a 100% literate state that boasts of a high human development index, lower infant mortality rates and universal public health care. This amalgamation of high social indices together with mediocre economic and infrastructural growth has come to be called the ‘Kerala model of development’. Kerala, which came into existence as one of the constituent states of India in 1956, democratically elected a communist government in 1957. Even before the formation of the state, the region boasted of a vibrant film industry and a thriving filmic ecosystem, which spoke the local tongue called Malayalam.

Along with its cinema, communism and soccer-mania distinguish Kerala from other sister states in India, where cricket is the more popular sport. In Kerala (sometimes geographically referred to as Malabar), seven-a-side soccer is popular especially in the summer months, following the harvest when the fields become empty of crops. Many of the stars are from foreign nations, especially from Africa. They are invariably referred to as ‘Sudanis’, irrespective of their country of origin. A large section of the state’s demographic work in the west Asian economies from where they picked up this terminology and carried it back home. Thus, Africa came to be identified with Sudan in the popular Keralan imagination.

In 2018, a Malayalam-language sports drama movie was released called Sudani from Nigeria, which was written and directed by Zakariya Muhammed, and starred local star Soubin Shahir along with the Nigerian actor, Samuel Abiola Robinson who starred as the titular Sudani from Nigeria, who plays for a local soccer club and is hurt in an accident. The struggles of Majeed, the manager of the club (played by Soubin Shahir) to help the `Sudani’ recover and return to his home in Nigeria form the rest of the narrative. Lots of domestic family melodrama is also appended to the narrative in order to cater to local filmgoing tastes. Parts of it are feelgood, in the way Indian movies usually are. The movie was released to critical and popular acclaim. It won the award for best feature film in Malayalam in India’s 66th national film awards. In the Kerala state film awards, Soubin Shahir won the best actor accolade. It also garnered the awards for best screenplay and best debut film director.

Ironically, the producers of the movie, Shyju Khalid and Samir Tahir, had to face allegations of monetary breach of contract from Robinson. The premise of the movie itself was its anti-xenophobic stance. Thus, it became a bit counterproductive that the actor who played the titular role was denied recognition as well as reward. The idea of the `sensitising concept’ comes from sociology, where ethnographers often have their world views radically altered by their experiences in the field, as a result of which they enrich existing knowledge.

The problem with a film such as Sudani from Nigeria, which proclaims itself as an anti-xenophobic film is the utter lack of such sensitising concepts. It takes itself too lightly. The humungous issues of racist violence and xenophobia are not to be treated silently. The very title is a flippant take on Kerala idiosyncrasies. Africa and its epic narratives are subordinated to the service of humour and the market needs of a third-world developing economy as that of India. Thus, the road to hell becomes paved with good intentions.

Umar Nizarudeen is with the University of Calicut in Kerala. He was a research scholar at the Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In an eclectic career spanning over a decade, he has taught in various colleges of Delhi University, in the University of Kerala and has also worked as staff reporter for the New Indian Express, a national daily. ‘Muse India’, ‘Vayavya’, ‘Culture Cafe’ journal of the British Library are some the journals where his poems have appeared, some of which were also found good enough to be broadcast by the ‘All India Radio’.