Another History Rises to the Surface

'Hey Ram' signals a basic shift in perspective on the consensus about leading figures such as Gandhi and Periyar in a discourse about secularism, democracy and identity. This article examines the controversial film focusing on the contradictory effects of the film, the distinct uncertainty that viewers experience when confronted with the inflammatory images and voices that conjure up a narrative of Muslim bloodlust and Hindu trauma on the one hand, and the less forceful narratives moves to distance the spectator from an extreme Hindutva perspective on the other.