Spectacles of Masculine Super-Heroism
Mapping the Early Superstardom of “Jayan” in Malayalam Cinema
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Abstract
Krishnan Nair, popularly known by his screen name Jayan, is often hailed as the first-ever “superstar” actor in Malayalam cinema. The metamorphosis of Jayan's cinematic stardom signifies the masculine prototype with which Indian film stars attain cultural dominance by aestheticizing their corporeal self. This article approaches the earlier superstardom in Malayalam cinema by deciphering the centrality of Jayan as a Superman-superstar figure. It argues that the heroic screen image, dialogue delivery, stylized stunts, and trendsetting costumes introduced by Jayan in the 1970s–1980s established a new reception of the masculine body that glorified the semiotics of the “Superman.” Using the spectator–spectacle discourse on superstardom, this article examines how different shades of superstardom, especially its posthumous restructuring and reproduction, affect the fate of superheroes in regional cinemas.
Contributor Notes
Raj Sony Jalarajan is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Canada. Raj is a professional journalist turned academic who has worked in different demanding positions as a reporter, special correspondent, and producer in several news media channels like BBC, NDTV, Doordarshan, AIR, and Asianet News. He was a full-time faculty member in Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies at St. Thomas University Florida (USA), Monash University (Australia), Curtin University, Mahatma Gandhi University, and University of Kerala.