Re‑reading The Curse or Karna — A Critical Perspective
T. P. Kailasam’s The Curse or Karna (often referred to simply as The Curse) is a dramatized retelling of the Karna episode from the Mahabharata, but with significant departures and interventions that recast the mythic narrative in more human, conflicted, and socially critical terms. Kailasam doesn’t merely retell Karna’s story; he deconstructs it — unveiling its fissures, ironies, and power dynamics. That deconstruction is tightly bound with his interrogation of caste, class, and the marginal voice.
3) The Deconstruction of Myth in The Curse
1 From heroic legend to psychological complexity
In the canonical Mahabharata tradition, Karna is often cast as a tragic hero of great virtue, generosity, and loyalty. His exploits and sufferings are woven into the grand cosmic narrative of dharma, fate, and divine justice. Kailasam invites us to reconsider this heroic legend from another vantage — one that emphasizes limitation, contradiction, and social constraints.
- Humanizing Karna’s vulnerabilities: Kailasam doesn’t permit Karna to remain a remote, superhuman figure. Instead, he imbues him with psychological depth: moments of self‑doubt, despair, wounded pride, guilt, and inner conflict. The mythic aura is stripped back to reveal the human core — a man thrown, not always by choice, into morally fraught circumstances.
Ambiguities in motivations: The play problematises the motives and choices of characters. Karna’s loyalty to Duryodhana — often sanctified in epic narratives — is shown as entangled with his yearning for recognition, validation, and escape from marginality. The heroic frame is loosened to allow moral ambivalence.
Thus Kailasam ruptures the mythic unity of character and motive, disrupting the polished veneer of the legendary hero
2 Questioning dharma, fate, and divine justice
A central source of power of myth is its appeal to cosmic order, moral absolutes, and destiny. Kailasam unsettles each of these pillars:
Dharma (duty/righteousness) is problematized: In the epic, many characters act under dharma’s sanction. But in The Curse, the notion of dharma becomes conflicted. Karna faces contradictory duties — loyalty to Duryodhana, allegiance to his (unknown) blood ties with the Pandavas, and the moral tension of fighting for a cause he may sense is unjust. Kailasam thus exposes how claims of “dharma” can mask power, exclusion, and compulsion.
Critique of fate and curses: The mythopoetic device of curses, destiny, and divine decrees is reworked. The curse that Parashurama places on Karna (for lying about his caste) becomes more than a narrative convenience — it resonates as symbolic of how social prejudice, falsehood, and betrayal can conspire to disable agency at the crucial moment. Kailasam encourages us to see curses not as mystical inevitabilities but as loaded metaphors for structural constraints (e.g. caste, social exclusion). The play invites skepticism of the notion that suffering is always deserved according to cosmic karma.
Divine justice exposed as arbitrary: Myth generally tends to rationalize the suffering of the hero as just, part of a larger moral arc. Kailasam refuses such easy consolations. The injustices that Karna suffers (humiliation, denial of rights, misrecognition) are not always traceable to moral failure but to social prejudice and systemic power. In doing so, Kailasam undercuts the idea that the divine or cosmic order is necessarily just.
3 Subversion of traditional roles and social hierarchies
Myth often consolidates legitimacy — of kings, of caste order, of hierarchical values. Kailasam turns this authority inside out:
Caste as a site of critique, not affirmation: While many retellings of the Mahabharata preserve caste hierarchy as a given, Kailasam places caste discrimination at the center, exposing how the mythic social order marginalizes and silences figures like Karna. In other words, rather than validating the mythic status quo, the play unsettles it.
Interrogating the “great men” narrative: Kailasam doesn’t let royal or warrior elites remain above scrutiny. Their prejudices, hypocrisies, and limitations are foregrounded. The audience is encouraged to view even the Pandavas, Dronacharya, and others as complicit in social exclusion, not uncanny paragons.
Temporal collapse — the myth in dialogue with modern concerns: Kailasam’s mythic reworking is not an antiquarian gesture; it resonates with modern social conflicts — caste, inequality, identity. Myth is not nostalgic but dialectical: it becomes a tool to reflect on present inequalities. In the colonial and postcolonial milieu, reclaiming myth in a critical key allows resistance to dominant discourses (see discussion in “Myth and Puranas: Decolonisation of Indian English Drama”).
Thus the myth is not merely retold; it is unsettled and reconstructed in the light of socio‑moral inquiry.
4) Class Conflict & Caste Conflict in The Curse
One of the most arresting dimensions of Kailasam’s play is how it entwines caste and class conflicts — not as separate themes but as mutually reinforcing structures of exclusion and struggle.
1 Caste conflict: Karna’s exclusion from birth
From the outset, Karna’s status as a Suta-putra (the son of a charioteer) marks him as socially inferior, no matter his prowess or virtue. Kailasam’s dramatization emphasizes how caste prejudice pervades every social interaction:
Educational barriers: When Karna approaches Parashurama (or Raama, in some versions) to learn martial arts, he must conceal his caste identity (pretending to be a Brahmin) to gain acceptance. When his real caste is discovered, he is cursed. This incident dramatizes how knowledge and spiritual/martial authority are policed along caste lines.
Humiliation in social rituals and marriage: Despite meeting the physical feats required in Draupadi’s swayamvara, Karna disallowed the claim purely on caste grounds (“She doesn’t want to marry a Suta”). His exclusion underscores how caste norms trump merit.
Denial of acceptance even after revelation: Even when his birth as Kunti’s son is revealed, the social prejudice does not simply vanish. The play underscores how caste stigma is persistent, institutional, and insidious.
Thus caste conflict in The Curse is not a background motif but structural: it frames Karna’s limitations, isolates him socially, and burdens him with stigma.
2 Class conflict: Marginality, power, and patronage
While caste addresses social identity and stigma, class pertains to power, opportunity, resources, status, and mobility. Kailasam weaves class conflict into Karna’s predicament in a number of ways:
Access to power and patronage: Karna’s social mobility is not through merit alone but depends on patronage — his bond with Duryodhana is as much about gratitude and political expediency as about loyalty. That Karna must ally with Duryodhana highlights how marginalized individuals often must embrace alliances with dominant elites to gain access. Several commentators interpret Karna’s loyalty as a bid for validation and upward mobility.
Disparities in privilege: The princely class (Pandavas, Kauravas) enjoy education, ritual participation, legitimacy, and entitlement. Karna’s struggle is constantly set in tension with that privileged class. His exclusion from the “circle of nobles” underscores an embedded class hierarchy.
Symbolic capital and recognition: Karna seeks recognition (honor, status) as much as material power. But the symbolic domain is controlled by elite norms (caste, lineage, ritual propriety). Thus even where Karna displays excellence, the elite class refuses to legitimize him fully.
4.3 Intersection: caste and class as mutually reinforcing
It is vital to see that caste and class are not isolated but intersect:
Caste constrains class mobility: Karna’s caste identity bars him from participating fully in elite institutions; it undermines his access to resources and legitimacy; it makes his path to power precarious.
Classed patronage cannot erase caste stigma: Even Duryodhana’s patronage, though elevating Karna’s position, does not erase social prejudice. Karna remains in a liminal space — powerful, yet always “other.”
Conflict within the elite class: Kailasam does not present the princely class as monolithic. Even within these elites, tensions over legitimacy, lineage, and rivalry play out — but borne by caste assumptions.
Social system critique: By dramatizing how caste and class jointly marginalize Karna, Kailasam critiques a social order that privileges birth and suppresses talent. Critics point out that his caste critique “exposes the hypocrisy” of a society that values lineage over merit.
4.4 Critical reflections and limitations
A few cautionary points:
Sometimes critics worry that Kailasam’s emphasis on caste and class may risk reducing the epic to a sociological allegory, losing some of the mythic dimension. But I think Kailasam resists such flattening by preserving moral tension, ambiguity, and existential stakes.
Also, because the play is a retelling anchored in myth, not a sociorealist text, certain “real-world” class dynamics (e.g. wealth, economic relations) are less fully explored. The class dimension is more symbolic and relational (status, recognition) than material.
Yet, precisely this symbolic dimension is powerful: the play shows that exclusion is not only economic but cultural, symbolic, ritual, and epistemic.
5) Karna — The Voice of the Subaltern
In postcolonial theory, the term subaltern (as used by Gramsci, Gayatri Spivak, and others) refers to populations socially, politically, and geographically outside the hegemonic power structure — those who lack access to institutionalized power, whose voices are marginalized or silenced. In Kailasam’s The Curse, Karna can be read as a subaltern figure — or at least as a dramatized voice for subalternity in the mythic world.
1 Karna’s marginality: socially voiceless, existentially constrained
Denied voice and legitimacy: Throughout the play, Karna’s assertions, grievances, and claims are often dismissed, muted, or ridiculed. His voice is excluded from the dominant discourses of power, status, and ritual legitimacy.
Internalized humiliation and resistance: Karna internalizes the stigma of his caste and is compelled to continually prove himself. Yet he resists passively in acts of continual striving, confrontation, and moral assertion. The play gives voice to his protest, his disillusionments, his resentments.
Agents of subaltern subjectivity: Karna’s reflections, his moral dilemma, and his anguished decisions represent the interior life of a marginalized subject. The play invites the audience to empathize with his perspective, not as a romantic victim but as an agent negotiating untenable constraints.
2 Speaking against hegemonic narratives
Karna’s voice in The Curse functions as a critique of elite, caste‑centric, and heroic versions of the epic. He questions the legitimacy of those narratives:
He disputes the privileging of lineage over talent.
He challenges the notion of “rightful” rulers who exclude him on shallow grounds.
His dissent undermines the moral gloss of the epic’s ruling classes by exposing their hypocrisies and prejudices.
Thus the subaltern voice here is not peripheral commentary but destabilizes dominant narratives from within.
3 Ambivalence and complicity: the subaltern’s predicament
One must also acknowledge that Karna is not a pure emancipatory agent. His subaltern voice harbors ambiguities and moral compromises:
Alliance with Duryodhana: In order to gain access and status, Karna aligns with Duryodhana, even though the Kaurava cause is morally suspect. This alliance is both a strategy of subaltern mobility and a tragic compromise.
Loyalty over justice: Throughout, Karna privileges loyalty to the one who recognized him over absolute justice. This internal tension reveals the limitations of subaltern agency — often mediated through existing power structures.
Tragic fatalism: Karna ends up doomed by curses, fate, and structural exclusion. His voice, though powerful, does not shatter the system. Yet that very tragedy is itself a critique — the system remains intact, and his protest is contained.
4 Reverse representation: giving agency to the marginalized
What Kailasam’s text does beautifully is to restore the marginalized figure (Karna) to central narrative attention. In doing so:
He disrupts the epic’s marginalization of Karna (in many traditional texts, Karna is overshadowed by the Pandavas).
He shows that the subaltern can speak, resist, and make choices (though constrained).
He invites the audience to reconsider whose voice is normative and whose is silenced.
In sum, Karna becomes a mouthpiece for subaltern suffering, resistance, and tragic dignity — a counterpoint to the dominant epic voice.
The Curse or Karna by T.P. Kailasama
Worksheet on Screening The Reluctant Fundamentalist
A. Pre-Watching Activities
1. Critical Reading & Reflection
You’d want to engage with Ania Loomba’s and Hardt & Negri’s theories on empire to explore globalization beyond a simple center-margin dichotomy. Here’s a breakdown:
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Ania Loomba on the “New American Empire”: Loomba discusses how imperialism is no longer just territorial but operates through economic, cultural, and political dominance. The "New American Empire" refers to how the US, in the post-Cold War period, exercises power globally through soft power (media, culture) and hard power (military intervention, economic control).
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Hardt & Negri’s Empire: They discuss how globalization and empire no longer follow traditional imperialist lines (center-periphery). Instead, empire is a network of institutions that operates on a global scale, creating a new kind of sovereignty that transcends borders. This can be seen in the economic and corporate power structures that dominate the world.
How these theories illuminate The Reluctant Fundamentalist:
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Globalization Beyond Center-Margin: The novel and film explore the rise of corporate power (Underwood Samson, Wall Street) alongside personal and national identity struggles. The narrative becomes not just about East vs. West but about the global interconnectivity that creates new spaces of hybridity (where identities aren’t fully formed by one region).
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Empire: The "New American Empire" and the kind of economic domination highlighted by Hardt & Negri would help us understand how the protagonist Changez's journey is not just about religious or cultural difference but also about resisting corporate exploitation. Changez’s disenchantment with the American Dream is a critique of the neoliberal capitalist empire. To get information about Task Click Here
2. Contextual Research
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Mohsin Hamid’s background and timeline of the novel: Hamid wrote The Reluctant Fundamentalist initially before the 9/11 attacks. The events of 9/11 radically shifted the novel’s tone and narrative, making Changez’s identity as a global citizen even more fractured. The novel, originally about the disillusionment of a young Pakistani professional, took on new resonance post-9/11 when the global political landscape changed drastically.
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Significance of writing before vs. after 9/11:The shift from pre-9/11 to post-9/11 in the novel reflects a transition from idealism and globalism to disillusionment and marginalization. Changez’s internal transformation mirrors the geopolitical shifts post-9/11, especially in terms of Muslim identity in the West. This transformation—from success in America to suspicion of everything Western—reveals how identity is shaped by external forces like the War on Terror, media portrayal, and foreign policy.
B. While-Watching Activities
1. Character Conflicts & Themes
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Father/son or generational split: In the film, Changez’s relationship with his father symbolizes the tension between the rooted, cultural values of the East and the modern, globalized values of the West. The clash between corporate modernity (in the world of Underwood Samson) and poetic-rooted values (perhaps represented by his father’s ideals) is crucial. Watch for how the film presents this tension visually—perhaps through symbolic imagery like contrasting settings (the bustling corporate world of New York vs. quieter, traditional Lahore). Another subtle but significant moment of conflict between Changez and his father surfaces during his sister Bina’s marriage. This event highlights the clash of values not only in terms of East vs. West but also between traditional familial expectations and Changez’s increasingly individualistic, Western-influenced worldview.
Visual and Emotional Contrast: While earlier scenes show them physically close, sharing vulnerable moments, this revelation exposes the emotional and ideological distance between them. The visuals may portray Changez isolated in a crowd, or show his shocked expression against the backdrop of Erica’s "art," emphasizing his sense of displacement and betrayal.
Symbol of Broader Themes: This incident is not just about a failed relationship; it symbolizes the broader Western gaze that views the "Other" as exotic, useful, or threatening—but rarely as equal. Changez's heartbreak becomes a metaphor for the post-9/11 climate, where people from the East are often stereotyped, romanticized, or feared.
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Changez and Erica (the American photographer): A deeply pivotal moment in the film occurs when Changez attends Erica’s art show or reading, where she presents a work that chillingly refers to their relationship with the line: “I had a Pakistani.” This moment shatters whatever emotional connection he believed they had and exposes the uncomfortable power dynamic and objectification at play.
For Changez, this is more than a personal betrayal—it’s a moment of profound alienation and dehumanization. Erica, whom he had grown emotionally attached to, doesn’t present him as a person with depth and identity, but as a symbol, a token of exoticism or an emotional placeholder for her lost fiancé. The phrase "I had a Pakistani" reduces him to an ethnic experience, reinforcing the idea that—even in intimacy—he was never truly seen or understood for who he is.
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Profit vs. knowledge/book: Look for moments when corporate America (symbolized by Underwood Samson) comes into conflict with cultural or literary knowledge. For example, scenes in Istanbul, where Changez is confronted with the commodification of culture, are metaphors for the tension between economic values and intellectual or artistic worth. The film’s visual language could contrast the sterile, profit-driven world of Wall Street with the rich, historically layered spaces of the East.
2. Title Significance & Dual Fundamentalism
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The title The Reluctant Fundamentalist reflects the film’s nuanced exploration of multiple forms of fundamentalism. Changez’s reluctance is not limited to religious extremism; it also extends to the extremism of the corporate world. The film draws parallels between these two rigid systems—religious and capitalist—highlighting how both demand total commitment, often at the cost of personal identity and moral integrity. Visually, this duality may be emphasized through contrasting settings, such as the cold, impersonal corporate boardrooms of Underwood Samson and the tense, paranoid atmosphere of the post-9/11 political climate.
Changez’s inner conflict—his reluctance—lies in his inability to fully align with either side. He rejects both the profit-driven logic of corporate capitalism and the violence of ideological extremism. This ambivalence is especially evident in his interactions with the American journalist in the café. His calm, measured tone and emotional restraint signal a man caught between worlds, struggling to define his identity in a global context that demands clear-cut allegiances. These scenes reflect how Changez navigates spaces of ideological tension, ultimately questioning the very idea of what it means to be a “fundamentalist.”
3. Empire Narratives
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Post-9/11 paranoia and mistrust: The film powerfully captures the atmosphere of post-9/11 suspicion, especially toward individuals perceived as "Other." Visual cues—such as surveillance cameras, tight framing, physical barriers, and imposing high-rise buildings—are used to create a sense of alienation, entrapment, and constant scrutiny. The café where Changez shares his story becomes a symbolic space of tension and uncertainty, where the viewer is left questioning: Is Changez a victim, a threat, or something more complex? This ambiguity mirrors the West’s broader mistrust and its quick categorization of individuals based on appearance or origin.
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Spaces of ambiguity: The film blurs the lines between East and West, safety and threat, power and vulnerability. Changez’s journey—from his success in the U.S. to his return to Pakistan—illustrates how borders (both literal and psychological) are constantly crossed. These ambiguous spaces—whether they are geographic (New York vs. Lahore) or emotional (loyalty vs. disillusionment)—reflect the porous and unstable nature of the geopolitical landscape. The film uses these moments to show how power and resistance circulate within the structures of modern empire, often making clear moral choices impossible.
C. Post-Watching Activities
1. Discussion Prompts
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Space for reconciliation between East and West: The film appears to leave space for dialogue and mutual understanding between the East and the West, particularly through the structure of Changez’s conversation with the American journalist. However, it also subtly reinforces cultural stereotypes and binaries, especially in its depiction of suspicion, loyalty, and ideological conflict. The ending, depending on interpretation, can be seen either as a hopeful call for empathy and reconciliation, or as a confirmation of deep-rooted divides between cultures. This ambiguity invites the viewer to question whether true understanding is possible or merely idealistic.
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Adapting dramatic monologue: One of the key challenges in adapting Mohsin Hamid’s novel lies in translating Changez’s internal monologue—a key feature of the book—into visual and cinematic language. The film attempts this through the use of close-ups, controlled framing, flashbacks, and carefully structured dialogue, especially in the scenes within the café. These techniques are meant to mirror the introspective and ambiguous tone of the novel. Whether the film fully captures the depth and nuance of Change's inner conflict remains an open question and is worth analysing in terms of cinematic success.
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Changez a figure of resistance, a victim of Empire both, or neither ?: This is a complex and layered question. Changez can be seen as a figure of resistance—he rejects the values of corporate America and becomes a voice for cultural and ideological independence. At the same time, he is undeniably a victim of empire, targeted and marginalized as a Pakistani Muslim in post-9/11 America. Yet, his journey is not one of simple victimhood or heroism. His choices, transformations, and ideological shifts resist easy categorization. Arguably, Changez represents both resistance and victimhood, but also transcends these labels—making him a symbol of ambiguity, caught in the crossfire of conflicting global ideologies.
2. Short Analytical Essay
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Mira Nair’s film adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist offers a powerful meditation on the crisis of identity in the post-9/11 world, where notions of selfhood, loyalty, and power are shaped by global imperial forces. Drawing on postcolonial concepts such as hybridity, third space, orientalism, and re-orientalism, the film transforms Hamid’s introspective novel into a cinematic narrative that grapples with the complexities of cultural belonging and resistance. Through visual and narrative strategies, the film portrays Changez as a hybrid figure, caught between conflicting worlds—both admired and feared, both insider and outsider—whose story highlights the instability of identity in an age marked by paranoia, empire, and ideological fundamentalism.
Hybridity and Identity in The Reluctant Fundamentalist: A Postcolonial Lens
Mira Nair’s film adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist explores how identity, power, and resistance are shaped in a post-9/11 world. Using ideas from postcolonial theory—like hybridity, orientalism, and re-orientalism—the film shows how difficult it is to belong to two cultures at once. Through both storytelling and visuals, it presents Changez as a complex character who doesn’t fully fit into either the East or the West, and who struggles to find his place in a world full of suspicion and power imbalance.
Caught Between Two Worlds: Hybridity
Postcolonial theorist Homi Bhabha introduced the idea of hybridity to describe people who live between two cultures. Changez is one of these people. He goes to Princeton, gets a top job at a U.S. company, and seems to achieve the “American Dream.” But at the same time, he never stops being Pakistani. The film shows this through visuals: the cold, sharp offices in New York are very different from the colorful, crowded streets of Lahore.
Changez often appears in in-between spaces—airports, hotels, and city streets—showing that he is never fully at home in either place. The novel gives us direct access to his thoughts, but the film uses things like close-up shots, flashbacks, and dialogue to express his inner conflict.
Orientalism and the Suspicious Gaze
After 9/11, Changez’s identity is no longer seen as successful or interesting—it becomes suspicious. Edward Said’s idea of orientalism helps explain this: the West often sees the East as strange, dangerous, or backward. In the film, this is clear when Changez is treated as a threat at airport security. The camera shows him surrounded by white walls and security officers, making him look isolated and powerless.
Scenes like this reflect how people from the East were stereotyped and feared after 9/11. Even though Changez hasn’t changed, the way people see him has.
Re-Orientalism and the Relationship with Erica
Another layer of postcolonial theory—re-orientalism, discussed by scholars like Lisa Lau and Ana Mendes—explains how people from the East can also be turned into symbols or “exotic” characters by the West. This happens in Changez’s relationship with Erica, an American artist. While Changez feels deeply connected to her, she seems to use him as a way to deal with the death of her ex-boyfriend.
This is made clear when Erica presents a piece of art titled “I had a Pakistani.” Instead of seeing Changez as a person, she presents him as an object—someone to be used for emotional or artistic reasons. The film uses this moment to show how even love can be shaped by unequal power and cultural misunderstanding.
Resistance and the Third Space
Changez eventually leaves his corporate job and returns to Lahore, where he becomes a university professor. He begins to speak out against American foreign policy—not with violence, but through intellectual resistance. His long conversation with the American journalist Bobby Lincoln takes place in a café, a neutral space that represents what theorist Bhabha calls the third space—a place where cultures mix, and new ideas can form.
Throughout their conversation, the film keeps the viewer unsure: Is Changez a threat? A teacher? A victim? This ambiguity is key. The film doesn’t give simple answers. Instead, it shows that identity in a globalized world is messy and complex.
3. Reflective Journal
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Your positionality: Watching The Reluctant Fundamentalist challenged my assumptions about identity, power, and how people from the East are represented in a post-9/11 world. As someone outside the experience of being viewed with suspicion or exoticized, I realized how easily certain stereotypes are accepted—especially when reinforced by media or politics.
The film made identity feel more complex and personal, showing how people like Changez are caught between cultures, judged by both sides, and often misunderstood. His story pushed me to think beyond simple labels like “victim” or “threat,” and instead see the nuanced, hybrid identities shaped by global power structures.
Overall, the film deepened my awareness of how postcolonial subjects navigate not just who they are, but how they are seen—and how important it is to approach those stories with empathy and critical reflection.
4. Reference
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