Abstract

This paper examines how colourism operates within Tamil cinema, particularly through comedic representation, and explores its intersections with caste, gender, and class hierarchies. Through critical discourse analysis, the paper examines how humour and cinematic dialogues normalise colourist prejudice within Tamil popular culture. Films, featuring comedians such as Goundamani, Senthil, Vadivelu, Vivek, and Santhanam, are selected based on their cultural prominence, historical span, and inclusion of scenes engaging with colour-based humour and social prejudice. The study systematically identifies and codes comedic scenes and dialogues from Tamil films produced between the late 1980s and the present, with particular reference to the comedian Goundamani, in order to trace recurring representational patterns related to skin colour, bodily appearance, and social hierarchy. The analysis demonstrates how Tamil comedic conventions have frequently normalised discriminatory attitudes, particularly toward darker-skinned women, through ridicule, stereotyping, and the reinforcement of fairness-centred beauty ideals. At the same time, recent films such as Kaala, Mandela, and Sarpatta Parambarai are examined as counter-hegemonic interventions that challenge dominant colourist narratives. Ultimately, the study argues that Tamil cinema functions not only as a reflection of social prejudice but also as a powerful cultural site capable of reproducing or resisting entrenched colour hierarchies within contemporary society.