When the Subaltern Screams: Pedophilia and Patriarchy in Humayun Ahmed’s "Pleasure Boy Kômola"

This article examines how Pleasure Boy Kômola, a film by Humayun Ahmed, portrays pedophilia and patriarchal control within the context of colonial Bengal. The story follows Kômola, a young boy dressed as a girl who is forced by his father to perform traditional ghetu songs for rural elites. He becomes the focus of a landlord’s sexual attention, revealing how authority and silence often work together to marginalize and harm the vulnerable. The film explores how beauty, art, and performance are misused in a system that denies the agency of those with the least power.

Using insights from scholars like Spivak and Mulvey, the article reflects on how gender roles and psychological manipulation unfold in the film. It also considers how women, though oppressed themselves, sometimes support harmful structures in order to maintain their own survival. Through symbolic moments like a black pigeon’s landing or the rhythmic grinding of lentils, the film conveys the layered trauma of this experience.

However, such violence was never a widespread feature of ghetu traditions or rural creative life in Bangladesh. These traditions have long been rooted in community, celebration, and inclusion. The film challenges viewers to think more deeply about how stories reflect and distort reality.