Papilio Buddha (Trans: Malabar Banded Peacock, Malayalam, 2013) is an Indian film written and directed by Jayan K.

It features S. P. Sreekumar, David Briggs, and Saritha Sunil while Padmapriya, Prakash Bare, and Thampy Antony play supporting roles.

The story deals with discrimination against landless Dalits and the politics of suppression of their struggle against the upper castes and other powerful elements locally.

The on-screen happenings are from the perspective of a young Sankaran, a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) dropout, whose insecurity and reticence are in stark contrast to the deep-rooted faith and conviction of his father, Kandal Kariyan.

Shankaran, a young Dalit man, befriends a white gay American lepidopterist Jack, for whom he helps catch butterflies, including the rare and beautiful Papilio Buddha, and it turns out the two men are romantically involved.

When Manjusree hits a lecherous union leader, and Shankaran is arrested for illegally catching butterflies, the events spark off two acts of violence that politicise and radicalise the community, some of whom are queer, who decide to shun the peaceful tactics proscribed by Mahatma Gandhi in favour of rebellion.

The film brings into focus, an example of the epic land struggles, which were fought in various regions of the state and across India, and the oppression of indigenous people by the powerful political and social establishments.

A student of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, he had previously done several experimental films and short fictions including Shape of the Shapeless, Love in the Time of Foreclosure, Hidden Things, Soul of Solomon and Capturing the Signs of God.

The CBFC stated that the screening rights were denied as the film had visuals and dialogues denigrating iconic leaders including Mahatma Gandhi (In a scene from the film, a group of irate Dalits burn an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi as they oppose attempts by a mainstream political party to take up their cause by going on a fast.

[3] Cherian says, "The Board has listed a number of reasons for denying the certification based on its archaic set of guidelines designed to give overwhelming dominance for the state.

The perceived denigration seems to be coming from the realistic treatment of the climax scene - dalits' agitation and their confrontation with the police who use force to evict them."

The atrocities the Dalit activists Sankaran and Manju go through in this film are reflections of social injustices happening in our society without exaggeration," explained Jayan.

[4][5] In January 2013, the board decided to give certification to the film after the makers agreed to mute a controversial speech by Ambedkar in the movie.

[12][13] Malayalam writer Deedi Damodaran included Papilio Buddha among the five films that she feels were fair in portraying the gender issue in a feature published by The Hindu.