Get rich or kill tryin’: The neo-liberal man in Titli (2014) and Gurgaon (2017)

Neo-liberalism has expanded from a modality of political economy to penetrate insidiously into all aspects of our lives, public and private. Though free-market theory posits an egalitarian notion of progress in which everyone gets their due through competition in a free and fair marketplace, this is a highly facile proposition, as neo-liberal playing fields are unequally marked by factors such as class, caste, gender and religion. It excludes a large portion of society and poses several barriers to entry. Consequently, it creates a widespread condition of social precarity affecting everyone. Taking the films Titli (2014) and Gurgaon (2017) as case studies, this article examines how precarity fashions a violent, risk-taking, exploitative neo-liberal man whose pursuit of capital trumps all other considerations. Capital becomes the commodity that fulfils a masculine lack created by precarity, whose acquisition is achieved only through violence against specific agents who embody capital.