Understanding the Function of Influential Factors in Relation to Identity Formation during Adolescence: An Analytical Study of Nil Battey Sannata

Abstract
The process of identity formation implies an intricate intersection of various factors such as family, peer group, the individual himself/herself, social context etc., in which adolescence emerges as a crucial foundational stage. For identity formation, the contribution of the social context can be adverse or benevolent depending on whether it puts obstacles or supplies help to the individual concerned. This paper intends to argue if thesocial context has an adverse effect on an adolescent placed in the process of identity formation, parental figure and peer group may be instrumental for her/him to withstand or overcome that negative effect. Thus, in this context, the following paper attempts to study Nil Battey Sannata,a critically acclaimed film of 2015 merging the lines between serious film and commercial film in the light of identity study. It presents the coming of age story where an ignorant, intransigent, rigid adolescent Appu comes to the path of transformation – a UPSC aspirant, with the help of her mother, Chanda. This paper, deploying apsychosocial perspective,analyses the roles that social context, parental figure, peer group, and Appu herself play in her identity formation. It closely reads the film and analyses it from the concerned viewpoint. The paper is divided intothree parts: an introduction, abrief review and analysisof the film and identity, and aconclusion. However, the paper limits its analytical study only to the interplay of influential factors mentioned above.

Keywords: Individual, Parental Figure, Peer Group, Social Context, Choice-making

hhttps://doi.org/10.37948/ensemble-2021-0301-a022