The Central Board of Film Certification has refused to certify Prakash Jha’s upcoming film, Lipstick Under My Burkha, citing sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and ‘woman fantasies’ as reasons.
The reasons stated in a letter read: “The story is lady oriented, their fantasy above life. There are contanious sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and a bit sensitive touch about one particular section of society, hence film refused under guidelines 1(a), 2(vii), 2(ix), 2(x), 2(xi), 2(xii) and 3(i),” reported Mumbai Mirror.
Set in the crowded lanes of a small town, Lipstick Under My Burkha chronicles the secret lives of four women in search of a little freedom.
The movie deviates from the pseudo-feminist norm of throwing off the burkha, where the woman must break the barriers of the stifling patriarchal system to be free in one detail. The men seem rather nice and gentle here
The landscape of small town India is rapidly changing, and women are finding the courage to think about what they truly want. Their secret dreams and veiled desires - just on the verge of breaking out. It is this point of transition that Lipstick Under My Burkha explores.
The film features Konkona Sensharma, Ratna Pathak Shah, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur. It also features Sushant Singh, Vikrant Massey and Shashank Arora.
Prakash Jha, known for helming issue based movies, says making a purely political film in the country is impossible as there is no freedom of expression.
Having helmed films like Gangajal, Apharhan and Rajneeti - all of which touched upon political issues, Jha said there are very few people with "ideologically sound mind" choosing films as a medium to communicate.