Lipstick Under My Burkha has left us with too many questions and too few answers.
Lipstick Under My Burkha directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, starring Rathna Pathak Shah, Konkana Sensharma, Plabita and Aahana Kumra presented by Ekta Kapoor’s Alt Entertainment surely does remind us of the times when movies did not just entertain, but made you think, feel and at times even explore the workings of the world around you.
The question, however, is if this movie managed to show how women feel in the men’s world. After being called ‘lady-oriented’, the film has only managed to draw attention for being bold. In the theater, as darkness envelops the audience, only laughter prevails. Shireen trying to get her husband to use a condom is funny, but does the audience understand the underlying meaning? Rihana Abibi steals to feel accepted by her peers, and she thinks she finds someone who understands her. After all he is a fan of Led Zeppelin too, but her peers undermine her so easily and she is pushed, yet again, into the chores that women are supposed to do. To sew, and later get married when the right alliance comes along. Sewing is acceptable, but singing? Not so much. Does the audience understand the girl’s inhibitions?
As Usha, a fifty-something women explores her sexuality and realises that she still, in fact, has sexual drive is shamed for thinking such ‘shameful’ thoughts, does the audience really understand that it is not just about sex, but about the society stifling a basic human urge in the name of being ‘respectable’ in the society.
Leela’s mother is a model for art students. She poses in the nude to earn money, and her only expectation from her daughter is for her to married, and live in a proper house. Leela, however, has other ideas. She wants to start a business with her boyfriend Arshad (Vikrant Massey), and enjoy her life. She has a hot affair with him, while being engaged to another man, and the audience’s reaction – echoes of laughter when she has sex.
Are we laughing at the lives of many women who have a hundred decisions to make? Are we laughing at all their suffering and pain when they decide to give up on something they love for something that is more respectable? The fight is real, and director Alankrita succeeded in giving the audience – male and female – a guide to what is happening to women in the country today. She chose four women from different age groups and different religion and succeeded in telling a tale about their secret lives. She succeeded as a storyteller. Her film got the much-needed attention, especially after the censor board’s move to ban it.
But after all that, when the society was shown a mirror at what is happening today – all that happened was echoes of laughter. The discussion after the film was seen was about how bold the movie was, how great the actors performed. However, no one spoke about why the women did what they did. There was no observations made about the characters in the story. If by chance you hear such conversation – it happens to be among people who are already aware of the state that women are in today. The conversation is not happening among that part of the country, which needs this awareness the most.
