Lipstick Under My Burkha

Lipstick under my burkha, a film by Alankrita Shrivastava, was in the headlines due to its release being banned in India. It is a film which focuses on women, their sexuality, their desires, their frustrations and their need to break the shackles of society in which they feel suffocated. Alankrita has made a very unapologetic film. And yes, as the media reports were there, the film is bold in terms of its theme, subject, screenplay as well as its treatment. If we compare it with the films of the west, certainly one could notice the scope of improvement. But if we take this as an Indian film, indeed, it is a first of its kind, where the film tries to depict the females and their vulnerabilities without actually defending the same. But what the film does not try to do is to show the change in any context or the situation for the female characters. The situation remains the same. As a result, the film appears neither taking any stand as such nor bringing any transformation to the characters. It just seems like the lady characters are fulfilling their desires or living in their dreams/fantasies. The end feels a little abrupt. But yes, the film is successful in making its point clear that hypocrisy exists in our society even in 21st Century, norms of our society being gender specific, and how every woman has the right to live her life and make her choices too, but she is deprived of her basic rights. The film is not taking any moral stance but taking us through the journey of women as they are. It just highlights what is prevalent in the society without trying to find any answers to many pertinent questions raised in the film. It also appears as one sided story from females' perspectives. The backdrop is set in Bhopal and Alankrita chooses to have four female protagonists who all stay in the same colony – Usha (Ratna Pathak Shah), Shirin (Konkana Sen Sharma), Leela (Ahana Kumra) and Rihana (Plabita Borthakur). Alankrita has also selected another character Rosy from a novel to share the expressions what is not shown on the screen but certainly important for the audience to understand these four characters and their feelings in a much better and explicit manner. Burkha is used here more as a metaphor since within this burkha, there is a woman who wants to just fly free, sing at the top of her voice, use make up, conscious of one's looks, wants to look good, wants to enjoy sex, wants to talk sex over phone, wants to do everything which is taboo as per societal norms. Usha is 55-year-old widow who is known as Buaji. She even has forgotten her real identity of Usha, tells her name as Buaji when asked. She loves to read pulp novels and she meets her sexual urge through these characters' portrayals. The interesting thing is that Usha hides these novels in between some other book and then reads. This is how she hides her own embarrassment of having the desire for sex and wanting to be sexually active. She herself feels that is it appropriate for her to think of sex or reading pulp novels. Another important character is that of Shirin portrayed by Konkana Sen Sharma. Shirin has 3 children. Her husband Aslam (Sushant) is now back to India, earlier he was working in Saudi. This is a typical case of marital rape. Sushant is hardly having any love for Shirin and children but every night he wants to have intercourse with Shirin. Shirin surrenders to Aslam in spite of not enjoying. Besides most of the times, she ends up reaching clinics to get abortions done. She is working as a Sales Executive but hides this from Aslam knowing that he would not allow her to work. Many females would be able to relate to Shirin's marital rapes, sighs, tears, and longingness to have her man's love instead of lust. Leela (Ahana) is a character who is gregarious, declares her love to her photographer boyfriend (Vikrant Massey), very expressive. She loves to click photos with him and even loves to record videos while Leela makes love with him. She runs her own beauty parlour. She wants to just move out of the colony where she stays and run away to Delhi with her boyfriend. She rebels against the proposal brought in by her mother. Rihana (Plabita Borthakur) is a college student, who belongs to a family which is into tailoring. She loves to sing and dance and just wants to get rid of the burkha. She is so submissive in front of her parents, obeys them apparently but the moment she steps out of her house, she removes the burkha and reaches college in modern outfits. She represents many girls of our society, who just want to break free of every restriction at home. The story of all these four women clubbed with Rosy's story from the novel moves in non-linear format. Ratna, Konkana, Ahana, Plabita are all good in the film. Usha's story moves ahead through Jagat Singh Solanki who portrays a Swimming Coach. Jagat has done many films in the past and he brings a lot of credibility to his characters. Here, in this film, he projects very well that how he gets attracted to a female and her phone talks. And as his role of swimming coach demands, he has maintained a very well-toned physique. Sushant as Aslam - Shirin's husband is certainly wonderful. He maintains the expressions of an abusive husband. Vikrant Massey as a lover boy and boyfriend of Leela is very good. Vaibbhav Tatwawdi as Leela's fiancée has also given a good performance. Shashank as college mate of Rihana plays a typical boy who is an opportunist and does not shy away from breaking his commitment to a girl.

This is somewhat of an offbeat movie to come out of the mainstream Hindi movie industry. The topic and the narration is refreshing. The setting in Bhopal (a non-metro city) helps. There's shock, humour and sadness in equal doses. I just wished the ending would have been more wholesome rather than leaving things unsaid. By the way, the movie certainly deserved the A (Adult) certification it was handed by the Film Certification Board and you'll realize in no time why it ran into controversies.

Film showcases the life of four women's ranging from teenage girl to the one in her 60's and how they have different desires and how society norms and culture bounds them to fly, but even after facing all the odds and obstacles in their way, they still manages to find their way to claim their desires through small acts of courage but secrets reveals and according to the law every actions has its opposite and equal reactions is what movie is all about. Alankrita Shrivastava skillfully tells the stories which supported equally well by its ensemble cast especially hatsoff to Mam Ratna Pathak Shah who opted for "Usha aka Buaji" an aged women with bold desires and she has nailed it with her Lit performance. The film was the bold step towards women empowerment and women's quest for their freedom on daily basis. Film didn't get its due credit as it should, may be because of its bold screenplay and storytelling but it should be watched

This movie revolves around the lives of 4 women. The director tries to portray how unhappy these 4 are in their lives, due to their circumstances which are mainly the result of our society. Ratna Pathak's narration throughout the movie is very irritating, even though her performance is very bold and outstanding. The movie tends to be very slow and has been unnecessarily prolonged.

There is no proper conclusion shown in the end and it is left uncertain, as the movie ends abruptly. Watch the movie only if you have nothing else to do.

Four women, Four stories, and all of them are linked by desires, craving for affection, breaking free from social norms, the battle within to achieve bliss. Co-written and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, Lipstick Under My Burkha, a black comedy; presents what it means to be a woman in a small town which is subjugated by males. A city on edge of getting modernised but mindset of the people isn't too willing to adjust. Produced by Prakash Jha, the movie premiered in Tokyo and Mumbai Film Festivals, where it won the Spirit of Asia Prize and the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality.

Shireen Aslam (Konkana Sen Sharma), a Muslim woman works as a door to door sales woman without the knowledge of her husband. Rahim her husband is sexually dictating, and is interested only in sex while Shireen craves for his affection and care.

Leela, a Hindu woman (Aahana Kumra), owns a beauty parlour and isn't content with her work and has a different business plan with her Muslim boyfriend with whom she has sexual relations too and planning to escape at the first chance. She wishes to travel around the world with her boyfriend Arshad who runs a photo studio. She regularly arranges meetings with destination wedding planners with the expectation for a free world tour.

Rehana Abidi (Plabita Borthakur) is a college student fascinated over Milley Cyrus, stitches burkhas for her family store. She shoplifts from malls for makeups to to wear at college, shoplifts from malls and changes to her ultra modern dresses which she hides in her backpack on way to college, all this hidden from her parents.

55 year old Usha Parmar (Ratna Pathak Shah), a respected Buaji in the area runs her family business loves to read erotic fictions at nights. She falls in love with a swimming instructor and indulges in phone sex with him through a fictional character called Rosy who becomes the main protagonist in the movie. Rosy becomes the symbol for everything that the four woman ever wanted to have.

The charming story has been carefully narrated by the writer with a lot of tenderness, sadness and sexual truthfulness with hilarity. All four women are staying in same environs and share an silent bond of fighting a never ending battle to be happy in their life. All of them want to break free, breaking free from their conservative families and from a sexist society that forces them to toe the line.

The writer/director Alankrita Shrivastava has very carefully shown sexuality without a bit of impropriety. The cast she has chosen is the best she could have. Even the newer actors like Plabita Borthakur and Aahana Kumra have excelled in their respective performances against veterans like Ratna Pathak Shah and Konkona Sen Sharma. The Burkha that is mentioned in the movie is actually the stigmas associated with religions and all the four women in the movie have been trying to shed it off, whether material, emotional or cultural. The movie ends in a very honest note where it has been shown that nurturing dreams is an offence for women in small towns even today.