On an equal footing

Nonika Singh

When censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani and company came out all against Lipstick Under My Burkha   and refused to certify it  on ludicrous pretext -  it’s too “lady oriented” - one and all easily guessed the film is about issues that are  forbidden in male-centric, misogynist India. Not that women’s sexuality is a taboo on silver screen.  

More recently, Parched too moved into erogenous zone. So what raised the hackles of the Sanskari chief is best known to him and his ilk. Sure the film talks about the innate intimate desires of women, sexual fantasies very much included. But mind you, this is no manual on sex. It brings to fore their repressed desires, which are essentially rooted in finding their real selves. So there is Shireen (Konkana Sen Sharma), who works as sales representative without her husband’s knowledge. Rihanna (Plabita Borthakur) steals lipsticks and other accessories to glam up her look, all the time yearning to be a singer, she croons English songs on the lines. 

The most ebullient of them, essayed by Aahana Kumra, does dare to have sex on the sly with her boyfriend just as she is getting engaged to another man. Perhaps, there are a couple of scenes which might make prudes squirm. But whether it’s thanks to the sensitive director Alankrita or scissor-happy censors, there are no graphic details really.  

Even when the universal bua ji(Ratan Pathak Shah) reads  out from fantasy novels, there is little provocation to take offence. The much-talked-about phone sex scene too doesn’t really make you cringe. Ratna Pathak Shah, the 55-year-old widow finding comfort in the pages of erotica, is so competent that you can relate both to her inhibitions and her flight of fantasy. 

Alankrita, of course, does not go all out to build empathy for her characters. Rather her characters and actors speak out loud and clear of their own volition. Be it the evocative eyes looking out of the burkha or the impassive expression of Konkana’s or the sexed-up Kumra, these are real credible women.

Women have feelings has long been accepted, they have bodily desires too is being explored now with courage and conviction. Lipstick… is just another step in that direction and a firm one at that.  

If lipstick is a metaphor for her desire to break free, burkha is symptomatic of the closed world around her. Sure, the film provides no easy answers nor creates hyperbole. Except for one-odd dialogue where Sushant Singh playing the typical insensitive MCP utters - mera sahaur banne ki koshish mat karo - the dialogues are refreshing and have a sting too. Women can watch it to find affirmation of their views.

Will it make men understand them better, well, if the censor board members reaction was anything to go by, maybe not! For the very prejudices that the film subtly, but surely tries to sink its claws into might find an echo among the close-minded viewers. Nevertheless the film is a good watch, if not a must.  

Only of you are male of the species, leave your blinkers home. Close to the intermission might come the line; the problem lies in the fact that women dream a lot. However, the final message that it underlines is women have every right to.  What is even more heartening is that neither the director not her chosen team of talented ones conveys it in a heavy-handed manner.