Sterling shade of reality

Nonika Singh

Better be safe than sorry—this is exactly we tell, nay drill into, our girls in India all the time. Never ever do we goad them to fight back. Their safety is their problem and they can’t let the guard down. 

So, what happens when they don't follow the safety manual, diktats that the society has imposed on them? Clearly, they prove our worst fears right. The first half of Pink brings us face to face exactly with those deep-seated dreadful thoughts we harbour when our girls are out there in metros, all by themselves.

Put simply, it recounts the nightmarish experiences of three normal young girls who having thrown caution to winds have also taken on their molesters, one of whom has political links. How they are intimidated, how they have to pay the price for standing up for themselves...the first half races to unveil their sorry state and their dare.

Second half doesn't paint a rosy picture either. But as retired lawyer Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan) decides to fight their case, things are put in a perspective. Women, single independent young girls in particular, are judged all the time.

We judge them on the basis of what they wear, what time they go out, whom they meet, where they party, how much they drink and what kind of jokes they crack...the list of their misdemeanours hence ammunition for their  character assassination goes on ad nauseam. 

All of this we brave and brace in a courtroom drama where holding the narrative is Amitabh Bachchan in a stellar act. An ageing heirless lawyer, who has otherwise called it quits, comes out of his retirement to fight for the brave, albeit hapless, girls. Restrained, emotive, piercing, even enigmatic, it’s a performance of many shades. With Piyush Mishra as his adversary lawyer, no doubt the courtroom drama is the highpoint but within the realm of credulity.  

That Taapsee Pannu (as Minal) brings out the gumption and vulnerability of her character so remarkably well only adds to relatability. You empathise with her and can see in her all those young girls around you who just want a normal life of their own.  Kirti Kulhari (Falak Ali) is equally good. And Andrea Tariang says it all when she utters---girls from the North-east are harassed more than an average girl. In fact, all through the film simple one-liners are packed with meaning. When Falak’s beau, an older professor, says, “I can either be truthful or liberal,” the implication is clear. Being liberal is a grey zone, only orthodoxy can be pure and true.

Of course, in the courtroom the tone becomes sharper, even dramatic but not out of focus. It’s a serious film and doesn’t try to get funny, not even in the courtroom scenes. Finding a wondrous balance between striking home a relevant theme and telling a story equally well, it’s cinema that makes a difference. 

It’s riveting, it’s heart-rending and it’s incredibly touching. And it’s not just Big B the lawyer with mood swings who has his eyes moist as he picks up cudgels on the behalf of the fair sex, the film is as thoughtful as moving.  

 In fact, rare is a film that is so focused and so clear in what it cares to convey. Pink is an emphatic and unambiguous statement that not just bares the reality but also shows the way. If it unveils societal prejudices that most of us harbour, it also debunks them step by step. So what if she is a virgin, so what if she even demands money for sex, she and she alone has the right over her body. We have heard that before in court judgements but here as it leaps out with audiovisual force, it become a fait accompli, society will have to accept, sooner or later. 

Way to go, must watch for all, especially for the boys and men so that they can for once hear it loud and clear that when a woman says no, she means no.

And just a reminder—don’t walk out when credits begin to roll. In the beginning the casting credits might unspool with stillness, in the final role call it encapsulates what in an average film would have been the opening sequence. What’s more in Big B’s baritone voice we also get to hear Tanveer Ghazi's poem that underlines what the film expects us to echo---more power and freedom to pink.