As the Delhi High Court gives a split verdict on marital rape, we bring films and series that have highlighted the sensitive issue

Sheetal

Bollywood has been highlighting societal issues for long and raising awareness on sensitive issues. As Delhi High Court’s two-judge bench gave a split verdict on the demand to criminalise marital rape, here is a look at films and series that have highlighted the sensitive issue.

Take a stand

I haven’t really seen marital rape being highlighted in a mature way, so can’t refer to any series or movie. On Delhi High Court’s judgment, it’s half a win with one judge agreeing that marital rape is a crime. But it’s shocking to see the narrative that criminalising marital rape is a threat to marriage. One has to consider the seriousness of the issue. Men are scared that it will be used against them. But, I find that argument futile. Going by that, we should have no laws at all because so often someone uses the law in a wrong way. The law must stand against marital rape. — Madhureeta Anand, Director

Rani Mukerji’s debut movie Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat(1996), directed by Ashok Gaikwad, highlighted the social judgement to marry a victim to the rapist. Another film, Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence, starring Raveena Tandon, came out in 2001 and won her the National Award for Best Actress. Directed by Kalpana Lajmi, the film revolved around Durga Saikia (Raveena), who faces marital rape and violence at the hands of her husband (played by Sayaji Shinde). She escapes the horrors of her marriage with her child, but is brought back. Ultimately, she takes the matter into her hands and kills her husband. Priyanka Chopra’s 7 Khoon Maaf, a drama based on Susanna’s Seven Husbands by Ruskin Bond and directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, also involves a murder. Her third husband, played by Irrfan Khan, rapes her after marriage and she ends up killing him.

True story

Please Arrest Me, a documentary and more of a case study, won accolades at international festival. A campaign by RIT foundation, the six-minute-forty-second video content shows how a man walks to a police station in Delhi to own up his crime of marital rape and is yet not arrested. Soon after the campaign, the foundation that made the documentary claimed women in India had started sharing their own stories privately with them. Official selection at Delhi Short Film Festival 2019, and International Film festival of Valencia, it won the Best Documentary award in One Screen Short Film Festival 2019. It is also ranked #16 for world’s most creatively awarded campaign in 2021 by World Advertising Research Centre.

Provoked, a 2007 drama based on the life of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, also involves a wife who is forced to kill her abusive husband. Jagmohan Mundhra, an Indian-American, before directing Provoked had come out with films like Kamla (1984), based on flesh trade, and Bawandar (2000), which was based on the gang rape victim Bhanwari Devi’s struggle for justice. Nushrratt Bharucha also played a marital rape victim in 2013 film Akaash Vani.

Recent offerings

The second installment of Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors, released in 2020, is an attempt to garner attention towards this issue. As Kriti Kulhari turns from a marital rape victim to a survivor, the drama moves to the courtroom and reflects the position of women in our social system. The idea of a perfect family is also questioned, as what meets the eye cannot always be the reality.

Female support

Women directors, like Alankrita Shrivastava and Leena Yadav, have taken upon themselves to capture this delicate subject in a brilliant manner. In Parched by Leena and Lipstick Under My Burkha by Alankrita, the directors have interwoven marital rape with other parallel female narratives, making it an all-female multi-starrer cast. Konkona Sen Sharma’s character as Shireen Aslam portrays the horrors of an affectionless marriage. It doesn’t end at sexual abuse, but she is denied contraceptives and forced to undergo multiple abortions. 

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