Speaking at the 17th edition of the New York Indian Film Festival where her film Lipstick Under My Burkha premiered, director Alankrita Shrivastava said the film was from the point of women, but men too are victims of patriarchy. The film, which came under the ire of the CBFC who initially declined certification, is all set to release after the FCAT ordered the board to clear the movie with an ‘A’ censor certificate.
Shrivastava also criticised the CBFC saying it did not really represent citizens, but that should not stop filmmakers from telling hard-hitting stories. While some have said that men are being misrepresented in the film, the director clarified that men too were “stuck” patriarchy, as they were taught certain roles, and did not know other ways to behave.
She said “I feel that the men may come across as negative but they themselves are victims of patriarchy. They are really stuck. They don’t know any other way. I don’t see them as negative. I see them as people who don’t know any better and without thinking they have constantly perpetuated the same thing.” She said the idea for the film emerged from her own sense of “not feeling fully free” and “always yearning for freedom. I was preoccupied with that thought.”
The movie is set in Bhopal and revolves around the lives of four women who are trapped in their own world, and shows how they claim their desires through rebellion. Shrivastava also said there were a lot of women in India who live in unfulfilling marriages, but cannot talk about it.
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Speaking about her inspiration for her characters, she said, “So many women never experience sexual fulfillment. They don’t even know what that means and are spending all their energy just fulfilling the role of a wife.”
Lipstick Under My Burkha stars Konkana Sen, Aahana Kumra, and Plabita Borthakur. The film has already won the Spirit of the Asia Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star, and the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at the Festival International de Films de Femmes.
Picture Courtesy: The Reel and Variety