In the ongoing deluge of shunning the need and quest for feminism from all corners of the world, Alankrita’s Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burkha was far too ‘feminine’ to be washed down the throats of India’s male-dominated society. In what seems like a universal habit, we always tend to grow still to acceptance; be it a new change, trend, someone’s sexual orientation, or something as petty as a film. Lipstick Under My Burkha, one of the most awaited films of the year; the one that had been under the scanner all this while is now on its way to release in the theaters amidst the floods of mockery, ridiculed and being shamed as going against the culture and the sanskaras.
Feminism Since age unknown, have swirled in several tornadoes if misconceptions and is often bad-mouthed and misinterpreted by the male sections of the society, luring in more obscenities and inviting more ridicules for women around the world. In an attempt to make aware of the misinterpreted term and a movement to bring about gender equality, Alankrita Shrivastava crafted this piece of art with sheer glory and hope, only to get it banned from the Censor Board, as being total ‘women-centric’ film.
However, it was Ekta Kapoor who along with her Balaji Motion Pictures and ALT Balaji came forward to distribute the movie, besides releasing the much talked about ‘Lipstickrebellion campaign, calling out all celebrities to spread the message. This campaign has triggered many a controversy and debates owing to the ban that had been imposed on the film. Ekta had always been this rebellious when it comes to staging out protests for something that is absolutely disgraceful and unjustifiable.
The campaign kick-started with all the movie starters like Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, holding up red lipsticks against the middle fingers, depicting their malefic discomfort to patriarchy. Just when they ushered their schismatic approach to male hypocrisy, several other hot-shot celebrities like Karan Kundra, Richa Chaddha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Nasserrudin Shah, took to the protest and mounted a rebellion. With so many brave hearted souls coming forward to rise up in this riot and fight for feminism, the time has now come to question back as to how hard it is to comprehend the need to bring about good sensible movies? How long must men oppress the rights and freedom of women in an advanced society of robots and spacecraft?
How long must heroines titillate audience by shaking their hourglass body to lewd song lyrics? How long must we be fed with awful movies whose concept of machoism is all about rescuing fragile heroines from perverted villains, from being raped, whose concept of heroine is restricted to entertaining to men of all ages, by mouthing bad, and filthy lyrics?
With the battle of feminism getting tougher, it is the time we hold ourselves from feeding on substandard movies, where the content doesn’t seem to advance any further from the colorful dance sequences, foreign locations, flawless heroines, perfect romance, and chickenshit script. It is the time we help those pot-bellied film-makers earn in billions and low-grade heroes from bagging awards for their filth-acting, and instead promote films that hold meanings and sense, the ones that would help make the masses aware of unheard and misinterpreted terms like Feminism.
Let’s join the rebel and help with the film’s success, besides helping women and feminism win; with its truest sense and glory.
Add Comment