LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA -- a review

LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA – a review


If you haven't seen 'Lipstick Under my Burkha' then you have probably not seen a movie that is bold in its presentation, unique in its matter and bla`ze about public reactions that it might generate.

The movie is about the journey of four spunky women in the congested back lanes of Bhopal who dare to dream and rebel, that too in a claustrophobic mansion, ‘Hawai Mahal’, given out to poverty-stricken tenants. Like the name of the building itself, their dreams too remain elusive and dim. Yet they chase a fantasy of their own, conspicuously in a trance.

Lily (Ahana Kumra), a beautician by profession, doesn't believe in arranged marriages. Rehana (Plabita Borthakur), a Freshman in college, chooses to do away with the Burkha and Shirin Aslam (Konkana Sen Sharma), hates to endure domestic rape day in and day out. Even a loving, middle-aged, but bossy Usha, (Ratna Pathak) wants to break away from her elderly ‘Buaji’ image and secretly indulges in romantic erotica in the privacy of her home. But their secret acts of rebellion, to taste life at their whims and fancies, get snuffed out and silenced by the norms imposed by a conservative society that expects women to be super models of virtue.

Written and directed by Alankrita Srivastava and produced by Prakash Jha, the movie leaves an indelible mark on its viewers digging deep into the psyche of women displaying countless shades of emotion interwoven together that speak of infinite possibilities. Although a serious subject, the director has thrown in humour and familiar everyday matters in any household to make this extraordinary collage of fantasy and reality come to life and make us mull over some serious issues irking our society.

If you are dithering about taking in a dose of some bitter truths, this movie will enlighten you about life seen from an angle that we normally choose to ignore.
Copyright © Dola Dutta Roy
July 25, 2017

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