Please do not read any further if you are going to watch this movie. I am writing for people who can't see the film and where it is ban.
Spoiler Alert . Stop reading.
Go watch film if you can.
Are you sure you can't watch movie ?
Final Warning
Synopsis
I saw lipstick under my Burkha in a private viewing in London. It is a story of 4 women 1 is young teenager(Plabita Borthakur)and she wears burkha and she is from conservative family and then she goes to college and wears jeans take part in protests to wear Jeans. She smokes,drinks and have a boyfriend ( Shashank Arora) She even steals dress from shop for which she gets caught because her boyfriend had pregnanted another girl who had to have abortion.
Second story is about a girl who works in beauty parlour girl ( Aahana Kumara) who is about to get married to a overly sweet nice boy ( Vaibbhav Tattwawdi ) because of pressure of her mother (Sonal Jha) ( her mother is also art model nude artist and she was going to get an apartment from her girl's fiance) but girl is in love with a muslim boy( Vikrant Massey) who is a photographer and also taking photos of their engagement. Beauty Parlour Girl has sex with photographer on day of her engagement and takes video of it. Her fiance is sweet gives her lots of gifts and attention. She would have to live in joint family and in crowded place. Her mother knows about other guy still wants her to get married to this fiance.She wants to run away to Delhi but then she doesn't because muslim guy isn't ready. He gets jealous when she starts getting close to her fiance. Her fiance finds video of her sex and confronts her. She is shown confused until end.
Third women is a Muslim woman ( Konkana Sen Sharma) married to a Muslim man ( Sushant Singh)
who used to work in Saudi and return after sometime and always used to have unprotected sex with his wife which would cause her to abort and take pills. They have 3 children and they have lots of sex but he doesn't treat her right or even kiss her. She had lot of pain but her husband won't wear condom. Doctor also explains. She is very ambitious and good saleswoman , gives speech and selling things but her husband doesn't know all this as she is afraid to tell him. She has been offered job for Sales Trainer. She finally realizes that her husband doesn't have a job until he is able to empty old building where they live to rebuilt and instead he goes everyday to a cafe. He even has an affair with another woman. She sees couple of times and then she follows affair woman and demonstrates some products. One of the product was for facial exercise and she basically offered from her mouth one to her. Affair woman says how can I take something which is from your mouth to my mouth. She then tells her I am wife of her husband. Husband then punishes her still with sex and asks her not try to be husband and remain wife.
Fourth woman (Ratna Pathak) is also owner of building where they all live. She is old around 55 and government asking them to leave house as it is getting old. They are in Bhopal. She goes swimming with kids and kid fools her that he is going to drown so she tries to save him but instead she gets wet. She is Buaji and she forgets her own name until very young and well built instructor asks him what's her name. She goes to buy swimming costume as she has been asked by this handsome swimming instructor to come for training.She is very shy and lies that swimming costume is for some other girl. She lies that she is going to satsang when actually she is going to swimming. She starts calling this handsome swimming instructor and they have phone sex. So when swimming instructor thought that he is talking to very young and beautiful woman called Rosy. Rosy was actually this old woman and he was very disappointed when he finally realizes that. Buaji lived with other people and everyone comes to know about her Mills and Boons Collection in Hindi even people living with her and asks to leave building. They throw away all her stuff.
Throughout movie there is also narration from Mills and Boons Hindi Version by Ratna Pathak . Devastated all 4 women sit together and only last 3 pages were left and they realize that they all have dreams and have courage to dream. It didn't matter whether they came true or not.
It is most liked by movie and really those are same sort of feelings felt by different women at different age.
Whether as a Teenager you aren't able to pursue college fully or your interests.
Whether as a Young Woman you aren't able to decide whom to marry.
Whether as a Woman with children you aren't allowed to work or your spouse is cheating on you while you are taking care of children.
Whether as a Widow you aren't allowed to have any life apart from being religious and if you are still alive and kicking sexually there is something wrong with you.
Why it got banned?
This is what wikipedia says :
"The story is lady oriented, their fantasy above life. There are contanious [sic] sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and a bit sensitive touch about one particular section of society"
I personally feel the reason it got banned is because of name "Lipstick under my Burkha"
I also do not think that it represents all of India. At all times we should remember that this is just a story in some small place. However there is some reality in these stories but not all.
Would "one particular section of society" (cough...Muslim/ Islamic) would be offended? I am not sure. It does bring up issue of Burkha but there isn't much said apart from her general suffocation in not being able to be creative whether by singing or by exploring fashion. Women are expected to wear Burkha but whether one sees this as restrictive or not is subjective. Subject of Burkha / hijab gets discussed in Western Countries quiet a lot. How somebody wearing it is seen as oppressive to women. However if you watch movie carefully underlying message is women are oppressed whether they are dressed in Burkha or not. One does realize that it has got nothing to do with the way they are dressed?
Another topic I felt that movie portrayal that young woman's definition of freedom to be equivalent to going to audition, how she dresses, smokes, drinks and having boyfriend could be sort of behaviour not wanting to be encouraged in Indian Society. None of them are interlinked.
Somebody wearing saree doesn't define that she is morally good or has good character.
Somebody wearing trousers and shirt tell that they are having many boyfriends.
Men were also portrayed in a lousy light. Indian Men are portrayed with horror of domestic violence, rape,etc.
Why it shouldn't have been banned?
India is and have always been open about sex until it was colonized. We invented Kama Sutra. We don't want to talk about sex. Actions like this reaffirm that India is conservative and not ready for Indian female voice. However seeing several Bollywood Film I can confirm that Indian youth and society is ready for this sort of movie. Whatever was in the movie is actually happening in real life. There are lots of western movies with lot of nudity is in cinemas and on prime time TV in India.
It is very much acceptable to talk about Rape in India in a daytime television but not Female Sexuality which is indeed shame.
It is wonderful story of 4 women and it is funny and relatable to most women and would have been good education for men.
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