It has been a decade of watching movies where beautiful, young women dance surrounded by hundreds of men; bikini clad ladies jumping on the beach and of course, wailing, deprived and depressed girls heart-broken in love and women subjected to mistreatment. We all enjoy the Bollywood item numbers and feel pity for the woman crying in movies. But what happens when the ordinary Indian woman comes out through cinema? Will it be accepted by the people?
We, as a society portray women as creatures who are always dependent on the so- called better sex-"men" and it reflects in our movies. A girl is first dependent on her father or family, she falls in love with a guy, sings some romantic songs on the top of a hill, the guy fights off villains, there is some item song in between with no sense at all and the hero-heroine get married and have kids – this is the basic plot for almost every masala movie that we come across. But what happens if a movie with struggles, aspirations, fantasies, desires and dreams inspired from real women of our society is made, unconcerned about what the society thinks about it?
These past few days, we saw a huge controversy about a certain movie titled Lipstick under my burkha. It may have grabbed the international attention with Spirit of Asia Award, Audience Award at the Glasgow Film Festival, and the Oxfam Award in the category of Best Film in Gender Equality but all these could not save Alankrita Srivastava's film from the wrath of the Central Board Film Certification in India. Marked as "lady- oriented", it received a status which made it unfit for public viewing. A copy of CBFC letter received by the film's producer Prakash Jha States, "The story is lady oriented and focuses on their fantasy about life. There are continuous sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and a bit of sensitive touch about one particular section of society, hence, the film is refused." The film from a "women's perspective" revolves around the life of four women - burkha-clad college girl, a young beautician, a mother of three and a 55-year-old widow who rediscovers her sexuality.
Whenever there is a movie made with a realistic portrayal of ordinary women, there is a huge cry over it. Some claim that this is a false interpretation of women of our society, some take it on their religion and some straight away dismiss the idea of an independent woman with high ambitions and curiosity. In a country like India, which proudly showcases its so called "liberal" views and culture; it is shocking to see how the society is still dominated by the male gaze. On one hand, women are given the place of a goddess, calling them pure and on the other, they are being objectified, either to fulfill the desire of a man or the society. A woman can wear shiny costumes and dance to those trashy, low-grade item numbers with a bunch of men staring at her in a lecherous manner but dare she open her mouth and talk about her emotions, dreams, and sexual desires; she would be in a huge trouble for protesting or disobeying the patriarchy. How dare she see things from her own perspective and change the status quo of the society? And, yes, it is not only women but also men who try to break free from the patriarchy they face.
Cinema plays an important role in shaping human mind. From friendship to love affair, we Indians have a way of comparing it with what we see in reel life. Is it not similar in case of women? This is not the first time that artistic expressions are being restricted. Several movies like Angry Indian Goddesses, Fire, The Pink Mirror, Bandit Queen and many more had the same fate. "Such strong movies should be available for public viewing. There are other ways to watch these movies but cinema is a medium which reaches the mass audience and by censoring it and frowning upon it, we are confining that reach," says Neha Singh, a second-year NIFT student.
"The censoring of films and banning has become frequent. It is as if the filmmakers should make their films to impress the censor board and not their target audience. Instead of banning the movies, the whole nation should actually take a stand against these so called "liberal" decision-makers," said Priyanka Ghosh Dastidar, a journalism graduate.
An important feature of any nation, which claims itself to be democratic is the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to its citizen. To break the status quo mentality, acknowledgement of new ideas and thoughts becomes very important. "As a woman, and as a filmmaker, I have decided that I will not shut up. I refuse to be silenced. I will not be discouraged. I will fight to ensure that 'Lipstick Under My burkha' is released in cinemas in India. And I will continue to make "lady-oriented" films as long as I can," says Alankrita Srivastava, the director of' Lipstick Under My Burkha'. In our society, a woman talking about her sexual desires, her thoughts and her ideas is a taboo. The important question is when will the time come when women can break free of all the bondages.