To the lipstick dreams: Lipstick under my Burkha

“Yeh kya dekhne aa Gaye, yeh toh bohot gandi movie hai!”- when a certain citizen blurted out this dimwitted remark in the cinema hall, I immediately realised that India has to go a long way, to understand women’s desires, needs and psychology.

The censor board was too frightened to let a “women centric” film, shake the nation to its awakening, and spread awareness about topics which are omnipresent and natural- such as the rights of a woman!

Still, the four women from different age groups, in the city of Bhopal, went on dreaming, scheming, and pursuing their ideas of liberation. Whether it is young college student Rehana (Plabita Borthakur) trying to be a part of the “cool” college crowd by adopting their manners; Leela (Aahana Kumra) a parlour employee who dreams to travel and shares a passionate tryst with her photographer boyfriend while juggling a fiancé; Shireen (Konkona Sen Sharma) a married  saleswoman, who lacks the courage to tell her husband about her job and Usha Buaji (Ratna Pathak Shah) a menopausal woman explores her sexuality by indulging in hindi porn books and pursues a young swimming teacher, incognito.

While they deceive patriarchy with their allegorical ‘burkhas’ and break rules, the conclusion shows the ostracism of the four by their acquaintances who were unaware of their personal adventures.

Messages are loud- Fierce avowal of sexual desire, the exploration and discovery of it, independence, silent rebellion and stark realism are the key ingredients.

Neither a satisfactory solution to the lives of the oppressed protagonists is offered nor promises of empowerment are made, except the stereotyped allegory of rebellion i.e. smoking. This in itself marks the realism of small town societies- the futility of women’s desires in a patriarchal setup which still objectifies women and the need for education and independence, so that ‘lipsticks’ and ‘cigarettes’ do not remain the only symbols of power for women.