Pink (2016)

Synopsis: When three young women are implicated in a crime, a retired lawyer steps forward to help them clear their names. -IMDb.com

Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (M)

Writers: Shoojit Sircar (M), Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (M)

Stars: Tapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang

CW Sexual Assault

Pink was a happy accident for me. As a result of my heavily altered viewing habits, Netflix has begun suggesting films for me with People of Colour in leading roles… which led me to this little gem.

Pink is a film that tackles the theme of gender inequality head on, and more specifically, issues around sexual consent. The three female protagonists stand accused of attempted murder after being sexually assaulted by men they had met in a bar. What follows is a kind of A-Z of victim blaming & demonisation by the criminal justice system.

The three women persuade their neighbour Deepak (Amitabh Bachchan), a retired and well-respected lawyer, to defend them against the charges. Deepak’s arguments in court are a series of well-constructed retorts to all the cultural & social bias that women face.

Chowdhury isn’t shy with the subject, and at times Pink is heavy-handed and refreshingly so. The very lack of ambiguity in the film’s standpoint is like a light being shone onto the subject, exposing all of the nuanced ways that sexual assault can be misunderstood and mishandled.

All-in-all I thought this film was an unusually bold attack on misogyny and I loved it. Well worth a look.