Reema Gupta
Jul 28, 2017 · 3 min read

Film Review — Lipstick Under my Burkha

“You cant have your cake and eat it too”, well both literally and figuratively for Alankrita Srivasatvas Burkha that prominently reveals more than what it covers. Srivastava clearly wants it both ways — while on one side she looks for an acknowledgement of the suppression (mostly at a sexual level) faced by a large number of women, primarily belonging to a certain strata in our country,by the urbane, cosmopolitan cine-goers, on the other side she[RG1] strives to create stir enough by being more than just explicit about the lead characters’ sexuality (which, in my opinion, would have worked far better with innuendos to the same).

So, the lead characters appear more debauched than justified in the expression of their carnal instincts. Its both ugly and atrocious to watch men humping women or an imaginative character (Rosy) ranting her wild ecstasies — and both these things happening multiple times during the course of the film. On such instances, the film shouts loud of what I’d say is Pseudo Feminism. If it were just the subject of a woman exploring her yet supressed sexuality, then I cant help but remember the far better etched out character of Kalki’s in “Margherita With A Straw’. For those who don’t know, this one was about a paraplegic, who at some point in her life, discovering and appreciating her sexual side, starts giving in to her hormones, even turns into a situational bisexual, and eventually comes to terms with her life, of which SEXUALITY IS JUST A PART. In Lipstick, on the contrary — the young Rehana appears disapproving when she gets more into vices (shoplifting, smoking, drinking, partying, boy-friending J) than focussing on nurturing her talent of singing; the 55 plus Bhuaji whose fantasies can give a 20 year old run for her money, and the spunky beautician Leela (the lesser said for her, the better) whose libido can give the Tsunami a beat, and who dares to say to her ex (for whom it was long over), “Sex to kar le”. Maybe true of humans, but ugly on screen! Needless to say all of them land up with good-for-nothing, frivolous men, and fall flat on their faces. The only character whose trauma and struggle appear more justified and buyable are Shirin’s, a lady who is laid every single night by her jobless, philandering husband, who believes contraception is the female’s problem (if at all it is one) and prohibits her from working outside of the house. True, suppressed freedom and dismayed circumstances can shape out into various desires, but do they have to be raunchy and/ or lustful alone? Are things like career, education, taking up a cause, not even in the radar of thoughts of women trying to come of age?

Its just last week when I saw Sridevi’s Mom (All by myself), and despite of a sensitive subject, came out emotional and smiling (at the same time) for the sheer subtlety with which the film was handled. After watching Lipstick, I come out with puckered lips, frowned brows and a feeling of dejection as a woman. I see none of the women characters having enough meat to even attempt changing what they set out to (or did they even, in the first place?). A dumber audience, like me, is left to her imagination as to what course of action these 4 women will take hereon (after coming out in the open, that too getting caught unaware, not by choice) to get their shattered lives back on track. Was it all about getting together and sharing a fag in the open eventually? Then spare us the fuss girls! Time to redefine democracy or worse/ better feminism?

And finally, coming back to where we started from — THE CAKE — unfortunately for me, Plagiarism, not at its very best. Clearly remember the Shaifali Shah of Zoya akhtar’s posh Dil Dhadakne Do, doing a far better job than Lipstick’s Konkana (of gorging on a big cake pie) when both women were similarly thrown into dejection by their mean and philandering husbands.

[RG1]