Lipstick Under My Burkha director Alankrita Srivastava along with film’s cast Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur attended special screening of their film in Whistling Woods International Film School on Tuesday in Mumbai. While interacting with media, Alankrita stated that Lipstick Under My Burkha won battle on Gender Equality and Freedom front.
The film was initially denied a release in India in January 2017, after the country’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused a certificate, stating that “There are contagious sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and a bit sensitive touch about one particular section of society but later FCAT reversed the decision of CBFC and it eventually released in theatres, talking about whole experience, Alankrita said, “The decision of CBFC was completely wrong. They were suppressing women voice but tribunal reversed that decision. I feel we want women to get similar kind of freedom just like men to tell their stories but this incident showed that we have to fight for our equality and it is not going to get us in form of gift. Gender Equality and Freedom on both these aspects it was important that our film won that battle.”
“The best thing was so many people across the country came and watched our film. Normally Indie films never get this kind of audience. It’s a ray of hope for Indie cinema and lady oriented films. I feel this country and its thought process is changing and now we are getting ready to embrace new kind of cinema”
Talking about response her film get from critics and the general audience, she said, “We are very happy that our film did well more than our expectations. For me, it’s not about box-office numbers it’s about how many people came to watch our film. I think for so many people in India to watch the film, I feel vindicated and it’s special because it has taken us so long to get film out for the audience”
Alankrita also threw light on how women in India doesn’t get equal chances as compared to men when it comes to following their dreams and passion, he said, “If you see any professional field, how many women completed their studies but if you go on actual field and if you see number of women who are actually pursuing their career, there is huge disparity in those numbers. Now days more number of women are getting educated which is good thing but still they think that their destination is marriage. I feel it’s high time this changes and women should be encouraged to follow their career and dreams”
Lipstick Under My Burkha starred Aahana Kumara, Konkona Sen Sharma, Plabita Borthakur and Ratna Pathak Shah in lead roles. It was produced by Prakash Jha and distributed by Ekta Kapoor.
