Tuesday, August 15, 2017

PINK Mocking hypocrisy like never before




I got my hands into Pink exactly after one year of it’s release and I am happy that it happened. I loved the movie for the fact that it perfectly portrays a misogynist society where the stereotypical norms and prejudice only shackles women. Pink was a surprising exception among the movies crossing hundred crores with five songs, few kissing scenes, humor, a bit of Bollywood masaala and well known celebrities. Gripping from the start to end, Pink is a courtroom drama revolving around the lives of three working women who stay in South Delhi and are flat mates.

Summing the movie in short, three women go to a rock show and have dinner with newly met friends. Unfortunately the evening takes an ugly turn for them after a couple of drinks. Rajveer molests Meenal and as a step of self-protection she hits Rajveer on the head, injuring his eye. These girls lose their smiles and peace of mind but when nothing pops up for three days they believe the story has ended. Rajveer who cannot believe he nearly lost an eye because a woman hit him decides to seek vengeance on them. The three women are subjected to constant threats, intimidation and harassment from Rajveer and his friends. Meenal is abducted and terrorized, Meenal's roommate Falak loses her job because of morphed pictures of her on a porn site, Andria is sent threatening messages on phone and their amiable landlord is threatened with harm until he evicts the girls. The boys lay siege and do their best to break the women into submission.  The guys malign and intimidate them in every way possible but when it doesn’t work Rajveer uses his powerful connections to file a wrong FIR against the girls labeling them prostitutes. When no lawyer is ready to fight their case, the creepy neighbor suffering from bipolar disorder comes to their rescue. As the case unfolds we can see the deep set prejudice of the society. Prosecutor tries to break them down by trying to prove all three to be promiscuous. Meenal is asked scathing questions. Prying neighbors build the women’s character on crazy speculations and blame them. Even a woman investigative officer forgets her womanhood and helps the wrong ones in their ill motives. Police disapproves to lodge a complaint just because the perpetrator is from an influential household. But with the help of the lawyer, the women triumph over the odds and like a phoenix they rise from ashes.

The movie clearly lays bare the double standards of the society we live in where women who drink are believed to be characterless but alcohol consumption for male is considered just a health hazard. Being feisty and frank for woman is considered to giving hints for sexual approach but for men it is considered to being friendly. It’s fine for men to live independently in a city but not for a woman as it confuses men. It’s okay for men to visit their female friends in their flats but a woman will be judged for bringing a man to her flat. If a woman has a sexual history she is of questionable character but a man’s isn’t a questionable matter though it needs two to tango.

It mocks the society where the ticks of the clock and venue determine a woman’s character. A woman is believed to be giving hints if she is present in rock show but she is believed to be from a decent household if she is found in a library or a temple. Where character assassination and slut shaming is all it needs to break a girl down. It beautifully pictures our society where men and women are judged by a different moral yardstick and ridicules people who assume that if a woman is willingly roaming around with a man then he has the license to touch her. It presents the hollow mentality of men which believes a girl who is ready to drink with them would have no problem to sleep with them either.




Acting of all the characters are so convincing and top notch that you start hating the prosecutor every time he trashes the female character and tries to modify truth for his profit, you start hating the male characters every moment  they pass a sexist comment. The anxiety, frustrations and angst of the three flat mates is so realistic that you start to see yourself in their shoes.  Even in his seventies Amitabh Bacchan wows the audience by his magnetic and prolific acting. The hard hitting dialogues which embarrass and enlighten you at the same time, well fleshed story and the acting makes the movie worth a watch. The movie perfectly establishes the fact that when a girl says no to being touched, then no man has the right to force himself on her whether a woman is a sex-worker, wife or slave. No isn’t a word but it is itself a sentence which needs no logic clarification or explanation.

Pink is a powerful statement on the existing feudal mindset of a majority of India. Though set in Delhi the movie was quite contextual and relateable. The concept was nothing new and I have been feeling it as a Nepali woman too yet it gave me goose bumps. A very single plot conveys so heavy message with such an ease that it demands for appreciation. Pink is definitely worth a watch.

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