Hindi films sometimes go off the beaten track. This is a good thing as it gives directors and serious students to put on celluloid what they dream. one such film is " Lipstick under my Burkha". This is a film produced by Prakash Jha and as we all know he is a name to reckon with in Bollywood. The film was screened at the MAMI film festival in Goa and won rave reviews. it was also screened at the Tokyo film festival where it won an award.
The film is directed by aa 30-year-old girl who is the niece of Prakash Jha and we must
thank her for giving an insight into the thinking of a women's mind. The fact that she has chosen Muslim women is all the more challenging as one realizes that women, Muslim or Hindu have similar dreams.The Indian censor board has however not cleared the film for public screening and one of the reasons is that the film depicts a minority community and seeing the prevailing atmosphere the censors want to avoid trouble. This is just a conjecture as the film is already screened in Goa and nothing happened.
The film directed by Ms. Shristava is a beauty. It relates the tale of 4 women all Muslims from different backgrounds. One of them is a student, another a beautician ad and
another a housewife and the last 55-year-old widow. All these 4 women live out their lives and have dreams. there are some explicit love scenes and a taboo subject as the director shows the 55 years widow loving a younger man.The film runs for just about 2 hours and for voyeurs it can be a titillating experience as there are some torrid scenes. Considering that the director is a woman and just 30, one can surmise she has a personal touch in all of them. All in all, it makes the entertaining film.Prakash Jha and Ms. Shristava have said they will not accept the diktat of the censor board, which has earlier also been embroiled in controversies. They plan to appeal for a review and if necessary go to court. One can realize tat the film " Udta Punjab" could be only released after intervention by the Bombay high court.
The film has slick editing and superb acting with Kon Kon Sen Sharma being the only known name. SushantRajputt is also there, but its the new girls who steal the show.
