Lipstick Under My Burkha is the second feature film directed by Alankrita Shrivastava. It follows four Indian women, ages 18 to 55, as they pursue their dreams and desires in a patriarchal world. This beautifully touching and bold film captivates and entertains as it immerses us in a world where women are second class citizens, and their wants are put behind those of their husbands, boyfriends, and fathers.
Rehana, played by Plabita Borthakur, seeks to break free of her religious parents at college so that she can indulge in her passion for Miley Cyrus and denim, which she hides from her parents beneath a burkha. Her performance is fantastic as Rehana navigates a new world full of partying and music. Her young age makes her vulnerable to the fallout of going against her family, and the repercussions could be serious if she is caught. But you can’t do anything but root for her as she discovers a newfound sense of freedom.
Leela, played by Aahana Kumra, and Shinrin, played by Sen Sharma, are two young women caught in the trappings of marriage. Leela is set to be married to a man she neither knows nor loves, whilst her ambitions to own a photography company with the man she really wants slip away. Shinrin hides her secret life as a successful saleswoman from her unloving and sexually abusive husband.
The oldest of the four is Auntie Usha, played by Ratna Pathak Shah. Hers is perhaps the best performance in the film. It is hilarious and, at times, deeply sad. A widower, Auntie Usha rediscovers her sexual desires after an encounter with a particularly attractive swimming instructor. There is potential for her to be a caricature, but Shah’s performance is so brilliantly measured that we feel a wonderful connection with this older woman rediscovering her desires. Her voice is also used throughout the film to read from an erotic novel that narrates the story.
Lipstick Under My Burkha has proven to be a controversial film in India. Director Alankrita Shrivastava described the climate during a Q+A at the Glasgow Film Festival:
“There’s a government body in India called the central board of film certification, which we refer to as the censor board, because rather than just certifying films they try to act like the moral guardians of the Indian audience.”
The central board of film certification sent Shrivastava this letter.
The director has said she is willing to fight the ruling, and will go to court to that end. But this letter is a reminder that what we see in the film is a reality for many women in India. The controversial nature of the film gave the director challenges in finding funding too:
“There is no systematic way in India for getting funding for independent films, unlike in Europe where there is grants and such. You have to fight for funding from the same sort of studios who only want to bankroll the mainstream Bollywood kind of films, there are no other sources of funding.”
In the end it was the producer, Prakash Jha, who put up the money and allowed the film to be made.
On a technical level Lipstick Under My Burkha is well put together, the editing and cinematography competently coordinated and executed. The score is fantastic, a mixture of more traditional Bollywood tunes with more modern east-west mash ups. Shrivatsava is working with a team she is familiar with and it shows.
Congratulations to Alankrita Shrivastava, the winner of the #GFF17 @ScotRail Audience Award with Lipstick Under My Burkha @alankrita601 pic.twitter.com/0OX0Vg22pQ
— Glasgow Film Fest (@glasgowfilmfest) February 26, 2017
A funny, touching, engaging and engrossing tale, Lipstick Under My Burkha is one of the best films shown at the Glasgow Film Festival. It is rare to find a movie that can move between pathos and the ridiculous with such ease and confidence, and the investment Shrivatsava makes us feel in her characters is a real joy. The film won the audience award this year at the Glasgow Film Festival, and is thoroughly deserving of it.
