Lipstick Under My Burkha Movie Download

6 / 10

A feminist film where all (or most) men characters are rotten by default, but one that raises valid points! [+62%]
There’s more to like than dislike when it comes to the film ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’. The film narrates the tale of four women in a neighborhood in Bhopal.

Leela (Aahana Kumra) wants to run a honeymoon-management venture with photographer (and sexual partner) Arshad (Vikrant Massey) around the same time that she gets engaged to Manoj (the typical groom with 90s Bollywood sensibilities) leaving her in a dilemma on who to choose while going forward in life. Rehana (Plabita Borthakur) gets to portray a character that resembles the film’s title – a college student who loves to wear bold designer dresses, jeans and sneakers (and of course, lipstick) under the dark burkha she dons while leaving/returning her home (her folks are in the tailoring business). Shirin (Konkona Sen Sharma) is a saleswoman by day (which her husband doesn’t know of) and sex-object for her husband by night. Usha Buaji (Ratna Pathak Shah) is in her mid 50s, a matriarch known for her uprightness. She secretly engages in a horny phone- romance with a young swimming coach.

Wait, all these characters are actually different shades of ‘Rosy’ – the fictitious heroine of an erotic novel, read by Buaji. Or are they not? While the film raises valid points on freedom of expression (in terms of occupational aspirations, dressing styles, sexual interests or taste in music even) when it comes to womenfolk, it does so at by portraying most of the men characters as vile/rotten/insecure. Is it so hard to make a feminist film without depicting the men as scoundrels (cheating husbands, jealous and instantly-dumping boyfriends, daddies who believe their daughters should be hidden away in boxes)? I think a feminist masterpiece would take shape only when women are portrayed (holistically) on/above par with their strong-willed (and well- written) better halves. That’s when you feel a sense of genuine gratification. ‘LUMB’ ultimately falls well short on this aspect and the climax has the feel of an under-cooked dish (symbolic of one of those ‘shredded novellas’).

Of all the four characters, I think I’d have to go with Shirin. Konkona induces a tinge of subtlety to her character that the viewer finds easy to empathize with, and also gets some of the best-written scenes in the film (one involving a pest-control gun). While the rest of the performances are solid on their own terms, it is the intrepid rendition of certain (though-of-as) tabooed themes that mostly strike the viewer as refreshingly good. And here’s something I found quite odd. Rehana is both a ‘Miley Cyrus’ and ‘Led Zeppelin’ fan. (It almost feels like she has only listened to that one path- breaking popular song from a band and all of a sudden, started addressing them as her favorite!).

This isn’t ‘English Vinglish’, ‘Queen’ or ‘Parched’. Still, I’d say ‘LUMB’ is worth a viewing for its unabashed take on women’s desires and aspirations (regardless of age), though with its own set of flaws.

Verdict: Not a must-watch, but worth checking out!Read More