Censors' decision reflects silencing of alternative view: Alankrita
Mar 21, 2017
Director Alankrita Shrivastava, whose movie 'Lipstick Under
My Burkha', has been
denied certification by India's censor board, says the decision
reflects a systematic silencing of an alternative view.
'Personally, I am quite offended by their decision because
it reflects systematic silencing of an alternative view. They are trying to
tell that women should keep quiet, they need not tell their stories, no need
to express how women feel about themselves, and only thing needs to be expressed
how man sees women,' Shrivastava said here on Tuesday.
'It is quite ironic that the censor board of India feels that
they need to refuse certification for this film. I think it reflects badly on
them that they termed the film pornographic, to use it as some sort of justification,'
added the director.
The movie revolves around four women -- a burqa-clad college
girl, a young beautician, a mother of three and a 55-year-old widow -- who rediscover
their sexuality. According to the censor board, the film is laced with sexual
scenes and abusive words.
'There is something awfully wrong in the way the censor board
in India is functioning. Obviously they have no idea, how to watch a film or
interpret a film, they have no idea of gender dynamics, politics of representation,
context of the gaze, alternative narratives.
'It seems to me that they have this popular mainstream narrow
male gaze, which is represented in mainstream cinema,' Shrivastava added.
'Lipstick Under My Burkha' stars an impressive ensemble of
actors, which includes Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, Aahana Kumra, Plabita
Borthakur, Sushant Singh, Vikrant Massey, Shashank Arora, Vaibbhav Tatwawdi
and Jagat Singh Solanki.
Mar 21, 2017
Director Alankrita Shrivastava, whose movie 'Lipstick Under
My Burkha', has been
denied certification by India's censor board, says the decision
reflects a systematic silencing of an alternative view.
'Personally, I am quite offended by their decision because
it reflects systematic silencing of an alternative view. They are trying to
tell that women should keep quiet, they need not tell their stories, no need
to express how women feel about themselves, and only thing needs to be expressed
how man sees women,' Shrivastava said here on Tuesday.
'It is quite ironic that the censor board of India feels that
they need to refuse certification for this film. I think it reflects badly on
them that they termed the film pornographic, to use it as some sort of justification,'
added the director.
The movie revolves around four women -- a burqa-clad college
girl, a young beautician, a mother of three and a 55-year-old widow -- who rediscover
their sexuality. According to the censor board, the film is laced with sexual
scenes and abusive words.
'There is something awfully wrong in the way the censor board
in India is functioning. Obviously they have no idea, how to watch a film or
interpret a film, they have no idea of gender dynamics, politics of representation,
context of the gaze, alternative narratives.
'It seems to me that they have this popular mainstream narrow
male gaze, which is represented in mainstream cinema,' Shrivastava added.
'Lipstick Under My Burkha' stars an impressive ensemble of
actors, which includes Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, Aahana Kumra, Plabita
Borthakur, Sushant Singh, Vikrant Massey, Shashank Arora, Vaibbhav Tatwawdi
and Jagat Singh Solanki.
Tags: Konkona Sen SharmaSushant Singh RajputLipstick Under My Burkha