Saturday, September 24, 2016

Pink the Movie: The Movie that started a discussion on consent

What is a definitive no, and do we really understand consent, even as women, the kind of consent that we should rightfully be able to lay claims on? Does a woman become a 'loose character" if she doesn't wear modest clothes and consumes alcohol? Should her loud laughter and friendliness be considered as a doubtless "yes" ? Do men who support women in their quest for equality exist, and why are they frowned upon?
These are the important points that Pink raises. It loudly and unbashedly questions the " victim blaming" culture that men of Indian families, leave alone goons do not understand. Although people were praising Meenal (Tapsee Pannu) I also fell in love with the other characters especially that of Falak (Kirti Kulhari) who is making ends meet and is the sole breadwinner of the family.Andrea's (Andrea Tsaring) character struggles to tell Indian people that women from the north east are one of us, as opposed to how they are considered to be, especially the stereotypes around their character.
The things that I couldn't digest was the title of the film. We are tired and bored of the feminization of the colour pink. Once upon a time pink was considered a masculine colour, and this again is a Western import.  A female lawyer instead of Mr.Bachchan could have done more justice to the character and would have been more emphatic. Perhaps we have still not evolved as a society to take women professionals seriously. The sequences of a creepy neighbour keeping a check on three working girls living in the neighbourhood were scary.Why did Falak wrongfully admit to taking money when none of them had agreed to exchanging favours for dinner or drinks? Perhaps she might have done it to remove the stigma around sex work or did she try to make a point about consent and it's withdrawal. Why did the lawyer appearing in defence for the girls raise questions about Meenal's sexual past and use it as a yardstick to prove a point?


The winner was the scene where Mr.Bachchan shakes the confidence of Rajvir (Angad Bedi) and his faith in the shallowed patriarchal values he was raised with. Particularly notable was the instance when Sehgal shows Rajvir a picture of his sister drinking at a local pub. Why should a different parameter to certify the character for "bahu, beti, behen" be used and another one for women who do not belong to your family?
Despite all the flaws and the unecessary high voltage Bollywood style court room drama Pink is a movie that makes you think about consent and victim blaming. It's a must watch especially for women and all the men who have set morality standards for women in their families and those outside,particularly those who earn their own money, live independently, have male friends, drink and wear what they want.
Pink is a milestone for Bollywood, for initiating tough and undeterred discussions around women's rights.

Some of the hard-hitting dialogues that would make us think

Hamare yaha ghadi ki sui, character decide karti hai

Kisi bhi ladki ko, kisi bhi ladke ke saath, kahi bhi akele nahi jana chahiye. Kyunki aisa karne pe, wahan ke log ye assume kar lete hai ki wo ladki willingly wahan pe aayi hai aur unhe usse touch karne ka license issue kar dia gaya hai.

Raat ko ladkiyan jab sadak pe akeli jaati hai to gaadiyaan slow jaati hai aur unke sheeshe neeche ho jate hai. Din mei ye mahan idea kisiko nahi aata.


Sharab ko yaha ek galat character ki nishani maana jaata hai, sirf ladkiyon ke liye. Ladkon ke liye to ye sirf ek Health Hazard hai!

Rock show mei hai to hint hai. Library ya mandir mein hai to hint nahi hai! Venue decide karta hai aapka character.

Shahar mein ladkiyon ko akela nahi rehna chahiye. Ladke reh sakte hai par ladkiyan nahi. Akeli, independent ladkiyan, ladkon ko confuse kar deti hai.

Jo ladkiyan party mei jaati hai aur drink karti hai, wo pushtaini hak ban jaati hai aapka

Agar ladkiyan, ladkon ke saath dinner ya drinks pe jaati hai to ye unki apni choice hoti hai. Available hone ka sign board nahi banke jaati.

‘Na’ sirf ek shabd nahi… apne aap mein pura vakya hai. Ise kisi tark, spashtikaran,explanation ya vyakhya ki jaroorat nahi hoti.

These boys must realise that No ka matlab No hota hai. Use bolne wali ladki koi parichit ho, friend ho, girlfriend ho, koi sex worker ho ya aapki apni biwi hi kyu na ho. ‘No’ means no and when someone says No, you stop.


Watch the trailer of the movie and decide for yourself



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