Ashdoc's movie review---Pink

[ashdoc]

Review has spoilers

Three mod babes go to a resort with some young guys they meet at a rock concert . The three seem to be from the bubble gum crowd---wearing miniskirts or shorts showing off their lovely legs and thighs , wearing sleeveless tops that show off bra straps....but are actually more than just that , having had experience of sex with multiple partners before . The guys are not from their class---sure they have money , but are a world away with their feudal mindset of considering mod babes as 'usable material' and not allowing women of their own family any freedoms .

A scuffle breaks off between the girls and the guys which leaves one of the guys badly injured and being rushed to hospital . What could have happened that led to the fight---this the audience is left wondering , for both sides have different views of the matter and until the end of the movie what happened is not actually shown . Rather , it is reconstructed in front of the audience as their opposing versions in court .

So what could have happened ? Considering the obvious political correctness that such a movie is bound to take , shouldn't it be clear to the audience from the start that the guys must be in the wrong and the women in the right ? That the guys were about to rape the girls....

But the movie stretches the political correctness to the limit . What if I told you that the girls actually agreed to take payment for sex and changed their mind at the last moment because when the actual moment for physical intimacy came they were repelled from selling their bodies by their own conscience ? What does that make the guys who had already paid for sex , but found their advances thwarted at the last moment---victims or villains ? That is the question that is to be solved by the honourable court .

And helping the court solve this question is a lawyer played by the superstar Amitabh Bachhan himself , and he solves it in his own inimitable style---showing the judge how different rules are applied to girls and boys along with double standards of morality . And showing how girls of the regions on the chinese border ( one of the girls is from north east India ) are treated as 'loose and easy' .

Of the three girls , Tapsee Pannu looks best . Kirti Kulhari has become somewhat bloated since the days when I had reviewed her movie 'Jal' ( water ) , where she was a slim beauty . Andrea Tariang looks okay . Of the guys , Angad Bedi looks smart and tall but menacing . The rest look like his hangers on but some are menacing .

The mindset of the feudal Indian male is shown . Angad is ready to use his political connections to tweak the evidence in his favour and even female cops do not have any qualms in helping him in doing that . And of course , the whole system looks at girls who wear certain clothes and have certain lifestyle ( like alcohol and multiple relationships ) as sluts .

Music is good and so are songs . What is riveting is the courtroom drama that Amitabh dominates . His acting is in good touch even at this age . Actually all act well . What is pathbreaking in the film is , the message that a 'no' by a girl should be treated as 'NO' in capital letters . Even if the 'no' is said at the last moment .

Verdict---Good .

Three and half stars .

 

[Mikesingh]

Verdict---Good .

Three and half stars .

TOI gave it a higher rating:

 

[sasum]

At the same time another women-centric film -- 'Parched' was released. I saw it on TataSky's movie channel. The film is so fake and pretentious, I wondered whether the makers were mentally retarded. Obviously, they thought the way to get a national award and Oscar nomination is to make a "neo realist film". And what is a neo-realist film? In Indian context it is:
1. Glorifying poverty and wretchedness.
2. It must dwell upon sufferings of women, dalit....
3. Must be made in documentary style with minimalistic set settings; de glamorised women without make-up.
4. Must be replete with cuss words, rape, drunken brawls..
5. Preferably have a rural backdrop.
Now, a little about the story. The film is set in rural Rajasthan and revolves around three women. Rani (short and ugly Tannishtha Chatterjee) was deserted by her lout husband when she was a child-bride. Lives with her aged and bed-ridden mother and a 17 year old 'good-for-nothing' son having bad company, needs money for booze and sex.
Second woman is Lajjo (Radhika Apte saddled with an impotent and wife-beating husband).
Third is Bijli (Sex-worker, Mujra dancer played very competently by Surven Chawla).
While Rani struggles with her wanton son, Lajjo is tired of domestic violence and poverty. Her impotent husband demonstrates his man-hood by thrashing and abusing her. She desires to have a child of her own to find happinesses and purpose in life. Bijli is financially well-off, thanks to her profession but is lonely and nobody to call her own. The guy who calls her his soul-mate is actually a pimp exploiting her body to make money.
So the three hapless women are drawn to one another, bond over outings on a Jugaad made by Bijli, laugh together, cry together, curse men etc. There is a hilarious and stupid Kamasutra type scene where Bijli introduces Lajjo to a secret lover living in a cave, who makes love to Lajjo and makes her pregnant !! When her man learns it, another round of beatings follows. There are two scenes where Apte bares her chest; but that will not set box-office on fire. Overall the film is lousy and amateurish. Writer-director Leena Yadav copies every aspect of "Bandit Queen", from dialect, costume, cuss words, rustic backdrop...but she lacks the talent and cinematic vision of Shekhar Kapoor.
A rather poor film with a noble intent.

 

[sasum]

TOI gave it a higher rating:

View attachment 10384

It was over rated. Film critics are known to take money from producers to give positive reviews.

 

[Mikesingh]

Yesterday I had the misfortune of seeing the much hyped 'Prem rattan Dhan Payo' on Star Plus HD. It's so much crap that I wonder WTF has happened to stories dished out by Bollywood? The some old crappy 70s wine in a new bottle! For God's sake it's now 2016 and were still stuck in a time warp! It's just plain intellectual bankruptcy, an assault on the senses!

Three hours I've lost which I'll never get back. Jeeez!

Rating:

 

[Ancient Indian]

the whole system looks at girls who wear certain clothes and have certain lifestyle ( like alcohol and multiple relationships ) as sluts .

Every system looks at women as sluts if they live like that.

 

[Bharat Ek Khoj]

Every saturday, I watch something inserting, movie or tv. Watched this movie and it ruined my last saturday.

 

[Sakal Gharelu Ustad]

Any sensible person knows- no means no. But the nouveau feminists want to push it down everyone's throat that women have no responsibility.

Sensible advice from parents is being thrown down the drain using mass media. Decent parents even tell their sons to not venture out too late in the night or get into drunken brawls. But common sense advice few decades ago is now shown as misogyny!

 

[Ancient Indian]

Any sensible person knows- no means no. But the nouveau feminists want to push it down everyone's throat that women have no responsibility.

Sensible advice from parents is being thrown down the drain using mass media. Decent parents even tell their sons to not venture out too late in the night or get into drunken brawls. But common sense advice few decades ago is now shown as misogyny!

Like they are above criticism.

I would like to see what will they do once they reach old age.
Mostly they will lead a dysfunctional family life.