“Lipstick Under My Burkha”, Director Alankrita Shrivastava’s controversial film, which had been refused a certification by India’s Central Board of Film Certification, has opened the 17th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) to the much anticipation and fanfare. The gala premiere was held on the evening of April 30th at Village East Cinema in Downtown Manhattan.
The film produced by Prakash Jha and starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur, the film tells the overlapping stories of four women as they try to break out of their repressive lives in a conservative society.
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The title comes from a Muslim college student who has to hide her lipstick under burkha, as she aspires to audition for a pop music competition at her school.
The other characters include a young, married beautician having an affair; a photographer; an oppressed, entrepreneurial mother and homemaker selling household items door-to-door and a middle-aged widow who conducts a romance by phone.
“Lipstick Under My Burkha” was censored by the Central Board back in January, as being among other things “lady-oriented”, director Shrivastava said that their decision was successfully appealed to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal.
“They have found that the decision of the Central board was wrong and have overturned it,” she confirmed.
Shrivastava anticipates that the release date of film will be announced in the next few weeks, which might mean the film could be in theaters over this summer.
After the screening, NYIFF director Assem Chhabra MCed a Q&A with Shrivastava and actress Aahana Kumra.
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Shrivastava reiterated that even though there are constitutional guarantees of women’s rights, the status of many women is still very repressed. Kumra commented, regarding how there are so few good roles for female actors, that “You don’t get these types of scripts every day!”
Much-talked about “Lipstick Under My Burkha” received mixed reviews from the premiere’s attendees.
Noted cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey thought the film has showcased women’s issues and was “wonderfully directed”. On the other hand, filmmaker Kawa Hatef, showing his short film “Aarsa” later in the Festival, thought that while “Lipstick” raised important issues, it had “missed its mark technically”.
“It’s a lovely festival, we love the people in the Festival, they always have a wonderful program!” commented Meenu Gaur, director of “Jeewan Haathi” (“Elephant in the Room”).
Indo-American Arts Council President & Executive Director Aroon Shivdasani welcomed the guests to the opening screening to what has been described as “the Sundance of Indian film festivals”.
Organized by the IAAC, the NYIFF is considered to be the oldest, most prestigious film festival of its kind in the United States, screening premieres of films made from, of, and about the countries in the Indian subcontinent in all different genres.
By Premji
