Some Indian movies on women's rights

Among the countless films I have watched since the pandemic started in March 2020 most are modern Indian productions. Contrary to the unfortunate cliché about Indian cinema associating it exclusively with popular Bollywood-made escapist films featuring spectacular dance scenes every twenty minutes, there is a lot more that Indian talent both in front and behind the camera can offer. It's high time that less commercial and more serious films start getting the attention that they deserve outside of the subcontinent. With the rise of the online streaming platforms many high-quality Indian movies are easily accessible and there are numerous titles I could recommend. However, this time I will focus only on those whose common trait is a focus on women's rights and women's experience in India. Below I will only mention those films which I have watched recently and I promise not to make any spoilers. Let's begin with...

PARCHED (2015)

This film by Leena Yadav tells the stories of a group of friends in a small village in the Western state of Rajasthan. The four female protagonists suffer from physical and mental abuse and confront patriarchal structures and customs which have not changed in several centuries, especially in rural India: child marriage, dowry and marital rape among others. Apart from that, they face their own deeply-ingrained patriarchal prejudices, such as judging other women who rebel openly against social norms governing female sexuality.

I found the film extremely captivating and its protagonists irresistibly charming. Moments of humour, joy and female bonding are interwoven with the dense fabric of oppression. There are scenes of violence and injustice but also glimmers of hope, and the skillful combination of both, along with excellent photography and music make the film a joy to watch for any audience.

SONI (2018)

This drama film by Ivan Ayr (Also known for Milestone: both films are available on Netflix) offers us an insight into the life of Soni, a young female police officer in Delhi going through a personal crisis related to her recent divorce. Soni is extremely hot-tempered and retaliates violently against men who try to harass or disrespect her. Her outbursts of anger get her in trouble with her superiors, although she is protected by her friend and superintendent of the police, Kalpana. 

I found myself glued to the screen thanks to the characters of both the women. Soni is clearly depressed and frustrated with her life but her outstanding sense of dignity and her awareness of injustice take her through even the toughest of times. She does not take any abuse without a fight in a society which prefers women who are obedient, gentle and submissive. Kalpana on the other hand is more calm and patient. Despite being the superintendent of police she does not become insensitive to the different problems faced by police men and women of lower rank. Sadly, her empathy is seen as a sign of weekness and leniency by Kalpana's superiors.

The film is a dark portrayal of the situation of women in an institution completely dominated by men. Even though you might see more female policewallahs in India than in most European countries, as the film shows, it does not necessarily mean that their position in the police force is any higher. There is physical darkness of the settings and emotional darkness of Soni, who nevertheless fights back ferociously against the most perverse displays of patriarchal oppression of women.

PINK (2016)

This is an intense courtroom drama by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury telling the story of three young women who become the accused in a lawsuit despite being the victims in a case of sexual assault. Chowdhury is very straightforward in portraying the Indian justice as tremendously conservative. The court interrogation is outrageously humiliating for the women while at the same time giving the benefit of the doubt to the men involved in the case.

Many feminist viewers could criticise the fact that the focus seems to shift to a male protagonist, however it must be difficult not to give a lead role to a living legend like Amitabh Bachchan who plays the retired judge who decides to defend the three women. I will finish here to avoid spoilers.

PAD MAN (2018)

This is yet another film related to women's rights in which a male character attracts all the attention. Pad Man is based on a real story and Akshay Kumar plays Lakshmikant, a man who defies the conservative culture of his community in rural Madhya Pradesh out of genuine concern for the health and safety of women. The underlying problem is the tabboo surrounding menstruation in Indian society, especially in the rural parts of the country where sanitary pads are either not available or too expensive for many women to afford, which in turn makes them choose very unhygienic methods.

Lakshmikant is an extremely charming character whose innocence and good nature will probably appeal to most viewers. He is a self-taught inventor whose patience and special skills in mechanics enable him to produce his own sanitary pads for the women in his family. While it may sound absurd and comical (and it is!), you should check for yourself if 'Lakshmi' is successful or not. Pad Man might not be one of my favourite Indian films but it's Bollywood aesthetics and its honest attempt at presenting a serious social issue to the wider public deserve attention. It is by and large a comedy film, however I didn't feel like it treated the taboo around menstruation lightly. Apart from menstruation, it draws attention to other aspects of life in India such as the enormous differences between rural and urban communities, especially the educated city-dwelling middle class.

You can watch the trailer of the film below:

AJJI (2017)

This 2017 drama directed by Devashish Makhija denounces a string of events all too common in India: A girl from a poor family is raped by an influential man protected by the police, which forces the family to withdraw their complaint. However, this time the influential man, a son of a local politician is up against a woman who is determined to seek justice or vengeance. Since the police are reluctant to help the family, the girl's grandmother, Ajji, refuses to give up and takes action against the rapist. While the other family members are forced to surrender their claim for justice, as their low social status leaves them vulnerable to all kinds of abuse, the grandmother gathers enough dignity to take revenge for the crime committed on her niece.

Ajji is a very gloomy film showing mostly precarious settings inhabited by India's dispossessed classes and sometimes visited by those who are above the law - rich and influential men from the upper classes who often take advantage of their privileged background and the immunity they enjoy. The film makes hardly any mention of caste differences, however the social hierarchy in India is still mostly based on caste and those who are at its bottom do not have equal access to justice, education or healthcare as those above them. Don't watch it if you've had a bad day but do give it a go when you're ready for a really dark revenge drama.

ANGRY INDIAN GODDESSES (2015)

This film by Pan Nalin features a group of friends, mostly upper-class, educated and wealthy young women who meet in a beach town in Goa to celebrate the announcement of marriage of one of the characters, Freida. The protagonists represent a wide range of prestigious occupations, for example there is a Bollywood singer, a fashion photographer, a businesswoman, an actress and a social activist among them. The women speak mostly English and discuss topics more typical for their social stratum.

While I found the choice of characters annoyingly unrepresentative of Indian society and its idiosyncrasies, there are certainly differences between them which make their debates thought-provoking and engaging. For example, one of the women, Pammi, is a housewife by choice, while all her friends are self-sufficient and successful professionally, which leads to a discussion on emancipation and success. There is also some tension between Nargis, the revolutionary activist, and Su, the businesswoman, as their political views differ substantially. Likewise, important class differences can be observed between the main protagonists and Freida's maid Lakshmi, whose traditional image is reinforced by her simple and traditional clothing and her lack of knowledge of English.

Altogether I consider the film a bit too filled with clichés and too hard to classify by genre. It felt like a light-hearted depiction of rather mundane personal problems of the protagonists at the beginning and then it suddenly developed into a drama with women's rights at its core. This abrupt twist seemed quite unnatural and broke the film in two in my opinion. Although Angry Indian Goddesses will not become one of my favourite Indian movies, I still believe it is quite absorbing and necessary from the point of view of generating awareness and opening a social debate.

LEECHES (2016)

This 2016 short film by Payal Sethi tells the story of a girl who tries to save her underage sister from being forced into marriage to a wealthy older man by submitting her to an ancient treatment to restore her virginity. Leeches is set in the old city of Hyderabad and it gives us a glimpse of its Muslim community where inequalities are exploited by powerful men to marry young girls from poor families.

LUST STORIES (2018)

This is actually an anthology compilation of four short films directed by four different directors: Anurag Kashyap, Zora Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar, who had also created Bombay Talkies (2013) together. The stories mostly revolve around women's right to enjoy their sexual life, which is not that obvious in the conservative Indian society. Some of the stories are told in a more light-hearted manner and with plenty of humour, while others are more serious. 

In Anurag Kashyap's film the protagonist is a young married teacher named Kalindi, who is a modern and independent woman exploring non-monogamy. She decides to have a one-night stand with one of her students and subsequently becomes confused about her feelings as she intends to treat it as a mere adventure but finds herself sentimentally drawn towards the immature student. I loved the fact that Kashyap picked up a story of a non-monogamous relationship without unnecessary judgment.

Zora Akhtar's protagonists are a young bachelor Ajit and his maid Sudha, who cleans Ajit's flat but secretly also maintains a sexual relationship with him. Here the boundaries of class and caste inevitably expel Sudha out of Ajit's life when his family decide to find him a bride and marry him. Dibakar Banerjee tells the story of a woman who has an affair with her husband's best friend. Finally my personal favourite was Karan Johar's story of young Megha, who marries her fiancé Paras but is dissatisfied with her sexual life. Paras is a caring and loving partner but in the sexual sphere he fails to notice that Megha desires to enjoy their physical intimacy as much as he does. Certainly not only India needs more such stories to overcome the taboo around female sexuality.

DELHI CRIME (2019)

Last but not least comes this television miniseries directed by Richie Mehta and it was probably the most difficult one to watch due to the event which inspired it: the horrific gang-rape of a young student in Delhi in 2012, which sent shock waves not only throughout India but also caught the attention of a global public. It is actually a crime miniseries focused on the police investigation and search for the criminals who committed this atrocity. I generally don't like films which glorify the police or the military, both of which are so often used for purposes of carrying out acts of repression and violence against civilian population, but Delhi Crime is worth watching for a variety of reasons. The reason why I selected it for this text is that it touches on a matter of utmost importance to women in India which is sexual violence. Perhaps the Delhi rape case from 2012 is just an excuse to develop the story from the police perspective, but it still provides an insight into this critical problem. Two of the main characters are female police inspectors: the deputy commissioner Vartika Chaturvedi and a young trainee Neeti Singh, who is given an important role in the investigation process. We get to see how the violent crime on the young student affects both women, however Delhi Crime is much less about the women's perspective than Soni, for instance.

That will be all for the moment. I hope to watch more interesting Indian films and write another brief review for you soon :)