Is it the prerogative of men to do what the heart desires? What about women? How long will the shackles of ‘Bhartiya Sanskriti’ keep them ‘under check’?
Seventy long years have gone by since India became free, but the CBFC still wants us to believe that women are not equal to men, of course under the very convenient guise of ‘Bhartiya Sabhyata’.
The CBFC's thoughts allign with those of the conservative Muslim organisations who have sided with the Censor Board to ban the feminist drama Lipstick Under My Burkha. While the reasons might be different- for the Muslim outfits, the film is against the 'tenets of Islam' and for the CBFC, it is against 'Bhartiya sanskriti', both outfits have more or less, the same solution to keep 'rigidity' intact- ban anything that challenge patriarchy and stereotypes.
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Lipstick Under my burkha, a feminist drama starring Konkana Sen Sharma and Ratna Pathak Shah has been denied certification by the CBFC citing its ‘lady oriented’ content. The committee unanimously denied certification to the film that has won an Oxfam Award for the best film on Gender equality. But is it the CBFC’s job to be moral vigilantes? Let’s face it, we do have enough of that already.
In a debate on News 18, Beena Aggarwal, a member of the Censor Board, who hasn’t yet seen the film but has watched the promo, said “hamari sanskriti me ye sab cheeze nahi chal sakti’ (Things shown in the film are against Indian values). This was the same line RSS-backed ABVP men mouthed while warning Ramjas students who dared organize a seminar by inviting JNU’s Umar Khalid. Aggarwal even argued (aggressively, mind) that although the motive of the film is about women empowerment, it nevertheless, portrays them in a bad light.
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But movies like Kya Kool Hai Hum, Mastizaade do not! At least that’s what the Censor Board would like to believe.
Pointing out the hypocrisy, one only has to turn on the radio. The most trending Bollywood songs have lyrics something like this
Munni Badnam hui, darling tere liye’ (Dabangg: Munni got infamous, darling only for you )
Mai tandoori murgi hu, ghatkale muje alcohol se ( Dabangg 2: I am a chicken, swallow me with alcohol)
Mera naam Mary hai, Mary sau takka teri hai (Brothers: My name is Mary, Mary is 100% yours)
I swear chhoti dress me bomb lagti menu (Honey Singh: I swear you look like a bomb in small dresses)
The list won’t end. Sexism, misogyny and objectification of women is not even subtle in many Bollywood films and songs but the Censor Board has no problems with their release.
While it’s okay to compare a woman with a chicken, an object and a bomb, what’s not acceptable is the expression of a woman’s freedom- her freedom to rebel, her freedom to fantasize, her freedom to embrace her sexuality, her freedom to look at herself from her own eyes and not from the eyes of patriarchy. This the Censor Board terms as ‘lady oriented, a fantasy above life.’
But what’s more at harm is the ‘freedom of speech and expression’ the citizens of this country have a right to- Freedom of speech and expression that has been denied especially to women by the repressive society and an equally repressive Censor Board.
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The film’s director Alankrata Shrivastava believes it is the ‘strong female voice that challenges patriarchy’ that made the committee deny a certificate to it. “That’s why they don’t want to certify it.” She asserts.
So, is it the unapologetic depiction of sexuality in the film that goes against the Indian culture Beena Aggarwal was talking about? So, will they dress up Khajurao art? Then is it the scene of women smoking? But Censor Board allows depictions of men smoking, of course with a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen.
Is it, then, the slap on the face of male chauvinism by rebellious Indian women, young and old, who strive to fight for their identities and against the patriarchal diktats? What exactly is the Censor Board afraid of?
