This could appear to be a simple movie review, from the sound of the title and give you a gist of my personal views about the films I watched this week; well it isn't. Please don't look for messages on empowerment, either.
Quickly about the movies, Pink and Parched are two ends of a spectrum where we thrive in our system fighting our battles; 2 films, 6 stories of friendships, survival instincts, and the numerous dynamics that only women can relate and men can nod!
Needless to say, both the films (so much so fictionalized) are stories of women around us. From our very own selves to our colleagues, friends, friends of a friend, maids, aunts, relatives and so many more. The subjects are sensitive and the urbanness of one is directly proportionate to the voyeurs of the rural setting in the other. They are intense, thought-provoking and not your dose of weekend-fun-cinema. Be ready for the drama and liberal use of cuss words. Some characters are so raw that they don't even look real.
C'est La Vie, a few years back, my cook arrived in the morning, all beaten up, swollen in the face and with a high fever. Apparently, this was a regular thing for her husband, and while I dressed her injuries, she said, "roz nahi karta, sirf jab peeta hai, tab..". She made peace with it! On another occasion, when I dressed up in "western office wear" for a job interview, I could feel the sneers and sense the letchy high-brows from the moment I entered the premises - all I did was to wish that I shouldn't get selected in this place, I made peace with that! And, just during the Parched show, two young boys kept giggling and made snide remarks, one of them, even blew a whistle during a sex scene, I snapped at them; but everyone else ignored and made peace with that behavior.
The point I want to drive is, how long will we keep making peace with the state of affairs around us? How long will we be judged, by the way, we dress up? How long would it take for people to get rid of their 'not so regular habits'? How long will we have to keep ignoring? Both, Pink and Parched address our blinkered approach and deliberately bring in front the aspects that all of us have brushed under the carpet for so long.
Pink made me upset because I could relate to the protagonists and what they went through when they were being judged for their acts of independence and Parched made me fret over the state of affairs in the areas that we don't venture because we are too busy with our lives. The characters in both these movies had their opportunities, earned their living and wanted to fight for their rights. One thing that was missing from their lives was dignity, a mutual effort in a co-existential setting, and they were made to make peace with that, just like we always do!
What I am looking for is an acknowledgment and a treatment that is void of discrimination, ignorance, exclusion, and judgments! Equality and opportunity can keep coming later, let us get some dignity, first.
