Review: Pink Drags Women's Issues Out In The Open - Unapologetically And Right In Your Face
As a woman, there are many issues one faces and doesn¡¯t sometimes even have the courage to say to oneself. Pink puts it all out in the open, unabashedly, unapologetically and right in your face.
Pink is not an easy film to watch since we are all brought up in a hypocritical society that squirms at the mere mention of woman¡¯s sexuality openly. But Pink doesn't shy away from bringing it all out in the open, as opposed to making its protagonists victims.
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¡°Are you a virgin?¡± Amitabh Bachchan, who plays a lawyer, asks Meenal (Taapsee Pannu) right in the midst of an interrogation session in court. Her father had already walked out, out of embarrassment, by the time his daughter could reply. I bet most women in the audience got hot under the collar at this point - and that is the high point of the film. Which definitely makes it a class apart from other films dealing with a subject of this kind.
Pink is not parading as a film that speaks about woman¡¯s issues - it actually, in the true sense, does. It doesn¡¯t treat the three girl protagonists - Falak (Kirti Kalahari) and Andrea (Andrea Tariang) along with Meenal - with kid gloves. It rightfully treats women like equal humans who could make mistakes and who need to take care of themselves instead of looking outside for support. Also, it sends a clear message to women - women themselves need to stop being coy and hypocritical about their own sexual needs, if they have to fight the men taking advantage of their inhibitions.
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Meenal, Falak and Andrea share a flat in Delhi. They go for a party and meet a politician¡¯s son, Rajveer (Angad Bedi) and his cronies.
What transpires at that party is our guess, till the end credits roll. But Rajveer ends up with a huge gash on his forehead and his ego bruised beyond repair, even as the girls escape. Rajveer and his pals now go out of their way to make life difficult for the girls, who are already feeling vulnerable and terribly scared. Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan) is the not-so-mentally sound lawyer with an ailing wife, who comes to their help. Sehgal is interestingly looked at as a creepy old neighbour by the girls before the incident, since at the back of their minds they know that almost the entire neighbourhood thinks it is their duty to keep a watch on the girls and judge them.
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Bengali film director Aniruddha Roy Chaudhury, who¡¯s making his Hindi film debut, had a strong story (story and screenplay by Ritesh Shah) in hand, and he only takes it notches above with confident execution and admirably clear thinking. The dialogues are powerful, to-the-point, and don¡¯t indulge in any kind of unnecessary drama.
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Among the actresses, Kirti and Tapsee stand out. Andrea gives a good support. What can one say of Mr. Bachchan? From being the creepy old man who wouldn't stop staring at the girls, to an under confident lawyer making his comeback in a court, to slowly regaining confidence enough to hit right back, he is in top form.
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Watch this film. Watch it again if you are a woman. You will want to thank the team that made this film.
