Censors' decision reflects silencing of alternative view: Alankrita

Mumbai, March 21: Director Alankrita Shrivastava, whose movie "Lipstick Under My Burkha", has been
denied certification by India's censor board, says the decision reflects a systematic silencing of an alternative view.

"Personally, I am quite offended by their decision because it reflects systematic silencing of an alternative view. They are trying to tell that women should keep quiet, they need not tell their stories, no need to express how women feel about themselves, and only thing needs to be expressed how man sees women," Shrivastava said here on Tuesday.

"It is quite ironic that the censor board of India feels that they need to refuse certification for this film. I think it reflects badly on them that they termed the film pornographic, to use it as some sort of justification," added the director.

The movie revolves around four women -- a burqa-clad college girl, a young beautician, a mother of three and a 55-year-old widow -- who rediscover their sexuality. According to the censor board, the film is laced with sexual scenes and abusive words.

"There is something awfully wrong in the way the censor board in India is functioning. Obviously they have no idea, how to watch a film or interpret a film, they have no idea of gender dynamics, politics of representation, context of the gaze, alternative narratives.

"It seems to me that they have this popular mainstream narrow male gaze, which is represented in mainstream cinema," Shrivastava added.

"Lipstick Under My Burkha" stars an impressive ensemble of actors, which includes Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, Aahana Kumra, Plabita Borthakur, Sushant Singh, Vikrant Massey, Shashank Arora, Vaibbhav Tatwawdi and Jagat Singh Solanki.