Saturday, 17 September 2016

Right to Know and Right to [say] No. Pink

It almost took thirty years for Bollywood to take inspiration from 1988 Hollywood film, 'The Accused', for which the protagonist actor, Jodie Foster got the coveted Oscar! The original was based on a true story that happened way back in 1983 and the trial had attracted huge attention in U.S. of A that catapulted in the making of The Accused'. It's pathetic that in 2016 Delhi, the things are just the same or should I call even worse!
Average working woman Sarah Tobias [Jodie Foster] dressed provocatively enters a shoddy bar to get away from her mundane but mostly complicated personal life, her boyfriend being a drug dealer! In gay abandon after a peg or two, she dances provocatively,? that ends in her brutal rape by three while the others who do not get a 'chance' cheer them to 'show' her! Rejected by the system, dejected Sarah's guardian angel comes in the form of Deputy DA, Kathryn Murphy. But not without unsympathetic hurdles on the way due to personal mental blocks of DA. Ultimately after seeing the devastation Sarah had to go through she fights back, starting from her bosses, the society in general and lastly in the court of justice asking the too pertinent question,' But she said "NO" then why ?'
I had seen the movie for Jodie Foster's mind disturbing performance way back in 1989, maybe on video as it was not screened in India with its soul in entirety. And the epitome of sentences lingered in my mind for years to come, 'But she said 'No'!
In 'Pink' the same question Amitabh asks in his concluding speech, 'The word 'No' is so self-explanatory that there is no second answer to it. '
I am not going to divulge the story, go and watch it yourself, but am going to highlight certain points of the movie.
What three genext South Delhi girls, sharing an apartment, pay for what they are, is the crux of the story. Urban and urbane, though economically independent, existentially middle-middle class, aspiring for more money, always, for various reasons, set out for a 'Throw the care to the air' evening at some Rock concert. And the trouble starts. Even today, even in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Chennai or Bengaluru, it's a done thing, if you go for Sawai Gandharva or any such classical music concert and come home by early morning, on the contrary, it's an outing to be taken in pride but if you attend a rock concert, immediately you are tagged and labelling does not stop there it goes on and on. A peg of whiskey or even a glass of wine adds to your kitty and makes you a harlot the very next moment. The same men who want to bed such 'Loose' girls become extremely outrageous if their sisters do the same. Amitabh in his superlative performance, after two duds, Vazir and Teen, towers above, what the screenplay has asked him to deliver. Totally convincing he [ writer] has put forth the lacunae in today's India still having her feudal mindset kicking and alive. High time we come out of it.  
What he does not say is more perplexing. The one who has the maximum right to one's own self, whether body or mind is, one himself/herself, nobody else has any right to possess you in whatever way they can! If you fail to say 'No', the state of exploitation starts then and there itself!
On every walk of life, practically for everybody, there comes a situation where a simple' No' would suffice and settle the matters for good, but people hesitate and the rigmarole starts! You have the right to say 'No', at the right juncture whether it's sex, work or mental abuse, execute it and you would be saved off a lot more!


1 comment:

  1. Despite the germ, definitely taken from'The Accused' 'Pink' is really a good movie on its own merits. Above the bar performance by Amitabh to start with and the others, they don't act, they live the part, especially three girls, unknown actresses so far. Taut screen play is an another asset. It never allows you to take your eyes off the screen. Drama unfolds over two and half hours almost glues you to the seat. GO GO GO watch it, good movies seldom come by !

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