Now, this is a certain film that drives a lot of attention due to the subject and the grip of the story/screenplay. Located in Bhopal are four inter-connected stories of four ladies of different age groups.
One is a young Muslim girl, Rehana (Plabitha Borthakur). A huge Miley Cyrus hardcore fan whose individual freedom is very restricted because of her family and background which propels her towards stealing fashionable clothes and cosmetics items that her parents will never allow.
The other is a young parlor-running beautician, Leela (Aahana Kumra), who loves a photographer but is forced to marry someone but is still digging ways to elope with him in a pre-marital confound relationship.
The third is a housewife, Shireen (Konkona Sen Sharma), whose husband comes from Saudia to meet his family and release his frustration on her. She secretly works as a door-to-door saleswoman because her husband doesn’t allow it.
And the fourth is the old matriarch, Buaji (Ratna Pathak Shah) who secretly is an avid reader of erotic novels which drives her to reimagine herself as young with intimate desires.
Lipstick Under My Burkha is about women succumbing to a male-oriented society seeking individual freedom and trying to increase more privacy. All four stories are well-directed. The film editing and the screenplay gives a realistic impression and the portrayal of the collective society is purely sublime.
The dialogues are brilliant, and production and costume designs give a broader image in the detailing of the interconnected stories. The background score is a fitting beat to the existing environment of the film.
All the performances, especially of the four leading ladies, are fabulous. But the one who was outstanding amongst all was Ratna’s Buaji character. This role was a very challenging run of her acting career.
5-star to the female director, Alankrita Shrivastava, who has really given a powerful direction. Even the smallest details in the plot especially all the sexual behaviors and emotional fluctuations are top-notch. Alankrita has splendidly translated the difference between sexual desires and fantasies running in women. Some fantasies which unfortunately do not become reality make a sane person insane and that is how she has developed her story and dropped your emotions.
Yes, the way the story is concluding is pretty quick and rapid but simultaneously, Alankrita shows the audience that the struggles meet no end and compromise with the existing one.
LUMB is produced under the banners of Prakash Jha Productions. The film has also been premiered in numerous film festivals across the world. It is indeed one of the best films produced in 2017 and is recommended to all sensible filmgoers. Yes, it is a black comedy but the film should not be taken lightly considering women as sex material to enjoy the film but also to understand her escapism from the happenings of the mediocre society.
RATINGS: 8.8/10
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Sami Naik | Film Critic 