Pink

Three single working women in New Delhi. In 21st century India, that one line constitutes a horror film. Pink is a savage indictment of our sordid patriarchy that shackles women in stereotypes. Here, character is determined by the clothes you wear, the time you come home, how much you smile at men, whether you drink or not, and of course, your sexual history.

An old man stares ferociously at a girl in the park. The girl -- white Apple earbuds in place, out on a jog, sweaty and out of breath as she does her stretches -- stares back, unblinking. She looks wary of the stare but not afraid of it. It is an uncomfortable moment with the starer boring a hole with his eyes and the girl confronting it confidently with her own, and, coming as it does rather early in Pink, I began to wonder about a possible connection, a relationship, an estrangement. It is because the girl appears to know the stare so well.

Pink is the film that gives feminism a brave new shade. It makes many relevant and bold pro-feminist and anti-sexist remarks. This is a politically charged social drama. But where its political statements are firm, its cinematic finesse is not very strong. But some films are all heart and that's what makes Pink such a bold and relevant statement to our times. On the basis of its intentions alone, Pink is a film that levels the playing field in the battle of the sexes. It critiques the patriarchal and chauvinist tendencies of Indian society to good effect. It raises questions on the treatment of modern Indian women especially on the basis of their sartorial and lifestyle choices.

Pink, the new Amitabh Bachchan film, is a lot like Deepak Sehgal, Amitabh Bachchan's character in the film. Mr Sehgal, a lawyer, inside the courtroom, is all theatrics and showmanship - growling one minute, silent and mumbling the next. Mr Sehgal knows that Indians, particularly, the Indian man, has a hard time understanding Indian women the moment the latter do not fit into the feudal expectations set upon them.

Meenal Arora (Taapsee Pannu), Falak Ali (Kirti Kulhari) and Andrea Tariang (Andrea Tariang) are working women living in a posh south Delhi locality. Their daily struggle with neighbours' questioning eyes has made them brave and ready for tougher challenges. They meet Raajveer Singh (Angad Bedi) and his friends at a rock concert which ends when Raajveer gets hit by a bottle and starts bleeding.

All those associated with the making of Pink, please take a deep bow: finally, a powerful, brave Hindi mainstream film which focuses on real young women who live real lives and deal with thorny day-to-day issues, which young women the world over will identify and relate with. I know where the young leads in Pink are coming from. And I know too many women who have been in their place, or missed being in that place by a scary, scarring whisker.

Deriving its title from what is believed to be the colour for women - PINK is a befitting attack on the society's old fashioned mindset regarding females. Director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and writer Ritesh Shah take some inspirational leafs from Raj Kumar Santoshi's DAMINI and Hollywood's THE ACCUSED staring Jodi Foster to churn this powerfully searing, hard -hitting and compelling court room drama that achingly probes the mentality of the society we live in. be it Delhi or Deharadhun.

Before I start talking about how effing brilliant the movie was, I want to talk to about the general concerns we Indians have about the codes of conduct of a man and woman in the society. A lot of feminists and social activists have protested and raised the issue about how a woman is judged by her lifestyle and her clothes. Parents force their daughters to cover themselves up and forbid them to befriend anyone of the opposite sex

Way back in 1993, Rajkumar Santoshi's Damini, a powerful film about a lawyer and a woman standing up for her rights, had made everyone sit up and rethink about women's rights and patriarchy and now, years later, Shoojit Sircar's production venture Pink is raising the same questions, which are still relevant after all these years.

Shoojit Sircar's PINK is essentially a simple story about the complex problems issues like inequities and hypocrisies the women in India face everyday. The film starts off with a 'tensed up' introduction of Meenal Arora (Taapsee Pannu), Falak Ali (Kirti Kulhari) and Andrea (Andrea Tariang), alongside the 'silent' introduction of retired advocate Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan). Meenal, Falak and Andrea live together as paying guests in Delhi, earning their respective livelihoods.

Where exactly do you place a film like this - in the annals of Hindi movies, for instance? For reference sake alone, I'd say, right next to Rajkumar Santoshi's 'Damini'. Which was such a powerfully moving movie that when a majority of young ones, who were probably not even born or were kids when that film hit theatres in 1993, were protesting on Delhi's streets against a brutal bus rape in 2011, they called the survivor: 'Damini'.

Being a single woman in Delhi makes for fragile existence. Constantly scoped by the prying eyes of neighbours who deduce her character based on when she returns home and the guests she entertains, it is an unsettling world. This is the backdrop of Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's Pink, which effectively transfers the fears and frustrations of its characters onto the audience.

Minal Arora (Taapsee Pannu), Andrea Tariang and Falak Ali (Kirti Kulhari) are independent working girls who share a rented apartment in Delhi. On a fateful night in Surajkund Faridabad, the three girls encounter, three young men and after a mishap, Minal accidentally hits Rajvir Singh (Angad Bedi) with a bottle which hits him above the eye.

Three Delhi girls - Minal (Taapsee), Falak (Kirti) and Andrea (Andrea) - are on the run after one of them escapes a molestation attempt by a pig-headed, powerful guy, Rajveer (Angad). Minal attacks Rajveer with a bottle injuring him grievously. This is just the beginning of their nightmare!