The CBFC has refused to give a censor certificate to Lipstick Under my Burkha. The film directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur, follows four women as they search for a little freedom in their lives.
The Central Board of Certification has cited several reasons including “women’s fantasies” and abusive language as reasons for denying the film its censor certificate.
The film was sent to the CBFC’s Revising Committee earlier this month. Following the screening, Alankrita was told that the committee had unanimously decided to not award it the censor certificate. The director feels that her film was penalised because it challenges well-established notions of patriarchy, “It’s a feminist film with a strong female voice. I think that’s why they don’t want to certify it. As a filmmaker, I stand by the story and will fight for it till the end,” she said.
The producer of the movie, Prakash Jha criticised CBFC’s actions in an interview with Mumbai Mirror “As a country we must encourage freedom of expression but the CBFC refusing to certify films that tell uncomfortable stories discourages filmmakers from pushing the envelope. Films should challenge the status quo which is what Lipstick Under My Burkha perhaps does and I believe our audience deserve to watch it.”
Below is the reason CBFC listed for denying #LipstickUnderMyBurkha a release. Keep your barf bag ready.. pic.twitter.com/NFO42sRJIb
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) February 23, 2017
CBFC recently had refused to certify the Nawazzudin Siddiqui-Shweta Tripathi starrer Haraamkhor, which later obtained a U/A certificate. The story revolved around the romantic relationship between a teacher and his student. 2016 also saw the incident wherein CBFC chief, Pahlaj Nihalani irdered a total of 94 cuts for the Shahid Kapoor starrer Udta Punjab. After much controversy and legal wrangling, the film released with one cut.
@shubhaS 9 names of cities is 9 cuts.. two words from songs are two cuts.. on the last count they were 94 cuts as per the 13 points..
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) June 8, 2016
The film is currently touring the festival circuit and has already grabbed a couple of awards at International Film Festivals like the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality at the Mumbai Film Festival and the Spirit of Asia Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Picture Courtesy: The Huffington Post
