Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016) User Reviews

" A Bold & Hard-Hitting Women-Oriented Film "

[afsalthodupuzha · 8/10 · 23 July 2017]

"Lipstick Under My Burkha" was screened at various film festivals across the world prior to its theatrical release,receiving huge accolades from renowned film critiques,making it a highly anticipated film for the moviebuffs in India and abroad.The news that the makers had to plea to the appellate authority(FCAT) for a release after getting a no from CBFC marked up the excitement surrounding the film that has finally managed to hit the silverscreen after bidding adieu to all the dark clouds spread over it.

What made the censors reject the certification and to make derogatory remarks like "the story is lady-oriented,their fantasy about life" is shocking and alarming for the future of Indian movie scene that has remained heavily censured from time immemorial.Ironically,I felt the opposite that the best thing about the movie is that it could succeed in making strong statements without being offensive for a second,something that calls for a gifted writer-director like Alankrita Shrivastava.The key to narration used here is dark humor that's there in sumptuous amount for the whole of the narration.

The movie focuses on the lives of four women who rebel against the social stereotypes quartered on them and the never ending contrast conflict between their dreams and the vested interests of the patriarchal society has been strikingly reproduced in the narrative without any reservations,unnecessary cinematic liberties or over- melodrama unlike many recent movies that handled the same issue(Leave aside Leena Yadavs's riveting drama feature "Parched").Th word "Burkha" in the title is used to represent the veil over feminine dreams and no way targetted at hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslim community in the country.

The universal truth that the sexuality of women and their desires can never go hand-in-hand with the misogynistic pre-assumptions that's prevalent in the society has been enlightened by the movie at various situations in the narrative.In one scene we get to see a groom-to-be saying to his prospective bride that fortunately they have bought a new television set at their home so that she can be happily relaxed inside the home once they are married and in another shocker of a scene our protagonists makes a sigh that their biggest mistake is that they dream too much,an eye-opener into the plight of numerous women who are nothing but slaves inside their own homes.

Even though the movie isn't heavily censured,abrupt cuts were felt at few point in the narrative which could have been taken care of while on the editing table.The conclusion of the movie was predictable and slightly weaker on comparison with the rest of the narrative.Solid performances stand as the backbone of the griping narrative and it was delight to watch all the lead-ladies perform well on the screen.The pick among the cast I felt was Konkona Sen Sharma and debutante Plabita Borthakur who both gave excellent performances in their respective roles.Ratna Patahk Sha and Aahana Kumra too were equally good and made their roles memorable.Vaibhav Tatwawaadi,Sushant Singh,Vikrant Massey etc gave good supporting performances.

Music by Zebunnisa Bangash and Mangesh Dhakde was adequate for the narrative.Technical side was handled really well even though the budget of the movie was very low in comparison with other biggies from Bollywood.

Overall,Lipstick Under My Burkha is a daring and whole-hearted women-oriented film that's worth a watch from the cinemas at the earliest!

A very honest and bold movie, portrayed a big population of our society effectively

[rs-45184 · 8/10 · 5 August 2017]

This movie may be slight boring and irritating if you are looking for entertainment. But if you like to see true picture of our Indian society this is the best movie..Director Alankrita Shrivastava disparately want to show us mirror, and thats why she has not taken 1 or 2, but chosen 4 types of woman characters and successfully portrayed.

I don't think its 50 or 60%, but most of men or woman, specifically woman, forced to live a life, imposed by our Indian society, which director bravely depicted in this movie.

Aahana, Ratna, Konkona & Plabita, played their role flawlessly, and director had very good grip on movie, all the time..

Of dreams and despair - but succumbs to clichés

[thirdvantagepoint · 6/10 · 27 July 2017]

Lipstick Under My Burkha is not a perfect film... Far from it actually... But this is an important film that leaves one happy, sad and disappointed at same time...

Happy - because Alankrita Srivastava dared to navigate through a subject that is usually a taboo to be even discussed openly by women, and does that skillfully without resorting to titillation or sleaze, rather using interesting metaphors throughout the script.. she dared to dream just like she wants the Rosie in each of her four protagonists to dream and live that life..

Sad - because here are four very ordinary women presented with their day to day struggle to even live a life of little common pleasures, where they are all strangulated to even dream, where they and many around them are all living dual lives and making peace with it not attempting to change anything because they possibly know its not worth the effort..

Disappointed - because this story told could have been so much more. Disappointed because the script resorts to a clunky end of using the clichéd smoking metaphor as an equivalent of liberation and sisterhood bonding. Disappointed because the script still appears forced and jarring at times to drive home some subtle points. Disappointed because it still takes a pseudo feminist stand in places showing mostly one dimensional male characters, and does not work enough on the script to make it smooth and integrated enough. Disappointed because the film still seems more focused on impressing the festivals circuits, rather than telling a simple story simply.

The film benefits immensely by getting the cast right though.. Ratna Pathak Shah is outstanding as the gutsy Usha Parmar and is the lifeline of this story.. Konkona Sen Sharma is extremely good too as expected.. I found these two stories much stronger than the other two personally, though Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur perform well too.. Ahana's Leela and her track was the most defocused and weak in my opinion though..

Overall, there is a lipstick and a burkha that exists in the life of every woman and a shade of Rosie who lives deep beneath every soul, and this film will drag them out from the dark closets of everyone.. triggering identification to one or more of these characters.. and creating moments that are impactful.. Well done Alankrita for showing that courage..

How I wish though that an idea like this could get a much tighter treatment and finer finishing that could have made it as haunting a film as the subject demanded.. Sigh!

Nice But Overrated

[indianature · 7/10 · 25 October 2017]

Lipstick Under My Burkha is a rather over rated film. It is watchable and reasonably interesting though not extraordinarily so.

It appears that this movie got a great deal of extra publicity only because it was banned initially. Why it was banned is anyone's guess for there is absolutely nothing in it to warrant a censure let alone a ban. Anyway, all publicity in this business is good so to that extent the ban gave LUMB a better 'must watch' factor!

The plot is about 4 women, their lives, their feelings. It is somewhat stretched, somewhat disjointed and somewhat connected. The acting was good, the cinematography good, the sets realistic but something was missing.

LUMB is watchable but it is certainly not a brilliant film by any stretch of the imagination.

Excellent message -- deserves to be seen by everyone

[mamlukman · 10/10 · 1 May 2017]

My usual disclaimer: I am not Indian. I live near Washington DC. My wife and I have been watching Bollywood movies for over 10 years, and we see probably 20+ a year, + DVDs. I subscribe to Filmfare.

We've noticed a trend in Bollywood--a good trend. Women are shown as more independent and powerful. This is good! The director Maneesh Sharma is a great example of this -- all his movies feature strong, independent women. I met Maneesh several years ago, and he seemed like a great guy.

But there are still movies like Badrinath Ki Dulhania that are painful to watch. It made me cringe throughout at the treatment of women. It was an embarrassment to the Indian film industry, and in terms the director might understand, it brought shame upon him and the entire cast (see below).

So Lipstick under My Burkha was a welcome addition to feminist movies. The Indian censor board had the good sense to approve it, even if it was after an appeal. We saw it yesterday at the DC Film Festival, and the screening was almost sold out -- and Indians were a small minority of the audience.

The movie makes two points I completely agree with. I suspect some people will say that I am culturally biased, etc. etc. but I think this goes beyond that. There are certain things that are simply right and other things that are simply wrong. It doesn't matter what your culture is or where you come from. And things that might have been acceptable in 1300 or 1850 or even 1950 are not acceptable today. They should be condemned.

First, shame. The male characters in the movie use the word "shame" a lot -- "You will bring shame upon the family," etc. No one -- NO ONE -- can bring shame on you except you yourself. If you don't believe this, you need to wake up and change.

Second, human rights. I'm going to be shamelessly (joke) culturally bound and quote from that nice 18th century Enlightenment document, the US Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

They key idea here is that "rights" are NOT given to you by the government, a king, or your husband. They are given to you by God. And they are "unalienable" = they can't be changed or taken away -- by anyone, for any reason. So when a husband talks about "allowing" his wife to work or parents talk about "finding a husband" for their daughter, they are violating human rights. Again, if you don't believe this, you need to wake up and change.

The movie itself has an interwoven plot. Four women of different ages live in a "manzil" or block of buildings in Bhopal. A college student wears a burkha ordinarily, but changes into a T-shirt and jeans every day as soon as she gets to her college. Because she's been repressed so much, she has fantasies about boys. Because she is so inexperienced, she is vulnerable. She comes very close to disaster. The second woman is a wife and mother of three boys. Her husband works in Saudi Arabia and only comes home a few times a year. Somehow he is stupid enough to think that all the children are his. His wife works, secretly, for a department store as a saleswoman, and she is very good at her job. Her husband has a mistress, and the wife discovers this and confronts the mistress. The husband's reaction: "Why are you trying to embarrass me?" Again, let me repeat: his own actions should embarrass him. Not something his wife does. But he doesn't understand this. A third women is "modern" and fairly independent, but she is about to be married to a man she doesn't like. He wants her to live the rest of her life at home with his large family. That's her idea of Hell. She has a boyfriend, and together they try to earn money by photographing weddings. Eventually the finance finds out about the boyfriend, and again the idea that she has "shamed" him comes up. She walks away. Good for her! The fourth woman is a 52-year-old widow who lives with relatives in the manzil that she (they?) own. She reads racy romance novels and has fantasies about a young swimming coach. She gets up enough nerve to take swimming lessons from him, and after several unsuccessful attempts she gets him to have phone sex with her--but of course he doesn't know who she is. Eventually she is exposed, her family throws her into the street, and of course they say that she has "shamed" them.

What makes it a good movie, apart from the social message, is that each character is described in enough detail that you feel that you know them. They are not just stock characters, as in many movies: "the widow," "the slut," etc. The acting is first rate. And there are spots of humor scattered along the way. It's not all doom and gloom. It should be required watching -- and not just in India.

A feminist film where all (or most) men characters are rotten by default, but one that raises valid points! [+62%]

[arungeorge13 · 6/10 · 21 August 2017]

There's more to like than dislike when it comes to the film 'Lipstick Under My Burkha'. The film narrates the tale of four women in a neighborhood in Bhopal.

Leela (Aahana Kumra) wants to run a honeymoon-management venture with photographer (and sexual partner) Arshad (Vikrant Massey) around the same time that she gets engaged to Manoj (the typical groom with 90s Bollywood sensibilities) leaving her in a dilemma on who to choose while going forward in life. Rehana (Plabita Borthakur) gets to portray a character that resembles the film's title - a college student who loves to wear bold designer dresses, jeans and sneakers (and of course, lipstick) under the dark burkha she dons while leaving/returning her home (her folks are in the tailoring business). Shirin (Konkona Sen Sharma) is a saleswoman by day (which her husband doesn't know of) and sex-object for her husband by night. Usha Buaji (Ratna Pathak Shah) is in her mid 50s, a matriarch known for her uprightness. She secretly engages in a horny phone- romance with a young swimming coach.

Wait, all these characters are actually different shades of 'Rosy' - the fictitious heroine of an erotic novel, read by Buaji. Or are they not? While the film raises valid points on freedom of expression (in terms of occupational aspirations, dressing styles, sexual interests or taste in music even) when it comes to womenfolk, it does so at by portraying most of the men characters as vile/rotten/insecure. Is it so hard to make a feminist film without depicting the men as scoundrels (cheating husbands, jealous and instantly-dumping boyfriends, daddies who believe their daughters should be hidden away in boxes)? I think a feminist masterpiece would take shape only when women are portrayed (holistically) on/above par with their strong-willed (and well- written) better halves. That's when you feel a sense of genuine gratification. 'LUMB' ultimately falls well short on this aspect and the climax has the feel of an under-cooked dish (symbolic of one of those 'shredded novellas').

Of all the four characters, I think I'd have to go with Shirin. Konkona induces a tinge of subtlety to her character that the viewer finds easy to empathize with, and also gets some of the best-written scenes in the film (one involving a pest-control gun). While the rest of the performances are solid on their own terms, it is the intrepid rendition of certain (though-of-as) tabooed themes that mostly strike the viewer as refreshingly good. And here's something I found quite odd. Rehana is both a 'Miley Cyrus' and 'Led Zeppelin' fan. (It almost feels like she has only listened to that one path- breaking popular song from a band and all of a sudden, started addressing them as her favorite!).

This isn't 'English Vinglish', 'Queen' or 'Parched'. Still, I'd say 'LUMB' is worth a viewing for its unabashed take on women's desires and aspirations (regardless of age), though with its own set of flaws.

Verdict: Not a must-watch, but worth checking out!

An honest attempt portraying the eternal shadow of our society that hasn't moved as fast as the country is developing

[ParthaSpeaks · 9/10 · 24 July 2017]

This movie is an honest attempt to portray the underlying pain in the society that is camouflaged in a smile across so many faces. Few of the elements may surprise you in the beginning, like 'Who is Rosy exactly?'

... as the movie progress, you will realize that Rosy is the eternal shadow that has not moved in a so called developing country like us! It was women-centric and very aptly depicted through various character, special mention should be there for Ratna Pathak's acting given her age and other younger actress in abundance. She proved to be the singularity in the chaos (read in positive sense) happening throughout the story.

Amazing but sad truth about women Living in india

[iamrashikasingh · 7/10 · 1 June 2021]

I like the fact the movies touches a serious topic but theres also places where they've chosen a lighter and comedic note to convey the point. Its sad but true how women are judged so brutally on their character even for the slightest common things like wearing clothes of their own choice, choosing partners, their career, their family life. The four characters of different ages in the same society (same house) try their best to deal with their lives but because the society as a whole cannot be changed the end makes one think on a lot of topics and how feminism is still needed.

over-hyped; can be missed

[ishitalaw · 5/10 · 9 August 2017]

This movie revolves around the lives of 4 women. The director tries to portray how unhappy these 4 are in their lives, due to their circumstances which are mainly the result of our society. Ratna Pathak's narration throughout the movie is very irritating, even though her performance is very bold and outstanding. The movie tends to be very slow and has been unnecessarily prolonged.

There is no proper conclusion shown in the end and it is left uncertain, as the movie ends abruptly. Watch the movie only if you have nothing else to do.

A thought provoking must-watch

[MichelleJord · 8/10 · 7 August 2020]

A power packed quest to break the barriers set for women.

Good movie !

[nnk-39990 · 6/10 · 25 December 2018]

Very much different concept shown and the leading ladies deliver powerful performances .

Point Taken - Girls and Women have sexual desires

[rajdoctor · 5/10 · 28 October 2017]

The movie is directed by Alankrita Shrivastava who was assistant director to Indian Hindi movies Director Prakash Jha's two films Apaharan and Rajneeti - who has supported her to produced this film.

The story is of four women - Usha (Ratna Pathak) Leela (Aahana Kumra), Shirin (Konkona Sen Sharma) and Rehana (Plabita Borthakur) - all staying in the same chawl - a mix of religious identities and age groups

The story is narrated on a parallel track of a novel that Usha's voice-over reads parts of a Hindi porno novel "Lipstick wale Sapne"

Usha is in mid fifties who loves to read porno novels,

Leela is a sex-hungry girl in love with a photography and aspiring to be a celebrity, but is engaged with another guy - yet continues to have sex and love her lover

Shirin is a housewife who secretly does a job of sales women to support her family when her unemployed husband is out having an extra- marital affair and whenever he comes home, is obsessed with treating his wife Shirin as sex object.

And Rehana is a college going girl who wants to break free from her religious conservative Muslim family. She goes out from her house wearing a Burkha but craves for all western things - music, dresses, dance, life-style etc., is a shop-lifter at shops in malls of expensive things she likes.

For sure all the four characters would exist in real life - and a story on them would be interesting. But the living context does not make it practically plausible, but this are some filmy liberties that are permitted when the director's aim is to put a specific point across.

The basic idea of the director is to give audience a SHOCK TREATMENT by showing a lot of sex scenes from the view point of being a women.

Except a few well written and directed scenes, the film falls down to being a B-C grade cinema.

Girls and women exists who also crave for sex as men is well presented. They want to break free of all the norms society lays on them. What the movie ends up in is a lop - sided portrayal of women and girls. But the point is strongly delivered.

Many people think engaging in sex, protests, anger, doing something different that no one approves is breaking Free and being LIBERAL. which is such a poor view of liberalism.

Among the four actress - Ratna Pathak and Konkona Sen excel in their portrayals, especially their culmination scenes where

Ratna is reminded of her old age and her looks and her desires and LOVE, but termed as "shameful" by throwing her on the streets. That scene broke my heart into pieces

And the culmination scene of Konkona being brutally raped by her husband and asked to stop working is another scene that brought tears to my eyes..

It is a bit difficult to sit thought the entire duration of the film without getting bored - but I sat through curiously to see - what the Director had in mind to conclude with.

Direction is below average, some scenes are so stupid, some sub-plots and characters hard to believe or digest.

The depiction of these four women too is shallow and it is only for the credit of Konkona and Ratna Pathak's maturity that - there is some depth in their characters because of their portrayals - the other two ladies are okay - nothing to write about.

There are so many (may be more than 100) scenes where the director has not taken care of continuity while shooting or editing. The placement of extras keep on changing places, and so do the make up of artists.

Overall - I think the purpose was to make a feminist point about putting across women's sexual desire issues strongly - right ON THE FACE as a slap to society in general. The film on a large part succeeds in that. But there is no subtlety in anything.

The same points could had been made with more force without using so many sexual scenes and dialogues.

If this is what they call women liberalization movement, we have to still go a long way back and start all over again...

I give this movie 5.25 rating out of 10.

A Bold Attempt

[Hussain-AL-Naseer · 7/10 · 20 April 2020]

Film showcases the life of four women's ranging from teenage girl to the one in her 60's and how they have different desires and how society norms and culture bounds them to fly, but even after facing all the odds and obstacles in their way, they still manages to find their way to claim their desires through small acts of courage but secrets reveals and according to the law every actions has its opposite and equal reactions is what movie is all about. Alankrita Shrivastava skillfully tells the stories which supported equally well by its ensemble cast especially hatsoff to Mam Ratna Pathak Shah who opted for "Usha aka Buaji" an aged women with bold desires and she has nailed it with her Lit performance. The film was the bold step towards women empowerment and women's quest for their freedom on daily basis. Film didn't get its due credit as it should, may be because of its bold screenplay and storytelling but it should be watched

Nice attempt

[rehmankhilji · 6/10 · 26 August 2017]

A movie with a deep message, freedom, the want of freedom, the desire for freedom and how sometimes these desires might lead up to something you never bargained for.

In our side of the globe there are two worlds, a world which is too open and a world which is too conservative. The later part tends to be inspire by the open world but don't release its horrors.

Freedom to do anything is a natural law, one should have all the what heart desires and experience is one of it.

This movie is about such women living in a rather too conservative environment. Such environment leading up to frustration to do things which due to their culture they cannot be expressive about.

Yes i would have love to see a little more in the end, when their identities were open.

Back to back wonderful performances by all Female Actors. A nice watch but with a strong lesson.

Lipstick Under My Burkha does not take any moral stance

[binducherungath · 8/10 · 22 July 2017]

Lipstick under my burkha, a film by Alankrita Shrivastava, was in the headlines due to its release being banned in India. It is a film which focuses on women, their sexuality, their desires, their frustrations and their need to break the shackles of society in which they feel suffocated. Alankrita has made a very unapologetic film. And yes, as the media reports were there, the film is bold in terms of its theme, subject, screenplay as well as its treatment. If we compare it with the films of the west, certainly one could notice the scope of improvement. But if we take this as an Indian film, indeed, it is a first of its kind, where the film tries to depict the females and their vulnerabilities without actually defending the same. But what the film does not try to do is to show the change in any context or the situation for the female characters. The situation remains the same. As a result, the film appears neither taking any stand as such nor bringing any transformation to the characters. It just seems like the lady characters are fulfilling their desires or living in their dreams/fantasies. The end feels a little abrupt. But yes, the film is successful in making its point clear that hypocrisy exists in our society even in 21st Century, norms of our society being gender specific, and how every woman has the right to live her life and make her choices too, but she is deprived of her basic rights. The film is not taking any moral stance but taking us through the journey of women as they are. It just highlights what is prevalent in the society without trying to find any answers to many pertinent questions raised in the film. It also appears as one sided story from females' perspectives. The backdrop is set in Bhopal and Alankrita chooses to have four female protagonists who all stay in the same colony – Usha (Ratna Pathak Shah), Shirin (Konkana Sen Sharma), Leela (Ahana Kumra) and Rihana (Plabita Borthakur). Alankrita has also selected another character Rosy from a novel to share the expressions what is not shown on the screen but certainly important for the audience to understand these four characters and their feelings in a much better and explicit manner. Burkha is used here more as a metaphor since within this burkha, there is a woman who wants to just fly free, sing at the top of her voice, use make up, conscious of one's looks, wants to look good, wants to enjoy sex, wants to talk sex over phone, wants to do everything which is taboo as per societal norms. Usha is 55-year-old widow who is known as Buaji. She even has forgotten her real identity of Usha, tells her name as Buaji when asked. She loves to read pulp novels and she meets her sexual urge through these characters' portrayals. The interesting thing is that Usha hides these novels in between some other book and then reads. This is how she hides her own embarrassment of having the desire for sex and wanting to be sexually active. She herself feels that is it appropriate for her to think of sex or reading pulp novels. Another important character is that of Shirin portrayed by Konkana Sen Sharma. Shirin has 3 children. Her husband Aslam (Sushant) is now back to India, earlier he was working in Saudi. This is a typical case of marital rape. Sushant is hardly having any love for Shirin and children but every night he wants to have intercourse with Shirin. Shirin surrenders to Aslam in spite of not enjoying. Besides most of the times, she ends up reaching clinics to get abortions done. She is working as a Sales Executive but hides this from Aslam knowing that he would not allow her to work. Many females would be able to relate to Shirin's marital rapes, sighs, tears, and longingness to have her man's love instead of lust. Leela (Ahana) is a character who is gregarious, declares her love to her photographer boyfriend (Vikrant Massey), very expressive. She loves to click photos with him and even loves to record videos while Leela makes love with him. She runs her own beauty parlour. She wants to just move out of the colony where she stays and run away to Delhi with her boyfriend. She rebels against the proposal brought in by her mother. Rihana (Plabita Borthakur) is a college student, who belongs to a family which is into tailoring. She loves to sing and dance and just wants to get rid of the burkha. She is so submissive in front of her parents, obeys them apparently but the moment she steps out of her house, she removes the burkha and reaches college in modern outfits. She represents many girls of our society, who just want to break free of every restriction at home. The story of all these four women clubbed with Rosy's story from the novel moves in non-linear format. Ratna, Konkana, Ahana, Plabita are all good in the film. Usha's story moves ahead through Jagat Singh Solanki who portrays a Swimming Coach. Jagat has done many films in the past and he brings a lot of credibility to his characters. Here, in this film, he projects very well that how he gets attracted to a female and her phone talks. And as his role of swimming coach demands, he has maintained a very well-toned physique. Sushant as Aslam - Shirin's husband is certainly wonderful. He maintains the expressions of an abusive husband. Vikrant Massey as a lover boy and boyfriend of Leela is very good. Vaibbhav Tatwawdi as Leela's fiancée has also given a good performance. Shashank as college mate of Rihana plays a typical boy who is an opportunist and does not shy away from breaking his commitment to a girl.

The story is very unique

[shovonbhattacharjee · 6/10 · 8 December 2020]

The motive of this movie is clear. I think more movies like lipstick under my burkha, should be come. This is the way, women can increase their reputation and know their rights.

Offbeat movie. Entertaining yet realistic.

[dexter_greycells · 8/10 · 29 July 2017]

This is somewhat of an offbeat movie to come out of the mainstream Hindi movie industry. The topic and the narration is refreshing. The setting in Bhopal (a non-metro city) helps. There's shock, humour and sadness in equal doses. I just wished the ending would have been more wholesome rather than leaving things unsaid. By the way, the movie certainly deserved the A (Adult) certification it was handed by the Film Certification Board and you'll realize in no time why it ran into controversies.

Women have the same desires or needs as men.

[g_aparna · 6/10 · 6 September 2017]

Basically what the film showed was that humans will remain unhappy till the time they look for others to define happiness for them! We all form an opinion about life based on whatever inputs we pick up from the environment. There are many cheap perverts out there in this world who have the money to spread the filth of their minds worldwide…initially it was difficult because it costed a lot of money to get a book published but with the arrival of internet, millions of people can write anything they want and become famous overnight!

Anyways, in this film, a 55 years old widow is heavily into reading soft porn and as we all know, what you mind, matters – so she tries to get close to a boy younger to her by 35 years or so! She hides her identity and engages in sex-chatting with the boy who was more of her son's age! When the boy comes to know, he comes to her locality and insults her in front of everyone….though it did not make much of a difference to her…..just like some sex-starved man who goes to the brothel and hires sex-worker of the age group of probably his grand-daughter! So since females follow the males blindly, this film showed exactly how women change their ways of life by comparing it with males! So when males are allowed to hire young sex-workers why can't aged females hire young males to fornicate with them!? This is the logic basically. So in the absence of proper red light areas for females to visit, they rope in locality or neighborhood males to quench their sexual desires.

Part 2:

Now Shireen was a housewife whose husband only had one relation with her – Sex. She had an overdose of sex in her life- that she did not like! She already had 3 kids and often visited the clinic for abortion since her husband did not like to use condoms…so Usha had dearth of sex and Shireen had overdose of sex – both disliked their existence.

Leela was in love with a local photographer and wanted to become a business woman- and be very rich. Her mother was a nude model for artists who wanted her daughter to marry some well settled man. But Leela was least bothered about her mom's ambitions – she used to dive on the hay for a quickie anytime, every time – though not with just anyone but only with her lover. When her lover turns her down, she tries to 'eff' her fiancé – who said he would only like to have sex on the 1st night of their wedding!

Rehana was a teenager and her parents, although poor, educated her in English medium school. They thought that their daughter will grow up to be a confident English speaking citizen but on the contrary, she became a shoplifter and liked to dress up like some western hooligan….with torn acid washed jeans etc. She joins college and befriends a wrong kinda company who believed in late night parties, drugs, alcohol land sleeping around with anyone who catches your fancy! She is arrested by the cops at the end…..and the guy she was going around with had recently impregnated another college girl! wow!

very unexpected tasteless,no proud moments for women,no empowerment for common housewives or girls rights to education or their role in society.this movie is all about sex.

[satnamsainig · 1/10 · 22 July 2017]

i thought this movie is all about women power and their impact on the society and their importance even if she is housewife but it's all about getting laid,lots of sexuality.in the name of women empowerment they started making b-grade movies.acting is good but everything else is not what expected.you should focus on wide audience if you empower the women. sexual content just increase the gap in family.make movie which whole family learn something.this is simply fooling people in the name of women empowerment for money.

showing mirror of our society

[rajatshanu64 · 10/10 · 29 July 2017]

OK it was really a great movie not just filled with some adult scene but also a mirror of our society. well story is about 4 woman they are of different age and have different problems only similarity is that they all just feeling pressure from their's loved one or society like one girl who is Muslim his dad wants him to wear burkha however she hated it but she don't have option but whenever she get chances like college she off the burkha she have lot's of dreams never gonna happen. well i don't know what to say much i got the message movie are trying to give we have to give freedom of our kids our girls. there is some nude scene too i was expecting something more sexual but still satisfied.

Take Your Men To Watch It. ♦ Grade C+

[nairtejas · 6/10 · 9 September 2017]

While forcing himself on his wife, the man utters, "You are a married woman, don't try to be the husband," as a retort to one of her actions earlier that day that he didn't approve of. The busy streets of Bhopal outside don't pay heed to this little indoor activity capable of instigating a sense of horror and revulsion in the viewer. You can look the other way and ignore what's happening on screen, but writer-director Alankrita Shrivastava will not let you as she takes you on a superficial journey of four women as they try to fight stigmas and oppression in a male-dominated country that still hesitates to consider marital rape a criminal offense.

Sex may still be a taboo in India, and that is why the narrative opens with Leela (Aahana Kumra), a beautician, enjoying a quickie with her photographer boyfriend while her future husband awaits her arrival so they could get formally engaged. She is forced into an arranged marriage by her widow mother who is not too jubilant about any of her escapades, let alone sexual, because she is a girl who has to eventually end up as a husband- pleaser. The base story is same albeit in different contexts in the neighboring houses where certified babymaker Shirin (Konkona Sen Sharma) will soon be admonished for "trying to be a husband", pseudo-kleptomaniac college girl Rehana (Plabita Borthakur) goes to some uncool extents to blend in with the cool kids at college but still staying within the limits of Islam, and senior lady Usha (Ratna Pathak Shah) tries to find sexual satisfaction through pulpy literature. They all live in the same complex as the viewers are taken through their individual life stories slightly interwoven for reasons favoring a moral climax.

The leading women in Lipstick Under My Burkha are rebellious and opportunistic. Motivated by self-interests, which the film often likes to attribute to inhibited female sexual desire, these four women are trying to find their own ways to fight oppression in a patriarchal society. Among their adversaries are objectification, societal dogma, and preconceived general notions related to feminine desire – all of which have a combined effect against their common cause.

However, the boldness and vivacity of these stories should not be considered as a bona fide encapsulation of stark issues it so rapturously tries to raise. Other than Shirin's story, which you may have already seen in one medium or other, the remaining three give a peek only from the periphery. What is Usha's history and why does she behave the way she does? What is Leela's problem? They are wafer- thin subplots that do not go deeper, thus failing to come up with any solutions to the problems. The film suggests everything, but resolves nothing – and that is what troubled me as a viewer. A tinge of misandry could be sensed in the screenplay but the writers cover it up by introducing colorful secondary characters.

What you may not enjoy is the sexual sequences. It can easily get uncomfortable as the film moves ahead, with oodles of one- dimensional nudity and implications. The cinematography is poor, especially in these sequences, and is most evident with Leela as she tries to satiate her coital needs. I would also blame the poor direction of supporting actors. The focus seems to be only on the four women and their immediate causes of trauma; the supporting cast look like they are in a lowbrow Television serial. There are small bulb shoots of sweetness scattered all over the film directed at those viewers looking for comic relief and revenge. The soundtrack helps in the montages here, but fails everywhere else. The songs are direct consequences of scenes, thankfully for a Hindi film, and certainly adds up to the glamour.

A wonderful cast, led by Sharma and Shah, give out a memorable performance. Kumra is impressive too, but Borthakur looks like she was forced out of her sleep to act. Nothing wrong in that, but if the makers' intention to capture authenticity was on the agenda, it definitely failed. The competition is really between Sharma and Shah, both of whom portray their characters with total conviction, making us get into their skin and feel their hardships. Sharma's Shirin is the housewife present in majority of Indian households, and I am sure all of them will admire her acting. But, how many are going to watch it? Shah is equally good but slightly more courageous in her role. Even as Usha debates (with herself) going for a swimming class, Shah enables her to think in a way that relates with the senior community where there is no place for sexual fantasies, as we see later in the film. If the theme is something that convinces you to watch this film, then it's the phenomenal cast performance that will keep you from leaving the hall between a sex scene.

Remove the theme and you will see the problems with Shrivastava's amateur filmmaking. The score often starts after every meaty turn in the film as if this is Aesop's Fables and the lead characters are introspecting. It also disregards a lot of important plot points (which can be converted into plot holes, if you like to call that) and hesitates to clarify them, giving the informed viewer something more to chew on. It is clear that the makers just wanted to scratch the surface without aiming for perfection, and when the fruits are already blooming, what more do you ask?

I do not usually get angry while watching films, but this one is a subject that should make you angry. Lipstick Under My Burkha is not intrinsically vulgar, but something that can be perceived as one. And that is what makes watching it worthwhile despite its shortcomings.

most idiotic feminist labelled Indian movie so far..

[ajstuns · 2/10 · 12 September 2017]

the hypocrite director (who directed the utter flop movie 'Turning 30') wants money from average brained Indian viewers this time.so she created unwanted controversy to make the movie a sensation by blabbering stuffs like female suppression, feminism, female sex freedom, patriarchy..blah..blah .blah..this is a movie with poor script, overacting and cheesy comedies.if u want a good female oriented sex freedom movie, just watch some from agnes warda or sofia coppolla, instead of this trash.

An Uncensored Treat

[Parth_IMDb · 9/10 · 28 July 2017]

*** This review contains spoilers ***

Lipstick under my burkha, feels like a sandpaper being rubbed against your skin. An sensational piece of cinema by Alankrita Shrivastava and team.

Movie starts off with a girl dressed in burkha shop lifting from a mall which we learn is the first of four protagonists, the other three soon make an entry, With character introduction scenes of their own.

Enter voice over. It might take couple of minutes to fully grasp the context and hilarity of the voice over, But it is doubtlessly one of the if not the most important element of the movie.

From Rehana's frustration against the system, Shireen's suppressed anger, Leela's ambitions to Buaji's Desperation and loneliness everything is portrayed quite terrifically. What makes it poignant is they can be just any other person you know. The realistic portrayal of everyday life makes the movie uncomfortably relatable and forces you to question the norms.

All four characters are at quite different stages of their life and are facing different set of problems, the root of which can be zeroed down to what is acceptable by society norms and what is not. Alankrita has managed to show the ugly side of India without getting into the poverty and 'slumdog millionaire' zone. The ugliness of a society and the methodical hypocrisy which has become part of life to an extent that we don't even notice it anymore.

whether it is happily unaware Manoj patiently waiting for her fiancé while she is having sex with her boyfriend, or a potential romantic interest of Usha being forced to call her Buaji (aunty ji), Movie is filled with dark humor and intense scenes.

Though I personally feel music could have been much better, Cinematography is commendable. The sound of Rehana's sewing machine and the dimly lit room where she is forced to work. One can almost smell the musty damp smell of cramped air. You can not help but appreciate the little details like the change of Buaji's pastel shade bed sheet to a bright colored and rose patterned bed sheet after she starts chatting with Jaypal and the mosquito net she has put on around bed as means to limit visibility.

Overall it is an uncensored treat as Alankrita and team has gone all out with all guns blazing, covering lot of issues from a trouble a middle age lady faces in buying swimming costume to something as serious as marital rape. Lipstick under my burkha shows it exactly how it is. Kudos to entire team for such fantastic job. India needs more movies like this.

P.S. Not that it is the golden standard of good movies, but this should be India's obvious entry to Academy awards.

Banned for no valid reasons.

[prettyreva26 · 10/10 · 2 August 2017]

The movie exposes harsh reality of Indian mentality towards women. Women are the property of their father/husband/son according to India men. The fact that this movie is been banned shows how deeply the problem has penetrated in the society. Yes, censor board is scared of people watching it. It's a wonderful movie and an eye-opener. Congratulations to the team for having the courage to make such a movie. Keep it up!

Slow & Tiring!

[namashi_1 · 4/10 · 22 August 2017]

'Lipstick Under My Burkha' is the recent critical darling, that also rocked the box-office. Some call it shocking, some scandalous, some brave, some path-breaking. BUT for me, personally speaking, this one's a letdown! Slow & Tiring, this women-centric film boasts fine performances, but in terms of narrative, it fails to engage!

Set in the crowded by-lanes of small town India, 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' chronicles the secret lives of four women in search of a little freedom. Though stifled and trapped in their worlds, these four women claim their desires through small acts of courage and stealthy rebellion.

'Lipstick Under My Burkha' isn't a pro feminist film. Sure, its about women exploring their inner needs in a small town filled with repulsively sexist men dominating them, but it doesn't do much for Women in the end. I am a city boy, but I sense how it must feel to be these women in small towns. And that's why this film has done the business it has, because the connect value must be immense.

But, the narrative is monotonous & overlong. At nearly 2 hours, I found myself bored for the most bit. The 4 women have interesting dynamics & troubles to deal with it, but none engage all through. The film falls apart in the second-hour & the culmination is unconvincing. The first-hour has a few winning moments, but nothing stands out in particular.

Its the performances that take the cake! Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur are scene-stealing good. The Ever-Terrific Ratna Pathak is heartbreakingly affecting as Bua Ji, who comes in terms with her needs in a society where an aged women is nearly alien. Konkona is equally competent as the housewife, only left to be a piece sexual pleasure by her horrifying husband. Aahana is feisty & seductive as a young-blood torn between 2 men & goes all-out in the sex-scenes. Here's a performer with genuine potential. Plabita is likable & forceful as the young soul waiting to sing & pursue her passion, despite her orthodox parents. These 4 four women give 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' the strength, that sadly the Writing Lacks.

Alankrita Shrivastava, The Writer & Director, has tappings of a fearless storyteller. But over here, it only shows in sparks. Her Writing is a tiresome exercise in monotony, that doesn't go beyond its one-liner concept. Her Direction, though naturalistic, still could've been sharper.

Given the hype around, I expected 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' to be a strong & engrossing film about Women in small towns of India. And while it is that, its also bland & tedious for the most part.