Lipstick Under My Burkha Movie Review: A Shade You Should Wear For Every 'Log Kya Sochengey'!
Is this Konkona Sen Sharma- Ratna Pathak Shah starrer worth the hype? We watched it and here's our verdict.
Reviews
oi-Madhuri
By Madhuri
Rating:
3.5/5
Star
Cast:
Konkona
Sen
Sharma,
Sushant
Singh,
Shashank
Arora,
Ratna
Pathak,
Vaibbhav
Tatwawdi
Director:
Alankrita
Shrivastava
Producer:
Prakash
Jha
Writers:
Alankrita
Shrivastava
What's
Yay:
Performances,
Direction,
Story
What's
Nay:
The
male
characters
lack
a
depth
and
appear
more
one-dimensional.
Popcorn
Refill:
Strictly
Interval
Iconic
Moment:
The
scenes
involving
Ratna
Pathak
Shah
lend
a
tragicomedy
flavor
to
the
film
and
you
will
yourself
relishing
them
the
most.
Plot
Set
in
Bhopal,
Lipstick
Under
My
Burkha
opens
with
a
voiceover
about
how
there
comes
a
time
in
a
woman's
life
where
she
yearns
to
be
one
and
then
'jawaani
kaante
ki
tarah
chubne
lagti
hain." Soon,
we
are
introduced
to
the
lives
of
four
women
who
dare
to
break
free
the
shackles
of
a
sexually
repressed
society
and
live
the
life
that
they
deserve.
Rehana
(Plabita
Borthakur)
is
a
regular
teen
who
lives
in
a
burkha
at
home
but
inspires
to
be
a
desi
Miley
Cyrus,
calls
Led
Zep's
'Stairway
To
Heaven'
her
'forever
favourite
song',
protests
against
jeans
ban
in
her
college
and
even
goes
shop-lifting.
Shireen
(Konkona
Sen
Sharma),
a
burkha-clad
housewife
whose
chauvinistic
husband
treats
her
as
a
mere
s*x
object,
finds
solace
in
a
door-to-door
sales
job
unknowing
to
him.
Leela
(Aahana
Kumara)
who
runs
a
beauty
parlour,
doesn't
want
to
wait
for
her
suhaag
raat
to
live
out
her
fantasies.
Buaji
or
Usha
Parmar
(Ratna
Pathak
Shah),
a
55
year
old
whose
sexual
existence
is
a
big
'no-no'
for
the
society
has
hots
for
her
young,
beefy
swimming
coach
and
even
indulges
in
some
phone
s'x
under
a
fictional
name.
Ironically,
these
women
live
in
an
abode,
Hawa
Hawai
which
is
owned
by
Buaji
and
rented
by
the
other
three.
All
these
four
stories
are
narrated
parallel
with
a
desi
erotica
named
'Lipstickwale
Sapne'
whose
lead
character
Rosie
harbors
wild
fantasies
and
wet
dreams.
The
rest
of
the
film
revolves
around
how
these
four
female
protagonists
turn
on
their
rebellious
mode
despite
knowing
its
consequences.
Direction
Lipstick
Under
My
Burkha
first
caught
everyone's
attention
when
the
CBFC
deemed
the
film
unfit
for
viewing
for
its
'lady-oriented'
story
and
contagious
sexual
scenes.
The
makers
followed
the
next
step
and
knocked
the
doors
of
FCAT
who
finally
approved
it.
Perhaps,
Mr
Pahlaj
Nihalani
didn't
want
us
to
hold
the
mirror
to
the
society
where
there
is
no
place
for
a
woman's
closeted
desires!
Kudos
to
Alankrita
Shrivastava
for
opening
the
doors
and
showing
us
what
goes
on
behind
them
because
of
male
patriarchy.
Where
a
girl
can't
even
dance
in
a
public
function
because
'log
kya
sochege'.
Where
an
older
woman
has
to
run
a
tap
to
muffle
her
sexual
moans.
Where
a
man
doesn't
care
a
damn
about
his
wife's
consent
or
desire
before
unzipping
his
pants.
Alankrita's
film
releases
the
voice
of
these
women
which
often
goes
unheard.
It
smudges
few
boundary
lines
and
lights
up
a
ray
of
hope.
On
the
flipside,
the
male
characters
could
have
been
fleshed
out
a
bit
to
avoid
its
one-dimensional
portrayal.
Performances
Konkona
Sen
Sharma
as
the
submissive
Shireen
has
a
couple
of
hard-hitting
scenes
which
gives
you
goosebumps.
Ratna
Pathak
Shah's
track
of
a
woman
in
the
throes
of
passion,
is
the
most
impressive
one
of
the
lot.
She
is
endearing
in
the
humorous
bits
and
her
acting
prowess
prevent
Buaji
from
being
an
embarrassing
caricature.
Aahana
Kumara's
feisty
act
and
Plabita
Borthakur's
coy-turned
rebel
is
quite
impressive.
Vikram
Massey
is
a
delight
to
watch
irrespective
of
the
length
of
his
role.
Sushant
Singh
and
Vaibhav
Tatwawaadi
put
up
a
good
show.
Shashank
Arora
sadly,
is
a
weak
plot
link.
Recommended
Video
Shraddha
Kapoor,
Radhika
Apte,
Mona
Singh
at
Lipstick
Under
my
Burkha
screening;
Watch
|
FilmiBeat
Technical
Aspects
Akshay
Singh's
cinematography
perfectly
captures
the
atmosphere
and
lends
in
the
necessary
claustrophobic-ness
wherever
required.
Charu
Shree
Roy's
editing
scores
fine.
Gazal
Dhaliwal's
dialogues
which
range
from
sexual
innuendos
to
emotional
outbursts
gives
a
layered
texture
to
the
film.
Music
The
music
score
by
Zebunissa
Bangash
and
Mangesh
Dhadke
lends
an
upper
hand
to
the
film.
Verdict
If
you
are
looking
out
for
some
power-packed
content,
then
opt
for
this
bold
shade
of
lipstick
which
has
a
long-lasting
impact.