PINK – a black story with a silver lining

A woman in India should not drink alcohol. She should not smile while talking to men. She should never wear any clothes that might attract men. Don’t protest, don’t say no! Never spend time alone with a man, because you might get raped. And if you do get raped, it’s your own fault.

Movie or reality? Both.

A text appearing onscreen before the film PINK starts, states that “This film is a fictional piece of work and not meant to spread misinformation or to remind you of any real situations or real people.”

But the scene where the men drive around in a minivan, raping a woman, sure does remind us of the incident in 2012 when Jyoti Singh Pandey was brutally raped and tortured onboard a bus, while driving around in New Delhi. Pandey later died, and the dirty truth about the culture of rape in India, was all over the world in the blink of an eye.

The entire movie PINK is an outcry against suppression and sexual violence against women in India. It’s an important movie. But even though the topic is of such significance and the dialog is intelligent, the film never really sparks. There are strong scenes, like the one where the victim Minal (Tapsee Pannu) has become a shadow of herself and in shame hides under her hood, not showing that beautiful curly hair. Without a word her (male) lawyer pulls her hood back as if to say, “never be ashamed of being a courageous woman”. The most beautiful and strongest scene comes after the movie is over, while the credits role on the side. It’s sort of odd, but gorgeous.

The audio without footage in the start of the film is the beginning of a circle. A circle that cleverly closes at the end, with footage without audio. It is smart and delicately done.

But between the start and the end, there are more than two hours of pain, tears and utter misery. There is no way to make a film about rape and violence in a perky fun way, but a big chunk of the film is like snooze on repeat. The trial goes on forever. Kirti Kulhari indeed is brilliant in her role as Falak, but there is only one layer to her, the screaming, crying woman.

The perpetrator, Rajveer Singh (Angad Bedi) also has but one expression, evil rapist with hard black eyes. The superman of a lawyer, Deepak (Amitabh Bachchan), doesn’t offer a hint of a smile throughout the film. His face is made of stone.

The film The Pelican Brief from 1993, allegedly had two different endings. One where Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) sits watching the TV, smiling her million-dollar-smile, and one where she is somber. The director went with the smile, and according to legend that is what made the film a huge hit instead of just a great movie. PINK could have used a smiling scene of that kind. Because it is very dark and heavy, as it should be, dealing with a topic like this. There are some bright moments though.

The friendship the three women share make them tight as sisters, and it’s nice to watch. But they stay very much within their roles - Falak being the grown-up, Andrea (Andrea Tariang) the little sister, and Minal the trouble maker - which makes it less dynamic than it could be.

And the film raises questions too. How can the three women support themselves even after losing their jobs and their reputation as “good girls”?

Who is the mysterious creepy neighbor watching them from his apartment across the street?

The director of PINK (Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury) does touch on the difficulties with the corrupted Indian police force, but not enough.

More questions.

Would a case like this, where a woman defends herself by breaking a bottle on a mans face (a man from a rich family), really be taken seriously in a court room in India? Would it even make it to court?

PINK was made in 2016, between the New Delhi 2012 gang rape and #MeToo, and the world might be changing for women? The mere fact that movies are being made, documentaries cause worldwide anger, like India’s Daughter, (the documentary where one of Pandey’s rapists is being interviewed in prison), is a good sign.

The fact that Harvey Weinstein and Co. are banished from the playground for all eternity is another huge step. But the sexual violence, the assaults, the abuse is everywhere, like a rotten smell that gets in through the cracks and makes you sick.

The bad guys in PINK explains their actions with a shrug of the shoulders. “We are protecting the traditions of our country. Women need to know their place.”

Traditions may be the most dangerous thing ever invented. It makes greasy guys like Rajveer Singh and baboons like Dumpy (Raashul Tandon) think that women are nothing but pieces of flesh. And unfortunately, these traditions are international, they spread from India, to Europe, to Africa, to Hollywood and back again.

The more movies about this topic, the better. But spice them up!