The first time I had watched the trailer for 'Angry Indian Goddesses' I felt it was movie which I cannot just miss. Quite honestly it seemed like a promising movie about women and friendship and there seemed to be a dark mysterious element thrown in as well so I told one of my best friends that we must watch it the day it would released. We managed to catch the show on the second day of the film having been released and after watching it I felt annoyed at best. The only saving grace were the fabulous songs which are stuck in my head thanks to Youtube.
What I had expected was a progressive movie. Not only was there no sign of progression but it did not even provide some light hearted entertainment.
The one thing that I have learnt is that anger is the most destructive and harmful emotions of all the emotions. In the opening scene itself we see a bunch of angry women but somehow it is hard to understand the action that follows. All of us get angry irrespective of gender and age but how we confront that little devilish emotion is up to us. Violence is never a solution and I mean ever. Two violent actions does not make one violent action right. So no you cannot drop heavy weights on people's foot no matter what they say and I have my doubts as to whether corporate women tear up the work of their employees even if they are not happy just because the employees are men. So the reactions shown in the movie is definitely not realistic.
If we the women are supposed to feel close to the movie because the women leer at men and use swear words then its job well done, but you see I firmly believe that peeing in the men's washroom has got nothing to do with feminism.
Lets come to the point where I actually felt angry. Its because of the cliched characters portrayed in the movie who does nothing to actually uplift women as such.
Why must the corporate women smoke and scream and why should the musician be a rebel without cause and in 2015 it is hard to believe that the naive housewife asks as intrusive and illogical a question as to how lesbians make love.
Lets take the case of the corporate woman. The director could have actually shown something else rather the woman feeling sorry about her child feeling lonely since she is working which leads her to actually take a drastic corporate decision. Not only is the action unrealistic. The director forgot that being a women and having her freedom does not mean you do whatever the hell you want. if there is a company you cannot take your decision all alone. Anyway he could have shown a corporate woman who fights for her right to balance work and her child by say having her company give women the option to work from home but no there had to be that question raised which is old and does not give any solutions. Is it just the woman's responsibility to raise a child. No it is not but then again he does not provide a solution to how to cope with this age old problem.
Then there is the Delhi homemaker. What I found objectionable was how the homemaker becomes the butt of all jokes. Pray why please is the homemaker the new target of all feminists. make no mistake I work with the corporate world but could we please not show all homemakers as women who are puppets who just had to give in to get married. here we see an educated woman whose answer to why she got married is 'sometimes you just have to give in' I would have personally enjoyed it a lot more if something new was shown. How about a woman who chooses to be a homemaker for a change? Yes the choice could be regressive in some people's eyes but is it that unthinkable and if it is why so?
The aspiring actress is angry about not having a meaty role in movie roles offered to her but dances around using the same dance steps which I personally find derogatory to women. So what was the point of her anger ? Again there is simply no solution. Why could they have not shown some independent filmmaker discovering her or something fresh but then again I am not the director or script writer.
Ah but then comes the dark twist and here a solution is offered and the solution is not only unlawful but frankly senseless. Kill people. 'Khoon ka badla khoon' which translates to murder is the best revenge for murder.
And no, going on a crazy murderous rampage is the worst way to end the movie even if the common man is shown standing by the murders because it were the wrong doers who were killed.
Not just that some issues shown are really not just for women. Any sibling who sees their brother murdered in front of them would feel a lot of rage irrespective of gender and a woman feeling that rage doesnt cut it as a feminist in my book.
Quite frankly there isn't a dearth of movies which deal with women and friendship in the west be it Steel magnolias, Mystic Pizza , Beaches or the more glamourous Sex and the City and I have to say a light hearted movie on women and friendship would have been more welcome than a movie which seemed to have a few newspaper clippings enacted haphazardly.
P.S. Thanks to the very progressive Censor of India the beeps made the movie even more terrible. lets starts living in the 21st century where urban Indian women do use the words fuck, suck, bitch, sex etc etc etc
What I had expected was a progressive movie. Not only was there no sign of progression but it did not even provide some light hearted entertainment.
The one thing that I have learnt is that anger is the most destructive and harmful emotions of all the emotions. In the opening scene itself we see a bunch of angry women but somehow it is hard to understand the action that follows. All of us get angry irrespective of gender and age but how we confront that little devilish emotion is up to us. Violence is never a solution and I mean ever. Two violent actions does not make one violent action right. So no you cannot drop heavy weights on people's foot no matter what they say and I have my doubts as to whether corporate women tear up the work of their employees even if they are not happy just because the employees are men. So the reactions shown in the movie is definitely not realistic.
If we the women are supposed to feel close to the movie because the women leer at men and use swear words then its job well done, but you see I firmly believe that peeing in the men's washroom has got nothing to do with feminism.
Lets come to the point where I actually felt angry. Its because of the cliched characters portrayed in the movie who does nothing to actually uplift women as such.
Why must the corporate women smoke and scream and why should the musician be a rebel without cause and in 2015 it is hard to believe that the naive housewife asks as intrusive and illogical a question as to how lesbians make love.
Lets take the case of the corporate woman. The director could have actually shown something else rather the woman feeling sorry about her child feeling lonely since she is working which leads her to actually take a drastic corporate decision. Not only is the action unrealistic. The director forgot that being a women and having her freedom does not mean you do whatever the hell you want. if there is a company you cannot take your decision all alone. Anyway he could have shown a corporate woman who fights for her right to balance work and her child by say having her company give women the option to work from home but no there had to be that question raised which is old and does not give any solutions. Is it just the woman's responsibility to raise a child. No it is not but then again he does not provide a solution to how to cope with this age old problem.
Then there is the Delhi homemaker. What I found objectionable was how the homemaker becomes the butt of all jokes. Pray why please is the homemaker the new target of all feminists. make no mistake I work with the corporate world but could we please not show all homemakers as women who are puppets who just had to give in to get married. here we see an educated woman whose answer to why she got married is 'sometimes you just have to give in' I would have personally enjoyed it a lot more if something new was shown. How about a woman who chooses to be a homemaker for a change? Yes the choice could be regressive in some people's eyes but is it that unthinkable and if it is why so?
The aspiring actress is angry about not having a meaty role in movie roles offered to her but dances around using the same dance steps which I personally find derogatory to women. So what was the point of her anger ? Again there is simply no solution. Why could they have not shown some independent filmmaker discovering her or something fresh but then again I am not the director or script writer.
Ah but then comes the dark twist and here a solution is offered and the solution is not only unlawful but frankly senseless. Kill people. 'Khoon ka badla khoon' which translates to murder is the best revenge for murder.
And no, going on a crazy murderous rampage is the worst way to end the movie even if the common man is shown standing by the murders because it were the wrong doers who were killed.
Not just that some issues shown are really not just for women. Any sibling who sees their brother murdered in front of them would feel a lot of rage irrespective of gender and a woman feeling that rage doesnt cut it as a feminist in my book.
Quite frankly there isn't a dearth of movies which deal with women and friendship in the west be it Steel magnolias, Mystic Pizza , Beaches or the more glamourous Sex and the City and I have to say a light hearted movie on women and friendship would have been more welcome than a movie which seemed to have a few newspaper clippings enacted haphazardly.
P.S. Thanks to the very progressive Censor of India the beeps made the movie even more terrible. lets starts living in the 21st century where urban Indian women do use the words fuck, suck, bitch, sex etc etc etc
