I am not a movie critic. I am not a Hindi movie buff either.
I rather relish English movies simply because the acting in not loud, there are
no unnecessary songs and dances, and they are a tad more realistic.
Nevertheless, I do watch Hindi cinema occasionally when
there is something out of the box, such as the latest Hindi flick, Pink.
The movie overwhelmed me, and compelled me to express my
emotions publicly. Being a mother of a young daughter, I could easily and very
well relate to it. With each dialogue and scene, I dived deep within.
Before I start with my story, firstly, my heartfelt
congratulations to the director for raising such a relevant issue that concerns
every girl and every parent.
Secondly, a big thanks to the dialogue writer for not
beating around the bush but calling a spade a spade. It was a treat to see
people talking openly on the screen about issues that are considered a taboo in
Indian society. For example, pre-marital sex, virginity, or women taking hard
liquor in the company of their male friends – I don’t think the director left
any issue, which needed to be raised.
And most importantly, kudos to the perfect casting. I cannot
think of a better cast. Every character was well chosen and played his/her part
so realistically and beautifully that I could not contain my eyes from filling
up on several occasions.
As the story unfolded, I started missing my daughter sitting
next to me and both of us crying together.
She recently expressed her desire to live an independent
life and learn how to survive alone without the family cushion. She wants to
face her own struggles in making her life instead of piggy riding someone – be
her mother, brother, boyfriend or husband. She wants to feel self-reliant to
deal with her own issues.
The girls shown in the movie were no different. But, they
were seen as promiscuous because they live alone, go out in the evenings with
friends (read boys) and drink hard liquor! My children faced all these
behind-the-back gossip of neighbours and even distant family members who did
not approve the way I was bringing up my children – in an open environment.
Thank God, I don’t belong to that clan who have different
rules for girls and boys. I never paid any heed to what people said and did
what I thought was the best – to give my children their space, which every
grown up individual needs, to evolve and flourish.
The movie refreshed the memory of a conversation I recently
had with my daughter, while having a straight-from-the-heart talk. That was one
of our emotional moments. She was talking about a boy who proposed to her and
she refused. The boy was persistent which annoyed and irritated her. But, she
remained friendly and polite to him. I asked why wasn’t she straight to him on
the issue, and what she said not only shocked me but also opened my eyes to the
problems of the new world. She said she was dead scared of acid attack and the
ghost of that probable threat forced her to be ‘nice’ to the person, whom she
could not stand, forget about loving. She didn’t want to annoy him to tthat
extent where he may throw acid on her.
What Pink showed – the revenge of a hurt male ego, underlined
the seriousness and the base of my daughter’s fears. I must admit that after
ages I have seen a movie which really touched my core.
This is one film, I believe, every parent should go and
watch with their children. It will not only help parents in understanding their
children’s needs, fears, aspirations, weaknesses, and strengths, but will also
help them remove their blinkers and see things in a broad spectrum, and treat
their children as humans, individuals, and the grown-up, responsible citizens
who have the right to choose what kind of life they want to live.
