Lipstick under my Burqa denied a certification for being too feminist?

If there is anything in the Bollywood industry which has double standards, then it has to be the CBFC. The censor board has proved that they are a joke when it denied a certificate to Alankrita Srivastava’s film ‘Lipstick under my Burqa’.

The film explores the sexuality of four women as we follow them through the journey of their sexual desires. It was hugely popular at the recently held MAMI film festival in Mumbai and was greatly lauded for being a liberating film for the women of India.

But the director and producer Prakash Jha was told something else.

“The story is lady oriented, their fantasy above life. There are contentious sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and a bit sensitive touch about one particular section of society, hence film refused under guidelines 1(a), 2(vii), 2(ix), 2(x), 2(xi), 2(xii) and 3(i)”, this is what the CBFC replied.

Prakash Jha came out and slammed them by saying, “As a country, we must encourage freedom of expression but the CBFC refusing to certify films that tell uncomfortable stories discourages filmmakers from pushing the envelope.”

According to Srivastava, the film was denied a certification for it’s a ‘feminist film with a strong female voice which challenges patriarchy.’ On the other hand, no film has been denied for being too male oriented.

Check out the trailer of the film…