After the Brock Turner scandal, in which a rapist served only three months of his six months sentence, it was fitting and somewhat comforting to see the film PINK.
Given India's usually conservative stance in the social realm, I wasn't sure what to expect. Certainly rape is considered a crime, but I wasn't sure how the victims would be seen. Would we hear common excuses - "Her clothes were skimpy" or "She was too flirty"? Yes, this was touched upon. But gratefully there was also the resounding "No means no".
PINK begins rather slow. The incident is unknown and the characters are grouped by gender. Three men are being driven to the hospital, one with a bloody gash above his right eye. Meanwhile, three girls are terrified, huddled in a car on the way to their society. We only get hints of the incident. Led by the son of a politician, Rajveer (Angad Bedi) leads his friends in a violent intimidation campaign against Minal Arora (Taapsee Pannu), Falak Ali (Kirti Kulhari) and Andrea (Andrea Tariang). Once he realizes the girls have been attempting to file police complaints, he molests Minal in a van with his group, before his father takes action. In an attempt to cover his son's behavior, Minal is arrested and accused of attempted murder and prostitution, among other charges.
After witnessing the intimidation first hand, a retired lawyer with a bipolar disorder, played by Amitabh Bachchan decides to take their case. Adding humor and compassion to a seemingly hopeless situation, Bachchan's character first appears somewhat comical and air-headed as he refuses to cross examine any witnesses. He does, however, turn the rapists' case upside down, giving the audience a little relief.
Through the courtroom, rampant myths about rape are dispelled:
After Wazir and T3n, it was nice to see Bachchan in such an important film. The acting was superb, but there's is no question that the movie deserves a trigger warning. Still, despite the movie is of Indian origin (and the myth that rape is everywhere in India), this is certainly a film for US public as well.
Given India's usually conservative stance in the social realm, I wasn't sure what to expect. Certainly rape is considered a crime, but I wasn't sure how the victims would be seen. Would we hear common excuses - "Her clothes were skimpy" or "She was too flirty"? Yes, this was touched upon. But gratefully there was also the resounding "No means no".
PINK begins rather slow. The incident is unknown and the characters are grouped by gender. Three men are being driven to the hospital, one with a bloody gash above his right eye. Meanwhile, three girls are terrified, huddled in a car on the way to their society. We only get hints of the incident. Led by the son of a politician, Rajveer (Angad Bedi) leads his friends in a violent intimidation campaign against Minal Arora (Taapsee Pannu), Falak Ali (Kirti Kulhari) and Andrea (Andrea Tariang). Once he realizes the girls have been attempting to file police complaints, he molests Minal in a van with his group, before his father takes action. In an attempt to cover his son's behavior, Minal is arrested and accused of attempted murder and prostitution, among other charges.
After witnessing the intimidation first hand, a retired lawyer with a bipolar disorder, played by Amitabh Bachchan decides to take their case. Adding humor and compassion to a seemingly hopeless situation, Bachchan's character first appears somewhat comical and air-headed as he refuses to cross examine any witnesses. He does, however, turn the rapists' case upside down, giving the audience a little relief.
Through the courtroom, rampant myths about rape are dispelled:
- if she's not a virgin, it's okay
- if she's a prostitute, it's okay
- if she wears revealing clothes, it's okay
- if she is smiling it's okay
- if you buy her food it's okay
- if she injures you it's okay (given the later molestation/rape)
- if she drinks it's okay
- if you're married it's okay
- that men don't need to be educated on rape
After Wazir and T3n, it was nice to see Bachchan in such an important film. The acting was superb, but there's is no question that the movie deserves a trigger warning. Still, despite the movie is of Indian origin (and the myth that rape is everywhere in India), this is certainly a film for US public as well.
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