I got angry when I watched 'Lipstick Under My Burkha': Ekta

Agencies
July 4, 2017

New Delhi, Jul 4: Producer Ekta Kapoor has said she came up with a "sassy promo" for "Lipstick Under My Burkha" as she wanted the film to reach out to wider audiences rather than being confined to the art film zone.Ekta

The movie hit a roadblock with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) soon after Ekta came onboard as a distributor but it only strengthened her desire to take the movie to the masses.

"The film made me angry. I saw the film and realised we really live in a world where as women we are not allowed to do or say anything. Here was this entertaining movie that spoke about what I think. Why didn't I think of it? I loved it," Ekta, 42, told PTI in an interview.

She came onboard the project when it had already hit a roadblock. Jha called her to watch the film and asked whether she would like to distribute and she immediately agreed.

"I decided to distribute this movie knowing that I might not earn profits. Then I was hoping we would get a certificate and that's when it landed into a soup with the censor board."

The board was criticised for being regressive by refusing certification to 'Lipstick...' as the film was "lady-oriented".

The makers approached the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), which directed the CBFC to certify the film with few cuts.

After the film was cleared for release, Ekta's team came up with an edgy poster of the film, which depicts a woman showing her middle finger.

"I thought, will this be an 'artie' movie that 200 people will watch or a film where I'll get more and more women to see it? So, we got a sassy promo out, edgy as hell with great Hindi 'masala' music and have more women pay attention to it. I felt this was the way to go forward."

As someone who has produced shows on TV before venturing into cinema, Ekta understands the duality of the audiences in India.

"'Hamare khaane ke daant aur, dikhane ke daant aur hain'. What I say in front of my parents, I won't repeat the same with my friends. And we are okay with it.

"This is our society, this is how we've been brought up. But it doesn't mean I don't like discussing such topics. It means I will take up these issues in a different medium at the right time."

Ekta said lipstick, as a symbol, had less to do with vanity and more to do with freedom of choice.

"When you wear lipstick for vanity, it makes you look good. A lot of women say they wear lipstick when they want to feel good. I read somewhere 'there is nothing that a right shade of lipstick can't fix'. So many acts by us are a form of rebellion."

Spilling details about the first scene of the film, Ekta said one of the characters goes to a shop and steals a lipstick. "For me, that scene translates into a choice that she was not allowed to make. So she had to steal away that one thing."

Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, "Lipstick..." has a stellar cast in Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkona Sensharma, Aahana Kumra, Plabita Borthakur, Sushant Singh and Vikrant Massey. The film releases on July 28.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 10,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 10: Eminent Carnatic vocalist and playback singer K J Yesudas, who has enthralled music aficionados across the world with his profound and mellifluous voice for the last six decades, turned 80 on Friday.

People from various walks of life, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and luminaries of music and film world besides socio-cultural personalities, wished the legendary singer, popularly called as 'gana gandharvan' (the celestial singer) by his fans, on his birthday.

Regional newspapers came out with special pages and television channels with exclusive programmes as a tribute to the singer, who has recorded over 80,000 songs in various genres in almost all languages of India including about 25,000 film songs, Carnatic bhajans and devotional songs.

Besides Indian languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, Odia, his voice gave life to songs in Arabic, English, Latin, and Russian during a career spanning over six decades.

Yesudas, whom the country had honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 2017, is the recipient of eight national awards, 25 Kerala state awards, five state awards of Tamil Nadu and four of Andhra Pradesh.

"On the special occasion of his 80th birthday, greetings to the versatile K J Yesudas Ji. His melodious music and soulful renditions have made him popular across all age groups. He has made valuable contributions to Indian culture. Wishing him a long and healthy life," Modi tweeted.

The Left veteran also shared a photo of the veteran singer along with the tweet.

Meanwhile, Yesudas this morning visited the Mookambika Temple at Kollur in Udupi district of Karnataka along with his family, a practice he has been following for the last four decades.

Draped in the traditional Kerala style kasavu mundu and shawl, 'dasettan', as he is known among his hardcore fans cutting across ages, Yesudas offered prayers along with his wife Prabha and sons and performed special poojas at the Goddess Saraswathi temple.

Hundreds of music buffs gathered at the shrine to wish the octogenarian singer.

Considered as one of the best playback singers in the country, Yesudas had begun his music career in the tinsel town with the Malayalam song "Jathi bhedam matha dwesham" in the year 1961 and sang in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films among other languages.

Yesudas's foray into Bollywood saw him recording various memorable hits, including "Jab Deep Jale Aana" and "Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara".

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 26,2020

Washington, May 26: Making a slight change to the name of their newborn, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his singer girlfriend Grimes have now named their first child X AE A-Xii.

The difference is only in the numeral part of the name which is now written in the Roman format.

Earlier this month, the celebrity couple hogged headlines for naming their son X AE A-12.

The change in the name came when an Instagram follower of the Canadian singer asked if she had considered changing the name of the child and she replied with, "X AE A-Xii."

However, the performer didn't provide further insight concerning the reason behind the change.

Canadian singer Grimes gave birth to her first child on May 4.

The 32-year-old had earlier taken to Twitter and explained the meaning of the baby's name.  

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 8,2020

Jan 8: Bollywood star Deepika Padukone on Tuesday visited the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to express solidarity with the students who were attacked by a mob, but she did not address the crowd.

The actor reached the university campus at around 7.40 pm and attended a public meeting, called by JNU Teacher's Association and JNUSU in response to Sunday's attack on students and teachers by a masked mob armed with sticks and rods.

Deepika stood as former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was raising azaadi slogans and left by the time current president Aishe Ghosh started speaking.

The actor's decision to not address the crowd prompted Ghosh to comment, "when you are in a position, you should speak up".

"There are many people in Bollywood who do not put forth their views when they are not be aired. They are considered role models. I appeal to them: Make inspiring films after something has happened but when you are in that position, also talk about the story that is currently happening," she said.

Later, Ghosh said that Deepika expressed solidarity with the JNU students.

Deepika is in the capital to promote her upcoming release, Meghna Gulzar-directed "Chhapaak".

On Monday, the 34-year-old actor told a news channel that she feels proud that people have come out and raised their voice without fear, in reference to the protests against the amended Citizenship Act, the National Register of Citizens and violence in JNU.

"I feel proud to see that we aren't scared to express ourselves... I think the fact that we are thinking about the country and its future.... Whatever may be our point of view, it's nice to see," Deepika told NDTV India.

"I feel proud about it that people are coming out -- be it on the streets or wherever they are -- they are raising their voice and expressing themselves as it is important. If we want to see a change in life and society, it is important that a point of view be put forward," she added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.