On the last day of November, our Indian Civilizations class got together to watch the controversial movie titled “Gulaab Gang”. Directed by Soumik Sen, a relatively new player in the game, this movie concerned the many plights that women face in India. Rajjo, the main character, has created a sanctuary for both young girls and older women where children are taught to read and write, while the older women are taught to weave the pink saris that the gang is so infamous for. The older women are also taught to fight and, when necessary, use their skills to uphold justice. The story also ends up dealing with evil politicians, but that plot line starts to get confusing. As Danny Bowes says, “But once the main story, involving the ambitious politician (Chawla) who seeks to co-opt the gang to burnish her own feminist and populist credentials, the pace begins to dip rather badly.”
The main, and most controversial, issue that surfaces in the film, however, is the fact that the director claims that the “film is fiction and that any resemblance to real people is coincidental” (Bowes). This claim is challenged by the fact that a real-life group of “Indian women vigilantes and activists” were founded by Sampat Pal Devi in 2006 and were similarly named the Gulabi Gang (Gulaab). Devi originally tried to sue the filmmakers before the release of the film, and while the Delhi High Court passed a stay order against the film release on March 5, 2014, it was lifted a day later.
Nevertheless, the highlight of the movie is the compelling feminist narrative that encourages women to come together to fight for their rights. Furthermore, both of the typically male-dominated roles in this movie were played by women: the hero and the villain. This plot line also has “no romantic angle to distract attention from the main story or soften up the brawn fest” (Pal). The lack of male leads and romance results in the focus of the film being on the struggles that women experience not only in india, but throughout the world.
Overall, the movie was shot in an interesting way with all of the typical stereotypes of Bollywood movies: “the evil stepmother, the weak father, the wastrel son, the toxic widow, the feisty tomboy, the meek woman with hidden reserves of strength, the corrupt policemen, the outnumbered honest policeman, the obsequious secretary, the spineless bureaucrat” (Pal). This may result in few surprises throughout the movie, but there is no shortage of interesting scenes, even if “there are long stretches…where nothing’s happening at all” (Bowes). I commend the movie for taking on an controversial issue, even if it does not give credit to Devi.
Bowes, Danny. “Gulaab Gang Movie Review & Film Summary (2014) | Roger Ebert.” Rogerebert.com. March 07, 2014. Accessed December 04, 2016. http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/gulaab-gang-2014.
“Gulaab Gang (2014).” IMDb. March 07, 2014. Accessed December 04, 2016. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2573750/.
Pal, Deepanjana. “Gulaab Gang Review: Madhuri Does a Rajini, and She’s Not Half Bad – Firstpost.” First Post Entertainment. March 07, 2014. Accessed December 04, 2016. http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/gulaab-gang-review-madhuri-tries-to-do-a-rajinikanth-and-shes-not-half-bad-1423681.html.
Micah Oxner