RIFLE RANGE BOY: Angry birds!

Angry Indian Goddesses (2015)

Writer, Director: Pan Nalin

The first thing you wonder about in this nearly all-female cast movie is why everybody is so angry. This is a feminist film, but everybody is popping like sesame seeds on hot oil in a wok. They never seem at peace despite their relatively comfortable living status, high educational levels, self-confidence and jobs.

A group of six old school friends get together for a bachelorette party before one of them marries. The host, Freida's, helper is the other person at the party. Frieda is a frustrated fashion photographer who feels her talent is unappreciated by the lay public. Mad, a singer-songwriter, has hit writer's block. Su, a single mum and a fiery businesswoman, is vigorously pushing her team to develop a particular land. Pammy, who used to be an excellent student, is now a frustrated housewife who regrets a life that could have been. Jo, an Anglo-Indian, is an aspiring actress only hired for her physical attributes, not her talent. Lakshmi, the helper, had seen her cousin murdered before her eyes. Nargis is an activist. Her work with the tribal people brought her to a head-on-head clash with Su.

Freida initially refuses to reveal the groom's identity, but it is plain to the viewers. Freida and Nargis were to get wed when it was illegal in India.

The film continues with the characters whining about each others' predicament and disappointment with overt emotional displays and hugging each other as if hugging solves everything. Jo is gang-raped and killed, exposing the patriarchal view of society.

As in most Indian movies, empowered women are always portrayed as combative and loud, ready to shoot anybody who even dares to raise discontent against them. They dress in the skimpiest clothing and flirt openly but are prepared to pounce when the other party responds accordingly. They accuse the public of stereotyping them and looking at them with jaundiced eyes.

Have the members of the fairer sex been burdened with such heavy responsibilities that they cannot carry them? Has the load taken away the accommodating motherly vibes they used to exude?

Feminist films repeatedly remind us of the raging blood-thirsty combative image of Kaali and call for the female gender to rise to demand their rights. But glaringly, they forget the remind us of the gentle and nurturing Gauri or the pleasant demure of Laxmi or Sarasvati.

This film had a brush with the Censor Board. From the getgo, the opening credits, which depicted various Hindu Goddesses, the Board insisted that the images of Goddesses had to be blurred.