"Lipstick Under My Burkha" was embraced by the social media with fans and celebrities joining the hashtag trend of 'lipstick rebellion' but actress Ratna Pathak Shah says it would be wrong to call the film a revolution just yet.
The 60-year-old actress is one of the four protagonists in the Alankrita Shrivastava-directed film, which faced trouble with the censor board for its bold subject with many criticising it for being regressive towards the movie.
Shah says if there is any revolution with the film, it will reflect later as change always takes time.
"Our film is not a revolution, it's not even a rebellion. We are just beginning. If at all it becomes a revolution, it will happen later. I hope it does not turn out to be a disruptive revolution in a crude manner.
"Change doesn't happen overnight. And it is not easy on anyone - men or women. People have to be dragged - kicking and screaming - to be pulled up at any progressive level," she told PTI in a group interview.
Recounting her growing up years, Shah said the mistake that her generation made was being too hopeful about the future in the post-Independence era.
"I come from the generation that grew up in the post- Independence era. It was a lovely time to be in India. But we made a big mistake by thinking that we don't need any more projects...
"Gender is sorted because we've made the law. Caste is finished, gone. Communalism doesn't happen in India. We started imagining like this. And as we can see the whole thing has blown up in our face. Revolution is one step forward, five steps back. So stumbling and falling, we will reach somewhere."
The film, produced by Prakash Jha and distributed by Ekta Kapoor, is slated to release on July 21.
Shah is not worried that the movie, which explores the dreams and desires of women across ages, will be slotted into the niche category as the actress believes the era of films which appealed to "the lowest common denominator" is over.
"The audience is growing and going to the theatres to watch those films that appeal to their tastes. The methods to consume a film have diversified.
"Some recent big films have miserably failed. So, it's quite a fluid state right now. No one's taking any guarantees anymore. But the new ideas seem to be working."
The movie has grabbed eyeballs for its sexually-charged trailers, being represented from a female gaze.
The veteran actress is upset that people seem to be only discussing these scenes, when the sex content is only a part of the storyline.
"People are mostly talking about the sex scenes. There aren't as many such scenes as they are being discussed. You are going to be disappointed. There's so much more meat to the film. So many angles to this man-woman relationship," Shah said.
The movie also features Konkona Sensharma, Aahana Kumra, Plabita Borthakur, Sushant Singh and Vikrant Massey.
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