Morality Should Be Personal, Not Imposed, Says Ekta Kapoor

“Why is it such a big issue if women talk about sex?” -- Lipstick Under My Burkha, which debated this question, had to suffer a lot before getting a green signal from the censor board. The Alankrita Shrivastava film found its distributor in Ekta Kapoor who basically joined the team to add a bit more sass to its already revolutionising message.

With the movie finally slated for release, the film's team released its second trailer on June 27. During the trailer launch, when a journalist picked on the sexual subject of the film, Ekta Kapoor literally gave a major lesson on why it is important for people to hear women talk about their own sexuality and be free with it. She went on to say that we have been given a body that feels and as long as we are in control and deal in anything that is consensual, morality should be a personal issue, and not imposed on us.

“If you see the film, it’s (sex) not exploited anywhere in it, but it’s never running away from the issue. It speaks as it is, that is why it stares you in the eye.”  

When asked, “Do you think using sex to discuss women’s issues was the best idea and why some other issue wasn’t taken and highlighted?” Ratna Pathak Shah, who starred in the film, said those among the audience who feel that Lipstick Under My Burkha is a dirty film will be disappointed. She said sex is a part of the four women’s lives in the film, but not the only part obviously, and it needs to be taken that way.

Here Kapoor jumped in to make a significant point when she said, “On the contrary, for years, sex is such a thing that women had to hide. Unfortunately, women have been told to cover themselves because it instigates the men to have animal instincts.”

“We are not able to differentiate between sexual intention and sexual crime. Sexual crime is a problem. Sex -- if it is consensual -- is not a problem. And the more and more we are trying to suppress a woman’s sexuality, we are making more and more women responsible for any kind of sexual desire that is raised in them or in a man.”

ALSO READ: Our societies just don’t like the idea of free women: Alankrita Shrivastava

Kapoor made no bones about emphasizing how important it is for women to discuss about sex. “Because prohibition has made it okay for us to feel guilty about things like our legs being shown etc. It is time we discuss sex like adults.”

Coming back to the film, Kapoor stressed how not even at a single point is sex shown “vicariously” in Lipstick Under My Burkha. “If you see the film, it’s not exploited anywhere in it but it’s never running away from the issue. It speaks as it is, that is why it stares you in the eye.”

The film releases on July 21 and there is already much anticipation among moviegoers to see what it has to offer.

More Stories by Poorvi Gupta

Join Us on https://www.facebook.com/SheThePeoplePage

Follow Us on https://twitter.com/SheThePeopleTV