Page 29 - Here and Now – Apr 2024

Lost & forgotten behind the veil – review of movie ‘Laapataa Ladies’

“Being happy on your own is the toughest thing but when you master it, there is nothing like
it.”

Simplicity has always intrigued me. How it is possible to
deliver a powerful message in a seamlessly beautiful yet
‘simple manner’!

I happened to watch a movie by name “Laapata Ladies”
(Lost Ladies) in the theatre last week. It was such a joy
to watch and experience a movie which kept me and my

family members entertained and engrossed at the same
time.

The movie did not boast of big stars or known actors but
the characters were real, authentic and simple. The
storyline is about two brides who get lost, and no
outsider can identify them because they have not seen them because of their long ghunghat or
veils. The veil a symbol of women’s identity (or non-expression) in this case. So much so, that
when one of the women is left (unattended), she is not aware of what she needs to do.

One of the values that this woman lives is what her mother taught her - not to utter her
husband’s name. Is that surprising? Not really. (I recall many married women addressing their
spouses as ‘Suniye, zara idhar aayiyae’ (Listen, can you please come here?). Or after she gives
birth, she calls out to her husband ‘Bablu ke papa thoda suniye!’ (Bablu’s dad please listen to
me!). All of these are some of her ways to attract attention. Sadly, these are not yet available to
the newly wed just out her parent’s home. She is unaware of the address of her marital home
or its whereabouts; why, even the name of the village. The only thing she remembers is that it’s
the name of a flower. What is touching is the innocence with which she shares all this.

What angered me while I watched the film was that the so-called norms exist only for girls, not
boys.

The other woman also gets ‘lost’ or exchanged but seems to be aware that someone is asking
her to get up and quickly. She is the one who is more aware of her needs, wants and desires.
She also questions the ills in the social system, alhough she has to use manipulative ways to
fulfill some of her needs. She lands up in the place where the first, more innocent and naiver
one is supposed to be!

pg. 28