Completed - HINDI - Drama - 84 minutes
A period drama, the film is based on Ismat Chugtai's most celebrated story "Lihaaf" (published 1942). The film inter weaves the plot of same sex relationship between Begum and her masseuse and the trial that Ismat underwent after being slapped with a case of obscenity on publishing the story. The fi
Year of production : 2019 Director(s) : Rahat KAZMI Cast : Tannishtha CHATTERJEE, Sonal SEHGAL, Virendra SAXENA, Namita LAL Producer(s) : Namita LAL, Tariq KHAN (TARIQ KHAN PRODUCTIONS), Zeba SAJID, Ashish WAGH, Rahat KAZMI (RAHAT KAZMI FILMS / INDIAN FILM STUDIOS)
Begum, the protagonist of Ismat's story finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, her own sexual desires neglected and eventually finds solace with her masseuse. The film raises important questions on marriage as an economic and social enterprise, the socially constructed subordinate role of women in marriage, her sexual fantasies and frustrations and her subsequent sense of loneliness. Traditional feminine sensibility of the 18th and 19th centuries demanded women to be virtuous, modest and obedient. Chughtai stressed that real feminine emotions and sensitivities are hardly ever understood in an orthodox, male-dominated society such as India’s. The screenplay interweaves the Begum's strife in a loveless marriage with the court trial Ismat went through having faced charges of obscenity. The film explores themes of same-sex love and freedom of speech which our society is grappling with even today.
Country(ies) : INDIA
Singapore South Asian International Film Festival 2019indian film festival stuttgart 2019 (Closing Film)Indo-german film week 2019Miff International Film Festival, USA 2019 (Opening Film - SPECIAL HONOUR AWARD))SAMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, SWEDEN 2019 (Best Film Award)