Angry Indian Goddesses – Very Angry Goddesses

4

Angry Indian Goddesses is not just a ‘female buddy film’ as made out. The initial credits and the first five minutes of the movie set the tone for the movie. Women from various backgrounds and strata of the society facing the same issues of eve-teasing, objectification, gender bias and misogyny, and the way each one putting up a fight and giving it back to the guys.

The story has Frieda, a photographer calling her friends – Joanna, aspiring bollywood actress; Suranjana, CEO of an MNC; Madhureeta, struggling singer; Pam, gold medalist in college but now a house wife; Nargis, social activist; to Goa for her bachelorette party. And there is Laxmi, Frieda’s maid.

The story has the girly moments when they all meet up after a few years and after the initial bitching and awkwardness the girls settle down in their true skins, sans makeup sans the masks they wear for the world and the conversations just flow. Slowly, each one begins to open up and revealing their true selves and baring their souls. And realising that despite each looking so happy, is struggling with the issues of male chauvinism, gender bias, pressure to have kids, working and managing home, demanding husbands/ in-laws, inability to lead a life of choice, depression, sexuality and other banes of being a woman in India. Being a warrior and fighting for your share of the sun shine, is the only option available. And on this vacation, in company of old mates find freedom, find happiness and solace from the cruel world. Helping each other -to heal, to forgive, to find themselves, to stand for themselves, to make a choice to be happy. The story has a very gripping climax, a tad predictable, a little over the top, but the audience feeling vindicated. I did hear a few claps in the end.

In a country where we pray to all the goddesses and the way we treat our women, is bound to make the goddesses angry, very angry. And then the women take the avatar of Durga and Kali and destroy the evil to give birth to a new world order.

On the flip side – the movie is predictable and preachy. And the movie touches on most of the issues faced by women in India. But may be the story tries to do too much and bundle up a lot of things in one story.

The movie belongs to all the ladies. Though you would know only Sandhya Mridul in the cast, all of them do a great job. All the characters will remain with you for a long time. Though I liked Freida the most.

The movie is shot in close angles and makes you feel very near to the characters, literary.
One irritant in the movie is all cuss words have been blanked, so suddenly in intense scenes the dialogs are inaudible and I guess some words had to be changed so the lip-sync seems out of place. Oh! Come on Censor Board despite giving it a ‘A’ rating why did you have to do this, or is it again your chauvinist self, which can’t see the women cussing.
Women would like the movie, it surely has something for each one to identify with. Take your husbands, boyfriends, brothers, friends along it may show them a mirror.