m-appeal_Lipstick Under My Burkha

Lipstick Under My Burkha

by Alankrita Shrivastava

India 2016, 116 min.

Trapped in their own worlds, four women claim their desires through secret acts of rebellion

In rural India, a burkha-clad college girl struggles with issues of cultural identity and her aspirations to become a pop singer. A young two-timing beautician seeks to escape the claustrophobia of her small town. An oppresses housewife and mother of three lives the alternate life of an enterprising saleswoman. A 55-year-old widow rediscovers her sexuality through a phone romance. Caught in a conservative society, these women set forth to break the mold, in search of a little freedom.

Awards

The Spirit of Asia Award - Tokyo IFF 2016
Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality - Mumbai FF 2016
ScotRail Audience Award - Glasgow FF 2017
Audience Choice Award - CinemAsia FF 2017
Best Film, Best Actress (Ratna Shah) - London Asian FF 2017
Le Grand Prix du Jury - Créteil International Women's FF 2017
Audience Award for Asian Frontiers - Minneapolis St. Paul IFF 2017
Premio del Público (Audience Award) - Granada FF Cines del Sur 2017
Best Indie Film, Best Actress (Konkona Sen Sharma) - Indian FF of Melbourne 2017
Most Popular Film Award - Caleidoscope FF 2017
Audience Award - Silk Screen FF 2017
Audience Award - South Asian FF Paris 2017

Festivals

World Premiere: Tokyo IFF 2016

Indian Premiere: Mumbai FF 2016

European Premiere: Stockholm IFF 2016

Tallinn Black Nights FF 2016

African Premiere: Cairo IFF 2016

UK Premiere: Glasgow FF 2017

North American Premiere: Miami FF 2017

London Asian FF 2017

CinemAsia FF 2017

Créteil International Women's FF 2017

Leicester Asian FF 2017

Edinburgh Asian FF 2017

Cleveland IFF 2017
Dallas IFF 2017

Indian FF of Los Angeles 2017

Hawaii IFF Spring Showcase 2017

Greek Film Archive 2017

​Minneapolis St. Paul IFF 2017

Indie Meme FF 2017

Filmfest DC 2017

Indie Meme FF in Dallas 2017

Los Angeles Asian Pacific FF 2017

New York Indian FF 2017

CinemAsia FF ON TOUR 2017

IFF of South Asia Toronto 2017

Plaza Indonesia FF 2017

5 Continents FF 2017

Ottawa Indian FF 2017

Seoul International Women’s FF 2017

Granada FF Cines del Sur 2017

IFF Emden-Norderney 2017

Shanghai IFF 2017

Bradford Literature Festival 2017

IndoGerman Filmweek 2017

India FF of Alberta 2017

Indian FF Stuttgart 2017

Granada FF: Special Screenings of Awarded Films 2017

7 Days in India FF 2017

Indian FF of Melbourne 2017

AKS Festival 2017

Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival 2017

San Juan IFF 2017

Aichi International Women's FF 2017

Washington DC South Asian FF 2017

Caleidoscope FF 2017

Helsinki IFF 2017

Darwin IFF 2017

Silk Screen Asian American FF 2017

China Women’s FF 2017

Trinidad+Tobago FF 2017

Calgary IFF 2017

Nuremberg International Human Rights FF 2017

Milwaukee FF 2017

Vancouver IFF 2017

Syracuse University Human Rights FF 2017

South Asian FF Paris 2017

Women Make Waves FF 2017

Confluence: Festival of India in Australia 2017

Porn FF 2017

South Asian FF of Montreal 2017

Reel Women’s Movie Marathon 2017

India Week Hamburg 2017

Films From the South Festival 2017

Cast & Crew

Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma, Aahana Kumra, Plabita Borthakur

Production: Prakash Jha Productions

Alankrita Shrivastava

Alankrita Shrivastava is a feature film director and screenwriter from Mumbai, India with a penchant for telling women’s stories. She likes to explore the complex interior world of women through her films.
Alankrita has written and directed two feature films - TURNING 30!!! (2011) and LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA (will release later in 2016).
She has worked on several Indian feature films including Raajneeti as an Associate Director, and Khoya Khoya Chand as an Executive Producer.
She has also directed short films, documentaries and music videos.

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