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Laga Chunari Mein Daag (2007)tags: Vaibhavari Sahay affectionately called Badki (Rani Mukerji) and Shubhavari Sahay, affectionately called Chutki (Konkona Sen Sharma) are the daughters of Shivshankar Sahay (Anupam Kher) and Sabitri (Jaya Bachchan). They live together on the banks of the Ganga (Ganges River) in Banaras. Life is full of happiness and joy for the two, though the family is relatively poor. Badki especially is protective of her family and is determined to ensure Chhutki completes her education. |
If somebody asked me to put the synopsis of the movie in one sentence, I will say "This is a movie that promotes temporary whoredom to indian girls to rope in rich and handsome grooms."
Oh man this script is so contradictory, it is purely amazing. So, wife keeps sewing petticoats to make ends meet for this poor family and the husband squanders it on lottery. But the guy is righteous enough to not sign any false documents to get this pension.
Elder daughter knows stitching and embroidery (she mentions while looking for work in Mumbai) but never comes forward to help her mother. She can't speak english and is thrown out of a store but she considers it below her dignity to sweep floors in a beauty parlor.
Yet, a confusing call to her mom where her mom asks her not to come back and send money instantly transforms her into spreading her legs for a call center executive. Walks out with Rs 10,000. Now here you go folks! Now think about all men watching this film who spend all day in scorching sun to make 500 bucks. How easy it is to make 10000 bucks in 2 hours for women. No wonder, men in Indian cities today consider every other woman clad in a western dress to be no different than the picture painted by Rani's character in this movie.
Now she takes up this profession full blown and starts sending loads of money back home. Her mom is aware of her profession but cannot do much but the whole village realizes the amount of money flowing in. Her father and sister are however blissfully unaware of her profession. Outside this film if someone told you of an paan chewing, unsmart and uncouth girl from Banares going to Mumbai and churning loads of dough in two months, what would you guess? Uh huh! that didn't ring a bell in her educated father brain!
Now get this... Chhutki suddenly gets ultra-smart and gets hired as a management trainee all in a matter of months. She falls for Abhishek's brother and pretty naturally (for indian cinema), Abhishek falls for Rani.
The ending of this film is super. Abhishek proposes to Rani and she declares that she is a prostitute. Abhishek does not have a problem with that at all.
Here is my theory! Abhishek's character is actually a message to super shrewd males of indian society. Hey! get a whore in bed and you life will be great! She is "not okay" and then you can happily be "not okay". When your wife is plump and ugly, you could hump around with your secretary and you wife's not gonna raise her voice.
Yeah! lots of folks will read this, shout and holler but rest of you tell me if this is a great message of contradiction and hypocrisy or what!

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