Mangalsutra
Mangalsutra
Directed by Jaideep Chopra | Review by Riya Saha
Wikipedia reports rape as the fourth most common crime against women in India. Day by day the topic of molestation has dominated the newspapers and news channels. Actually, since there is no hard law in India, the victims are those who suffer long-after they experience the gruesome act. A movie that stands for women and is completely created with a theme of awareness certainly deserves praise. MANGALSUTRA - A Symbol Of Marriage, Directed by Jaideep Chopra deals with molestation and marital rape. The film is certainly an amazing creation not because the director has taken a step in spreading awareness and has prompted all women to speak up for themselves. But because the director presents the story in a very realistic manner. It is not only the story of a woman who is molested several times by her husband. Rather, this film is medium to speak for all those who keep silent. As a woman, I adore the director’s courage to stand rock solid for women.
The word ‘rape’ is derived from the Latin term raptus which refers to the act by one man of damaging or destroying the property of another man. Here, a property primarily referred to wife or daughter of another man. But now the definition has changed, in several cases, we do notice that women are not raped by “ANOTHER MAN” rather by her own man. Any kind of physical intimacy that is done without the consent of a woman be it your wife, has to be considered as rape. Because the definition goes thus, “the crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse against her will”. Marital rape, as the name suggests is rape caused to a spouse by her husband. It basically refers to the actual use or threat of using force by the husband against the wife and compel her into sexual intercourse. Therefore, the husband has no right to take his wife for granted and to force her to participate in becoming intimate with him. And if he forces you, certainly it is rape and girls if you think that reporting against your husband is a crime or you will never have justice, then certainly you are wrong. Surprisingly the title is something that certainly deserves praise. You must be thinking how come a MANGALSUTRA gets linked with rape? The story is certainly unique and something out of the box. The story has intolerance and the fight of a woman to save her daughter. Mangalsutra is surely one of the most influential films of the exploitation genre. Though the film has no dialogues, I believe director Jaideep Chopra hit a real homerun with this one. Throughout the movie, he smoothly maintained sparks of dramatic tension.
The story is so well directed that there was absolutely no need to use words to spread the message. MANGALSUTRA is a silent film with only a background chore playing. I loved watching the movie because it comes with a message and is based on the current injustice in India. The storytelling was very appropriate and don’t be surprised if you rewatch the film a couple of time. Women need to speak about the demand and if anything forceful has happened to you, never sit back, raise your voice and fight for your right. MANGALSUTRA - A Symbol Of Marriage can be a milestone in the independent cinema and can steal hearts. To know what made a wife give way to her Mangalsutra, a symbol that every married Hindu woman wear, you got to watch the film.
Riya Saha is a Kolkata based writer, editor, journalist and cinephile. She has completed her masters with Journalism and Mass Communication from Calcutta University and currently working as a freelance journalist. Having a great interest in world cinema made Riya join Human Lab Corporation. She is passionate about setting goals and achieving them. She enjoys reading, writing, travelling, socializing and meeting people. She is also very fond of watching International movies.
