Angry Indian Goddesses: A Rare and Real Film on Female Bonding

The film ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ has its moments to be cherished, but lacks the cinematic resolution.

I have a feeling the film was called ‘Indian Goddesses’ until they met Pahlaj Nihalani and became angry! Okay, I’m kidding. Directed by Pan Nalin, Angry Indian Goddesses is a story about seven beautiful women who descend in Goa to have a great time.

There is a prospect of an impending wedding of fashion photographer Freida (Sarah-Jane Dias), who is cheered on by her friends. We meet the overburdened corporate slave and mother Suranjana (Sandhya Mridul), struggling Bollywood actress Joanna (Amrit Maghera), unhappy housewife Pam (Pavleen Gujral), volatile musician Madhureeta (Anushka Manchanda) and social activist Nargis (Tannishtha Chatterjee) along with a feisty house help Laxmi (Rajshri Deshpande).

Each of these gorgeous women has a story to tell and anger to share. What angers them is precisely what frustrates all of you – gender inequality, misogyny, sexual harassment, hypocrisy, double-speak, Pahlaj Nihalani.

Let me throw some more light on the last one. Angry Indian Goddesses is an ‘A’ rated film, talking to adult audiences about adult issues and yet we feel like 6-year-olds, with images of goddesses in a kitschy calendar art blurred, and every second cuss word spoken in gay abandon beeped. Absolutely irritating!

Moving on to what really works in the film. Three cheers for the concept! Female bonding – although not unheard of in the real world that you and I inhabit – is relatively rare in Bollywood and so full marks for this brave thought. The bonhomie that these girls share is infectious and the way they react to situations and people is delectably real. There is a scene where Adil Hussain, who plays a police officer, walks in and his encounter with these women is poignant in terms of how it brings out the dichotomy in our society, couched as it is in terms of eerie realism. Sandhya Mridul and Sarah-Jane stand out by virtue of their brilliant performance.

However, the ride isn’t flawless. Some characters become caricaturish. After a point, the dinner table conversations seem puerile and for a film that promised to push the envelope, the end is meek and predictable. What they show frankly can’t constitute as a cinematic resolution, nor can it be a plausible solution to the problem in real life.

Still, the film has its moments to be cherished and since not everyone can stomach a Hate Story 3, I suggest you try this one out. I’ll give it 3 QUINTS OUT OF 5.