Ekta Kapoor comes on board as presenter, pan-Asia distributor for Lipstick Under My Burkha

After being denied certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) — apparently the film was too ‘lady oriented’, spoke openly about female fantasies, had abusive words and sexual scenes along with featuring audio pornography — the makers of the movie then appealed to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) and after a few cuts in the scenes featuring sexual content, the movie was finally given an A-certificate and allowed its theatrical release in India.

Having fought long and hard just to get the movie on the floors in India, once again Lipstick Under My Burkha hit a roadblock as it did not have a buyer on board. The film’s release was stalled and the fate of producer Prakash Jha’s venture was unknown again.

However, a few months ago Jha had invited television czarina Ekta Kapoor for a screening of Lipstick Under My Burkha. Being a feminist who changed the face of television — making it a space where female characters came to the forefront and dominated the story line and screen space — Kapoor was immediately taken with the solid plot and portrayal of female characters in the movie, and Lipstick Under My Burkha immediately resonated with her.

Kapoor has now confirmed that she will be the pan-Asia distributor and presenter of the movie as reported by Mumbai Mirror.

“Not only was I totally blown away by the content but also felt that it showcased a great combination of accountability and entertainment,” said Kapoor, who is all set to promote and market the film through her company Balaji Motion Pictures. “Lipstick Under My Burkha signifies a rebellion of the mind and is a film that celebrates women and their sexuality. I believe that this is a story that needs to be told and wanted to put all my muscle behind a film like this,” she told Mirror.

Kapoor has gotten behind movies with similar content and a daring pulse before — having produced Love, Sex Aur Dhoka — and it is no wonder that she feels so strongly about young director Shrivastava’s passion project that has already won several accolades at various film festivals (Spirit of Asia Prize and the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality). Oxfam said that the film was picked because it “creatively and effectively takes on marital rape, religious orthodoxy, sexuality of older women and, more importantly, women taking agency over their bodies.”