Girl Interrupted:
For some reason filmmakers believe that drinking is a sign of modernity; not just drinking, but downing so many drinks that the binge results in hangovers, puking, blackouts. For women, it is supposed to be particularly empowering!
When was the last time a film was made about a guy turning thirty and fretting about being single; what will people say, will he ever get laid, and so on. But here’s another so-called comedy Thank You For Coming, about a self-flagellating single woman.
In this film, directed by Karan Boolani, Kanika (Bhumi Pednekar) has another problem—she has “kissed a lot of frogs,” that is, had sex with a succession of unsuitable men, but has never had an orgasm. Which she announces loudly to her two gal pals (who just hang around her all the time), and everybody is shocked. Much later in the film, her mother (Natasha Rastogi), a doctor, declares with Google-certainty that “70 per cent women have never experienced an orgasm, because 90 per cent men don’t know how to do it.” So is every other woman faking it? That would be something to really worry about!
Kanika’s biggest stumbling block is her mother, who gave birth to her out of wedlock; the mother has no problems with men, sex, singledom or social censure, but all Kanika’s kinks are somehow laid at her door. Out of desperation, Kanika accepts the proposal of a mild-mannered hardware store owner, Jeevan (Pradhuman Singh), who loves and respects her. But, empowered women are ostensibly not into nice guys. Marriage is just a tick on the list for women, Kanika says, and on the day of her engagement party gets so wasted that she can’t remember who or how many men she slept with and who gave her that precious orgasm.
For a comedy, this film (written by Radhika Anand and Prashanti Singh) is unfunny and tries too hard to to show off its bold attitude, but under the tiny, cleavage-baring dresses worn by the women who drink and dance on bar tops, there is a good deal confusion of what sexual liberation actually entails. The mother gets it, but not the teen daughter (Saloni Daini) of Kanika friend, who is traumatized by her sexual encounter with a classmate going viral. In a film with a lot of fully clothed heaving going on in bed, condoms or contraception don’t even get a passing mention.
Again, there is no judging the middle-aged professor (Anil Kapoor), who beds women younger than his son—he is seen as a stud! There is not much comment on the pressures of marriage itself, or about an independent woman negotiating the pitfalls of an incompatible marriage. The husband of Kanika’s friend (Gautmik), is of the opinion that Kanika expects too much from relationships, but when he describes his own ‘normal’ marriage, it sounds stultifying.
It’s not quite clear what Thank You For Coming, is trying to say (and the promo says most of it, anyway), but the solution to Kanika’s problem is so ridiculous, it is surprising she did not discover till the age of 32, what every tween knows. There is a truly amusing minor character of 23-year-old, overconfident Rushi (Shehnaaz Gill), who has a “what’s the big deal?” attitude to sex, and turns up everywhere to taunt or advise Kanika. And of course, in keeping with the flavour of the season, there a transgender character (Sushant Divgikar), who teaches Kanika what it means to be one’s own person.
If there’s anything commendable about the film, it is that a women’s desire is recognized—in most film romances, the man just has to look at the girl he is attracted to and she automatically falls for him. However, equating sexual pleasure with empowerment is immature. Bhumi Pednekar overacts a lot, but also makes the silly, self-obsessed woman a bit sympathetic.
(This piece first appeared in rediff.com)
