Shonali Bose’s film Margarita With A Straw is definitely garnering many eyeballs and mostly has been praised by the critics. But someone from the television industry seemed not to be very pleased with the film.
Disturbed about the movie which has portrayed the life of a cerebral palsy patient and the way it has dealt with the central character’s sexual orientation, actor Sonal Vengurlekar of Shastri Sisters fame, decided to pen down an open letter to the film maker Shonali Bose. Reproduced below is her letter to the director.
Dear Shonali Bose,
I am writing to you as a fan of the Bollywood movies.
I am writing to you as someone who has been a close accomplice to a person with Cerebral Palsy (CP).
I am writing to you as the movie you produced or held up is not closely related to how people with CP are.
The only subject of the film was sexuality. I was embarrassed to see the movie as I was accompanied with someone who happens to be a CP patient. She was infuriated with the storyline as it was only about sex. For a disabled person, sex is the last thing on their mind as there are so many different things to worry about; their relationship with their close one, their talent nurturing, their acceptance in society as normal people, and many more. BUT SEX IS THE LAST THING ON THEIR MIND, I guarantee!!
While in the cinema hall,there were people who were in wheelchair who came to see the film. I’m pretty sure they were left disappointed too.
Just imagine the impact those mothers would have whose children are suffering from CP. Every mother would think that disabled children would turn gay due to non-acceptance by“normal” people. I have utmost respect for the LGBTQ community and appreciate those who come out. But being gay because no one accepts you is as bad a feeling as someone molesting you.
Kalki did a fine job as Laila, no doubt in that. But other characters should’ve been developed for the film to be accomplished as well.
How did you educate your audience with the condition that Laila was suffering? You didn’t! The word Cerebral Palsy was uttered twice or thrice in the entire movie. I felt sorry for Revathi’s character (Aai) because of the well-crafted scene where she was combing her hair and the emotions made the audience feel bad for her; but precisely, only for that particular scene.
The protagonist (Laila) was straight away victimized in the film. When she was not able to get the-action from the lead singer of her band due to her disability you showed that she go for a physical relationship with Khanoom who is a visually impaired girl.
Sexuality was certainly blown out of proportion; pointlessly! The carnal needs of a disabled person are portrayed in a haywire way and the helplessness to meet the same has also been exaggerated.
I waited throughout the film as to where you would educate your audience with what the condition (Cerebral Palsy) the protagonist was facing, but none of your character explained about the same. Being a new subject for Bollywood, you should’ve explained the same. If Aamir Khan is supporting your work, he should have given you inputs on your work. As in Taare Zameen Par, the difficulties faced by the protagonist were missing. And when you showed one of them (when Laila wants to use the washroom at Jared’s place), the next scene made its focus back to sexuality.
If a disabled person has10 difficulties in their life, SEXUALITY WOULD BE THE TENTH!
When the critics acclaimed your movie, I was sure that it would have a message to the masses. But when I left the movie hall, my mind was blank. I was shocked rather than inspired.
Aamir Khan said in an interview that Bollywood makes movies where the disabled are always shown as a friend or a relative but never the lead. When he had his share in Taare ZameenPar, he did a wonderful job. But now when he is supporting your cause, he should have given you some inputs on how to do research about the people suffering from the condition.
Due to lack of research, the film couldn’t make the required impact on the audience and hence they were left incomplete after the movie.
Apart from this my other concern is about the sick people out there. Some of them would have watched your movie and got inspired to molest a disabled person. Would you take the blame for it, if someone molests a person who is immobile? The message through your movie was clear that if you know someone with a disability take a chance and due to low self-esteem the disabled person might have sex with you.
It’s not that I hated the entire movie. I liked the scenes where Laila was empowered. It was really inspiring to see that overcoming her disability she composes lyrics for her college band. The inter-collegiate band competition scene where she gives the-finger to the judge due to discrimination based on her disability was also perfect.
Although the characters of the family members were not developed quite well, the scene where Laila gets accepted in NYU and her Mom supports her over her father’s decision is what struck the right chord. Families of such kids are close-knitted and loving.
I, being a hardcore fan of Bollywood, get inspired by movies. And I think there are millions of people out there who are like me. I want Bollywood movies to make greater impact on millions more and hence this open letter to you.
Finally, I have one humble request for you. In case, if you make a movie in the future do some extensive research on the lead character and how their persona affects the other characters in the storyline. It would certainly boost the quality of your films and make your audiences content as well.
A true fan of Bollywood movies,
- Sonal Vengurlekar
When we contacted the young actor, she opened up her mind and said, “I went to watch the film with a cousin of mine, who is also suffering from cerebral palsy. Unfortunately even she was very much disappointed. As a young woman she has many dreams and she wants to live her life like others, but she can’t.”
“More than being about the pains of a patient the film is more about sexual discovery of a young woman, and someone who suffering from such a disease, sex will be the last thing that will come to their mind. And what I found even more irritating is that someone’s sexuality has also been presented in a demeaning way. I completely respect someone’s preference of sexual orientation, but the way that has been portrayed in the film is really in an undignified manner,” added Sonal.
The lady went on to add, “What was even more disturbing was Aamir Khan’s name in the opening credits. He is a man who has made films like Taare Zameen Par, but unfortunately the pain of a physically challenged person has not been captured in this film, the way it was rightly done Aamir’s movie.”
We hope that Sonal finds an answer from the creative team of the flick.
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