Gulabi Gang



Rating:

Within minutes you are transported to rural India. The documentary takes you to Banda district in UP where Sampat Pal Devi is respected and feared. Not because she is scary or beats up people, she just stands up against important issues like domestic abuse and violence against women which are very common in such places.

Nishtha Jain follows her and mainly shows you Sampat Pal's style of operating. She is the founder of Gulabi Gang, all the women who want to join her fight and support the cause are given a pink saree and a stick to fight! They don't really know how to use it but their anger will teach them eventually.

When Pal is called to a tragedy spot where a lady is burnt to death in her house, she walks inside and doesn't create a scene. She questions the family, something that the cops should be doing. She goes to the police station but the cops won't move from their chair because there is no one to file a complaint. This happens every day and almost in every home in this village. She ropes in the girl's parents to follow the case but her father won't complain because he has been bought by those who committed the heinous crime.

For many such cases she goes from one authority to the other, ropes in as many women as possible to be a part of her gang and continues to make life difficult for the culprits. Gulabi Gang is not just a movement but a party which will have candidates who will fight elections.

Nishitha Jain's documentary is a very important one. It's an eye opener for all of us living in the cities with all the comforts and luxuries. We feel India is developed because that's the picture we get living in the metros, it is developed but not entirely. We know India has problems but such serious issues that women are burnt to death every now and then and the culprits move on and marry other women. They repeat the same crime again and again and are never punished. Most of the villagers don't know right from wrong! Mothers stand by their sons while they stab and kill their sisters, because the sister fell in love with someone and became 'modern' according to them. Being a girl is no less than a sin in these places, animals are free to do what they want but women are not.

The purpose of making this documentary is surely to create awareness. The makers have done their job well. Now it's up to us to spread the word and recommend this film. Whatever you may be doing this weekend, take out sometime to watch Gulabi Gang. Watch it, because it's important!