Angry Indian Goddesses

Angry Indian Goddesses
Film poster
Directed by	Pan Nalin
Produced by	Gaurav Dhingra
Written by	Pan Nalin, Subhadra Mahajan, Arsala Qureishi
Screenplay by	Pan Nalin
Story by	Pan Nalin
Starring	Sandhya Mridul Tannishtha Chatterjee Sarah-Jane Dias Anushka Manchanda Amrit Maghera Rajshri Deshpande
Cinematography	Swapnil Suhas Sonawane
Release dates	18 September 2015 (2015-09-18) (TIFF) 27 November 2015 (2015-11-27) (India)
Running time	115 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Angry Indian Goddesses is a 2015 Indian Hindi drama film, directed by Pan Nalin. It stars Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande, and Pavleen Gujral with Adil Hussain. It was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, where it finished second for the People's Choice Award.^[1][2] Described as "India's first buddy female pic", the film highlights and showcases numerous issues faced by residents of the country such as gender inequality, women as objectified sex objects, gay-straight friendships, big business vs. tribal rights, rape problem, caste differences, skin-color prejudice and lax justice. The film was released worldwide on November 27, 2015.^[3]

Plot

Freida (Sarah-Jane Dias) is a fashion photographer who invites a group of friends to her family's home to announce that she is getting married. The group consists of Madhurita or MadT (Anushka Manchanda), a Bollywood singer, Pamela Jaswal or Pammy (Pavleen Gujral), a trophy wife, Suranjana or Su (Sandhya Mridul), a businesswoman, Nargis (Tannishtha Chatterjee), an activist and Joanna or Jo (Amrit Maghera), an aspiring actress. The announcement sets off a chain of reactions, letting out hidden secrets. After the announcement, the wild bunch of girls from all over India descends upon Goa. Thus begins an impromptu bachelorette party, and a riotous roller-coaster ride of girl-bonding. Amidst the fun and frenzy, the girls are oblivious of the impending doom and go on living life like there is no tomorrow.

Everything's set for a night of celebration. There's only one issue: Frieda won't say who her betrothed is. As they banter their way through celebration, their conversation, derived entirely from improvisations among the actors, covers everything from sex to street harassment to the buff (and often shirtless) next-door neighbour. During the trip, the women are harassed and they react boldly. Their harassers are enraged and they are shaken. As the holiday progresses, we become acquainted with the women's dreams, desires, fears and, above all, their unwavering bond with one another -a bond that eventually takes them to extreme lengths. Later the ladies come to know that Freida is getting married to Nargis (which is illegal under the article 377). A night before the marriage, the group decides to party . At the party, a heated argument between Jo and Freida leads Jo to walk out , but the party continues . When they decide to go home, they look about for Jo . She is found dead on the beach, apparently raped. The police officer in charge conducts his preliminary enquiries in a manner that shames the women, reiterating their lack of faith in a patriarchal society that treats women shabbily. They go home, distraught and frustrated. Su's daughter had followed Jo when she left the party and clicked photos of her subsequently. The snaps reveal that the group of men who had harassed the friends earlier had raped Jo. The women take the evidence back to the police but encounter resistance once again. One of the women heads back to the beach with a gun. The rest of the group follows and, before you know it, all five rapist are shot dead. At Jo's funeral, the group makes a series of sentimental speeches, Nargis' speech summarising the worth of a woman. The police officer interrupts the ceremony, asking for a confession of guilt from the women. The story has an open-ended conclusion when the entire congregation stands up in solidarity with the women.

Cast

• Sarah-Jane Dias as Frieda Da Silva - She is a fashion photographer by profession who doesn't hesitate to express her opinions. The binding agent of the group which adores her. She gets emotional at the mention of her dad who isn't attending her wedding.
• Tannishtha Chatterjee as Nargis Nasreen - The revolutionary. She is the one fighting the big corporates for the tribals and the poor. She has had her run - ins with Su.
• Anushka Manchanda as 'Mad' Madhurita - She is a singer in Bollywood. Is Freida's oldest friend and lives in Mumbai. Travels the country for shows and concerts but deep down inside still is hanging on to a 12 song album she wants to bring out for the world to hear because she believe that is her best work. Zain is her boyfriend who cares about Mad a lot.
• Sandhya Mridul as 'Su' Suranjana - Businesswoman who is heading a multi-million dollar project. Arrives in Goa with her little kid Maya in tow. Is always on the cell phone or working away on her laptop even when she is on a vacation. Is less of a mother but more of a guardian of her own kid, but her life turns around when she sees her daughter's talent and gets a reality bite. She has a past with Nargis.
• Amrit Maghera as 'Jo' Joanna - The budding actress. Focussed on learning Hindi so that she can be a part of the Hindi film industry. Hates it completely when Hindi film industry typecasts women. Jo is the key link in the scheme of things. She is the one who encourages Lakshmi to let go. She is the one who brings Su closer to her daughter. She is the reason why Mad smiles and sings a song that goes viral.
• Rajshri Deshpande as Lakshmi - Freida's maid who is less of a maid but more of a family member to Freida and Jo. She is the affable soul who is hurting from within as the system has failed her. Her life's mission is to seek revenge from the one who has wronged her.
• Pavleen Gujral as 'Pammy' Pamela Jaswal - The gold medalist turned trophy housewife. She is the one who gave up on her dreams to accommodate her parents' wish. Though from the outside her marriage seems intact, that is not the case.
• Arjun Mathur as Zain
• Adil Hussain as Police Superintendent
• Jeffrey Goldberg as Chris
• Vikram Kochhar as Agent
• Anuj Choudhry as The Neighbour

Soundtrack

The Music of the movie was composed by Cyril Morin and produced by Super Cassettes Industries Limited (2015).

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Angry Indian Goddesses.

• Angry Indian Goddesses at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website
• Angry Indian Goddesses on Facebook