Some curses haunt us till eternity. After decades of calling out the Eurocentricity in the minds of the Europeans, they choose to ignore it.
What’s even worse?
They continue to portray us the way their ancestors portrayed us 200 years ago. We respect artistic freedom but we are concerned about all those common Europeans who will imagine India the way these ignorant artists paint Indians on a global scale.
Director Konstantin Bojanov’s film “The Shameless” presents a similar take on Indian womanhood. Wrapped in a queer drama, the movie revolves around Renuka and Devika, two women forced into sex work. Anasuya Sengupta plays Renuka, a Muslim woman who adopts the name of a Hindu girl while evading the police after killing a policeman. Hiding in a brothel in Northern India, she meets Devika, portrayed by Omara Shetty, a shy aspiring rapper with a complicated family background. Devika’s grandmother is a respected holy woman, while her strict mother has destined her to become a devadasi.
Yes, a Devdasi. The ritual of Devdasi is long lost in the pages of history. There are practically zero to ultra-rare cases of Devdasi in India but the Europeans will still choose to bring only that story. Why?
Simply because it suits their agenda.
As Renuka and Devika grow closer, they begin a secret romantic relationship. Renuka attracts the attention of a powerful politician who seeks to control her.
This film is shown at Cannes and may make its way to all the powerful cinema events in the world. Sadly, non-Indians will feel that the real problem of India isn’t Education, Poverty, Jobs or such, but something as problematic as “The Shameless” chooses to show.