Pink (2016 film)

Three young women — Minal, Falak and Andrea  — meet three affluent men, Raunak, Vishwajyoti, and Rajveer Singh, and they have some drinks together. Suddenly, Raunak, Vishwajyoti, and Rajveer rush to the nearest hospital because Rajveer is bleeding from a heavy injury to his head. At the same time Minal, Falak and Andrea return to their apartment in a taxi. They look disoriented, and it is implied that they have something to do with the incident.

The three women are independent and live together in New Delhi. They try to move on from what happened that night. During Minal's morning runs, she is observed by an old man in her neighbourhood, Deepak, who senses there is something wrong. Threats arise from Rajveer's friend Ankit, who pushes for revenge for the injury Minal caused Rajveer. The threats result in Falak losing her job. They are discouraged from filing a complaint, stating it would make their daily lives more miserable. In reality, the local police are aware that the men are "well-connected" and backed by Rajveer's uncle Ranjit, an influential politician. Minal goes to a higher-standing police officer and files a complaint.

The next day, she is kidnapped by Rajveer's friends . Deepak witnesses the incident but is unable to help. is threatened, blackmailed, and molested in the moving car and dropped back home, leaving her shaken. A few days later, she is arrested based on a complaint from Rajveer labeling the women as prostitutes and charging Minal with attempted murder. At this point, Deepak becomes frustrated with the events and, after receiving advice from him, Andrea and Falak discover that he is actually a reputable lawyer in retirement. He helps Falak and Andrea with the bail procedures and decides to represent Minal in court.

In the courtroom, Rajveer's lawyer, Prashant Mehra, presents the following version of events: Rajveer and his friends meet Minal and her friends at a rock concert. They invite the women for dinner at a resort, where they have drinks. The women provoke the men, become intimate, and thereafter demand money, all signs indicating that they are prostitutes. Rajveer refuses to pay and an enraged Minal hits him on the head with a bottle and flees. Prashant's argument focuses on the poor moral character of the women. He attacks the fact that Minal has family in Delhi but chooses to live alone.

Minal and her friends' statement is this: The men tried to sexually assault them. Rajveer tried to rape Minal, and she attacked him with the bottle in self-defense. Deepak's argument focuses on the issue of consent and a woman's right to say no. A series of chilling courtroom arguments ensues in the following days. Toward the end of the trial, Rajveer becomes enraged and, provoked by Deepak, reveals the truth, stating that the women "got what they deserved".

Deepak criticizes the regressed views of the society where women are stereotyped as prostitutes if they come home late, move out, want to be independent, drink and so on, but none of these apply to men. He closes with the fact that his client said "NO". No means no, and does not require further explanation. The women are acquitted while Rajveer, Ankit, and Raunak are charged, with their sentences pending. Vishwajyoti is let off with a warning. The end credits scene reveal what actually happened: the men systematically isolated the women and Rajveer tried to force himself on Minal, who then attacked him with a bottle to his head in self defense.

In early March 2016 Amitabh Bachchan revealed that he was shooting a film in Delhi. It was rumoured that the film was titled "Eve".[10] On 13 March Bachchan denied the rumours and announced through Twitter that the film is titled Pink.[11]

Director-producer Shoojit Sircar informed that Amitabh Bachchan accepted the role and Taapsee Pannu was their first choice.[12] Andrea Tariang was also selected to play the role of one of the girls in the film.[13][14] Tushar Pandey, Raashul Tandon and Arjun Chakraborty are making their debut with this film.[15]

The film was specially screened for the Rajasthan Police so as to train them to be sensitive and sensible about women's rights and dignity.[33] The film was also specially screened at Rashtrapati Bhavan[34] and invited for a screening at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.[35][36]

Meena Iye of The Times of India and Shubha Shetty Saha of Indiatimes gave the film 4.5 stars.[37] Mayank Shekhar from Mid-Day gave the film 4/5 stars, saying, "The film, up until the closing credits, does not even visually describe the said incident. It grips you still with a gently piercing background score, moments of silence and dialogue, building up the tension, while the audience wonders what really could have happened one unfortunate night when three girls found themselves in a Surajkund resort with three guys."[38]

Anna M.M. Vetticad of Firstpost called Pink a powerful film.[39] Filmfare, India Today, Mumbai Mirror, Hindustan Times, The Statesman, and DNA have given 4/5 stars, highly appreciating the superlative performances, especially of Amitabh Bachchan. Critics like Anusha Iyengar and Mayank Shekhar called it movie of the year. Namrata Joshi of The Hindu also praised the film.[6] Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave the film 3.5 stars.[40]

Rajeev Masand from News18 rated the movie as 4.5/5 mentioning that "I left the cinema, my mouth dry at the end of Pink. This isn't just an important film, but also excellently made. It's a giant leap for Hindi cinema, and easily the best film this year".[41]

Pink grossed approximately ₹4.32 crore on first day in India.[42][43] The first weekend collection was ₹21.51 crore.[44][45]

At the end of 7 days the domestic box office collection was ₹35.91 crore.[46] Pink grossed ₹50 crore in first 10 days in India.[47][48]

• Gautam, Chintamani (2017). Pink : The Inside Story. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-9352770397.

• Pink at IMDb 
• Pink at Rotten Tomatoes
• Pink at Bollywood Hungama