The first time I ever heard the phrase “No is no” was when I watched the Tiffani-Amber Thiessen’s “She Fought Alone”. I still remember how I felt when I heard that phrase. In the movie Caitlin (Tiffani’s character), is raped by one of her friends in her own house. Since the rape occurs in her house, no one believes her, including her mom. Lost and confused, she goes to the hospital to find some answers. She knows that she let him into her house, but she also knows that she did not want to do it. So, she asks the lady at the help desk “Is it rape if I didn’t want to do it, even if he is a friend of mine and I let him into my house?”. To which the lady asks “Did you say no?”. When Caitlin asks “If I said no, is it rape?”, the lady replies “No is no”. That is a very important moment in the film because for the first time an adult, confirms that what happened to her was in fact rape. It is so important for young girls and women to know what exactly constitutes a rape. I could feel Caitlin’s pain when she was constantly told that she was exaggerating or imagining things. No one around her was even trying to listen to her. Everyone wanted to brush it off under the rug as a non-issue, while others made her feel like it was all her fault.
Twenty-five years later, and nothing has changed when it comes to the way rape is handled anywhere in the world, especially India. Depending on who the culprit is, the first reaction of everyone is either “boys will be boys” or “she was asking for it”. That is why it was so important to make a film like Vakeel Saab, so everyone understands the fundamental definition of rape, and the double standards we as a society have for men and women. If a man talks freely to women then he is considered to have great communication skills, where as when a woman does the same, she is considered promiscuous. If a man goes out at night he is someone who knows how to have fun, but if a girl does the same she is immoral. We truly have become a society where a woman’s character is defined by the hour of the day she returns home, the clothes she wears, and the way she interacts with the opposite sex. We have even romanticized the phrase “No means yes” that men don’t take a woman’s “no” seriously anymore. It is very important that we get rid of these preconceived notions, if we ever want to live in a society that is safe for women.
Vakeel Saab is a remake of the 2016 Hindi film Pink. The movie Pink as most of you already know focussed on only one point “No means no”, and did a great job of driving that point home. Vakeel Saab‘s narration on the other hand is slightly hindered by some added frills, but in the end does a great job of delivering the message. The movie is about three friends Pallavi (Nivetha Thomas), Zareena (Anjali), and Divya (Ananya Nagalla), and their fight for justice. One night when the girls are sexually assaulted by some boys, Pallavi in an act of self-defense hits one of the boys with a bottle, injuring him. While the girls want to put the incident behind them, the boys are out for revenge. When Pallavi is arrested and a false case of prostitution is filed against the three girls, they seek the help of their neighbor Satyadev (Pawan Kalyan) aka Vakeel Saab, a respected lawyer who is famous for standing up for the helpless and known to fight not to win, but for justice. How Vakeel Saab helps the girls get justice is what the rest of the movie is about.
Like Pink, Vakeel Saab also focuses on the message “No means no”, while addressing a host of other issues plaguing women every day. We as society need to change how we perceive women and handle issues relating to them. Like Lawyer Satyadev says, “How is it right to spray pesticide on women, when the pests are in a man’s head?”. Vakeel Saab is a very important film that needed to be made, and I am so glad that Pawan Kalyan was cast in the film, because his presence alone will ensure that this movie is viewed by the most number of people. So, if you haven’t watched Pink, or if you want to see how our industry handled this very important subject, check out Vakeel Saab that is currently streaming on Amazon PrimeVideo.