Contrary to what is being spread and wrongly taught these days, an artistic medium is not just for providing entertainment to the people or offering them some relief moments. An artistic medium be it music, poetry, painting, writing, drama, cinema or any other form of expression has also got the responsibility of pointing towards the alarming issues of our society reaching out to the masses, forcing them to think before its too late.
Adding further, creative minds are not supposed to give solutions, but raise questions about the social sickness around and our arrogance towards it.
At times we do get to see films that seriously make us do so, but they rarely become a big success at the box office (especially in the present scenario), since we actually don’t like to realize our own faults or shortcomings and don’t appreciate someone waking us up from our dreams interfering in our personal lives.
Thankfully RIBBON is here, as one of those precious, thought provoking films, raising some seriously scary questions about our present new-age patterns of living, the ugly sexually obsessed mindsets and a completely unconcerned social structure, hugely affecting our young and future generations.
Recently a Telugu thriller SYPDER pointed towards the lack of ‘Compassion’ in our new-age society wherein we are so less concerned about the pain and suffering of the other, simply forgetting a term called ‘Empathy’. RIBBON also raises a similar question when a young couple is shocked to know a brutal truth and then witnesses the traumatic reality of our basic education institutes, actually responsible of guiding and building our next generation.
It might not be a perfect movie (in cinematic terms) with a slowly progressing narration taking too much time to reveal its important twists, along a bit of exaggeration showcasing the way a working lady is professionally harassed due to his pregnancy. Yet it remains a beautiful film at heart (directed by Rakhee Sandilya) with something significant to convey featuring two impressive performances by Kalki Koechlin and Sumeet Vyas (who is quite famous among the viewers of entertaining web-serials).
In short its the story of a loving couple and their journey of conceiving a child, upbringing her with care somehow managing their professional work, till she starts going to a playschool......... facing an ugly incident.
Honestly, RIBBON is a film that deserves to be seen by maximum number of youngsters giving them a new insight of life for their years ahead. But I would not like to review it as a routine Friday film limiting its social importance. Instead I would like to put up some questions with a humble request that do think about them for a while and then please see if any one of them inspires or urges you to go for a change for the better upbringing of our innocent kids and their future.
Admitting it frankly, I am not capable of giving you any answers.
But I had these questions in mind after watching the film, that scared me like hell.
And I am sharing it here with a purpose of scaring you too…… as such scares are essentially required becoming the guidelines of a better life ahead.
So here it goes.
1. Recalling the cozy environment of families living under one roof before the 90s, don’t you think it certainly causes a huge positive difference in the psyche/nature of kids growing up in a joint family…… in comparison to the ones brought up in a nuclear family?
Perhaps that is one of the reasons why the terms ‘compassion’ and ‘empathy’ are rarely considered or found in the present developed society.
2. In a nuclear family of a working couple living alone, what are the consequences of having a kid? How he/she is supposed to grow-up with both parents working and no-body at home to take care post the first few months or may be a year?
3. For a moment just think, what possibly can be the difference in the ‘character or nature building’ of a kid if he/she regularly returns back from the school finding:
a.) a lonely home (with both parents working)
b.) a lonely home with a maid.
c.) the grandparents there at home waiting for him/her with everything he/she needs.
d.) either mother or father waiting with ready food taking good care with love (as one parent working family).
4. Is there any difference in the psyche of a girl-child in particular, growing up with her mother always there at home, in comparison to the one having a working mother meeting her only in the mornings, evenings and weekends?
5. So eager to live alone in a separate house in the cities, have we ever realized the importance of grand-parents in the upbringing and character-building of a child?
6. As a working couple, appointing a full time maid/nanny for the kid, have we ever thought that a big part of the kid’s character also gets hugely influenced by the maid/nanny/servant, he or she is growing up with (spending more than 4-5 hours a day)?
Coming to the kindergarten schools mushrooming in every locality:
7. Why such playschools don’t exactly have to follow the same legal procedure (before opening) like a normal school? Why anyone can open a playschool in his home for some extra income without following any harsh procedure of registration, certification and police verification?
8. Do we strictly and deeply enquire about such playschools before admitting the kids? Or It’s just casually done since they are not proper schools but only a preparatory institution with no educational significance?
And lastly but most importantly the thoughtful ending of RIBBON made me question that:
9. Is ‘silence’ is the only way out and ‘moving-on’ the only solution in life forgetting the wrong faced?
I really don’t have any answers with me but the questions are right there mocking at our existence asking us to deeply think for a while and go for a change……….. at least for the sake of our own kids!
Do not miss this film as it gets released on the online portals soon in the coming months and do watch it as a must if you are young married couple or soon to be married couple or even just a carefree youngster not thinking about marriage yet.
Rating : 3.5 / 5
Update : The film can now be seen at Hotstar Movie Portal for a subscription
