A Series On Marital Rape

Sadly, marital rape is not a punishable crime in India. More than half of the world’s countries do not criminalise sexual assault in marriage, including OECD countries like the Czech Republic and Japan. But is marriage the right solution even at a suggestive stage in countries like India  where domestic violence on wives by husbands is very high? Many such violent acts are directly linked to violent rape never mind whether the wife is willing or not, whether the wife is battered as a result of the act or not.

Within this ambience where socially sanctioned “virginity tests” are practiced on young brides following the nuptial night, a series like Chiraiya comes like a tight slap on the faces of a predominantly patriarchal society of OTT producers, writers, directors and actors on the one hand and  the audience on the other.

But it is a promise made by the male director Sashant Shah who backs out of his own promise halfway through the film. Sadly, the film is focused on Kamlesh (Divya Dutta), the elder daughter-in-law of a conventional joint family who lives with her erudite father-in-law Sukumar Bhramar (Sanjay Mishra), husband (Faisal Rashid), mother-in-law, brother-in-law Arun (Siddharth Shaw) and a confused daughter. The family also has Bhramar’s old mother who does not speak, her long sermon reserved for a long lecture towards the climax. Sadly, because it is Pooja, the brand new second bahu of the family who steps in the family as Arun’s new bride.

Marriage Rituals

In a country like India, marital rape is directly connected among Hindu marriage rituals where girls are conditioned to and have internalised the very practice as initiation into the loss of virginity sanctioned by marriage solely by the husband. Thus, young brides actually look forward to the suhaag raat following the wedding as their loss of virginity is through the very men they are married to. Words like “consent” do not exist in the marital dictionary of most Indian girls. Strange that It never occurs to society to question the virginity of the bridegroom.

Chiraiya weaves a very melodramatic series in six parts in which Pooja, the brand new second daughter-in-law, expresses vehement anger when her brand new husband Arun, rapes her brutally on the wedding night. She feels insulted, humiliated and brutalized because her husband forced himself on her without her consent. When she complains to Kamlesh, the elder daughter-in-law is stunned and retorts that this is the wife’s dharma and no one questions this within a marriage! Pooja remains adamant. The rape continues for six days when the couple go on a honeymoon till on the final day, Pooja slits herself with a blade and is hospitalized. No one backs her but looking at the damage done to her, Kamlesh slowly realizes the cause of Pooja’s hurt.

Another Story

After this very courageous opening, the series wanders away to tell another story of the two sisters-in-law forced to walk out of the family home as they are protesting against an accepted “custom” and bringing scandal to the entire family. But there is no law against marital rape so Kamlesh’s  uncle (Tinnu Anand) who is an attorney and lives in Benaras, tries to help them out through a trumped up dowry charge. But the ever faithful Kamlesh gives the game away and her in-laws free themselves through anticipatory bail. Unable to fight anymore without much backing, the two women return to the home that cast them out and the film closes with an apology by the husband, Arun! The mute grand lady suddenly opens her mouth to deliver a long speech against the conditioning of women by patriarchy though what Pooja does with her marriage remains unexplained.

What does real damage to this six-part web series is that it does not carry its courage to a triumphant solution to the issue of marital rape. The series is set somewhere in Rajasthan. Is this because this state is nationally known as a strong upholder of patriarchy? Or, does Rajasthan become a ‘target’ which might change its patriarchal views through this series? Or, rather, its visual beauty?

Positive Message

The series is painted in loud, vibrant colours. Though this does nothing to send a positive message against marital rape, it underlines the coarseness in marital rape by cinematographing the rape scenes in too loud strokes. Subtlety and restraint are qualities the makers either do not believe in or do not understand which gives the entire series take on a much more glamorous look than called for. What really raises the film in terms of quality lies in the sterling performances of Divya Dutta as Kamlesh with her confusion, her vulnerability and her strict conviction about a woman’s duties towards the husband, Sarita Joshi as the grandmother-in-law who finally opens her mouth and Tinnu Anand in a wonderful cameo.

Chiraiya, which means pigeon, is not the right title because it implies, perhaps, the pigeon’s freedom to fly, as, when, where and why which Kamlesh, Pooja and the other women in the story lack. But the producer-director and entire team deserve a soft pat on the back for thinking out of the box while remaining firmly ensconced inside it.

(The writer is a noted film scholar. Views personal.)