KILL THE RAPIST Trailer: India Enters The Rape-Revenge Pig-Pile
The case set off international protest and sparked the long-needed domestic discussion in India about protecting women's safety and rights in the face of corrupt justice and lax police protection. In addition to the political protestations, Indian celebrities of all stripes vociferously decried the long-ignored problem and vowed to put their energies toward a solution.
Very shortly after the murder of Nirbhaya, iRock Films India announced the title Kill the Rapist as one of their films in active production. Perhaps a bit exploitative, but nonetheless fairly accurate to the increasingly frustrated mood in India following the events in Delhi. iRock's Sid Jain has been very vocal about the fact that his film is not exploitation, but a reaction to the impunity with which rapists and violent men seem to act in India.
Rape, both by strangers and the marital variety, have long been commonplace in Indian film. It's one of Bollywood's dirtiest little secrets that most people outside the country who are only in it for the song and dance don't see. The rape is typically punished, so it's not as though characters commit it without consequence, however, it is the go-to trauma for any female character who requires an arc. Perhaps Kill the Rapist will take some of the shine off of that particular cinematic tool in Bollywood's relatively limited toolbox.
Kill the Rapist isn't the only film on the horizon set to deal with female empowerment. Just recently we featured the poster of another film, Gulaab Gang, which dramatizes the real life Pink Sari gang in India who have taken it upon themselves to execute vigilante justice and be the protectors of women everywhere against what is dismissively referred to as "eve-teasing," commonly known in the West as sexual harassment.
The first trailer of Kill the Rapist takes the name of the film and turns it into a question. Viewers are invited to vote on whether or not the rapist in the film meets final justice at the hands of his victim. Should the viewers vote to have him killed, so it shall be, however, if they choose to spare him, they will see a different finale. This reeks of William Castle's Mr. Sardonicus, in which viewers were invited to make the exact same choice in theaters. In both cases, however, I suspect that only one ending has been filmed and the rapist won't get out alive.
The trailer premieres today, and it's not half bad. I definitely get a Ms. 45/I Spit on Your Grave vibe coming off of this. Check it out, Kill the Rapist is due in Indian cinemas in early 2014.
Very shortly after the murder of Nirbhaya, iRock Films India announced the title Kill the Rapist as one of their films in active production. Perhaps a bit exploitative, but nonetheless fairly accurate to the increasingly frustrated mood in India following the events in Delhi. iRock's Sid Jain has been very vocal about the fact that his film is not exploitation, but a reaction to the impunity with which rapists and violent men seem to act in India.
Rape, both by strangers and the marital variety, have long been commonplace in Indian film. It's one of Bollywood's dirtiest little secrets that most people outside the country who are only in it for the song and dance don't see. The rape is typically punished, so it's not as though characters commit it without consequence, however, it is the go-to trauma for any female character who requires an arc. Perhaps Kill the Rapist will take some of the shine off of that particular cinematic tool in Bollywood's relatively limited toolbox.
Kill the Rapist isn't the only film on the horizon set to deal with female empowerment. Just recently we featured the poster of another film, Gulaab Gang, which dramatizes the real life Pink Sari gang in India who have taken it upon themselves to execute vigilante justice and be the protectors of women everywhere against what is dismissively referred to as "eve-teasing," commonly known in the West as sexual harassment.
The first trailer of Kill the Rapist takes the name of the film and turns it into a question. Viewers are invited to vote on whether or not the rapist in the film meets final justice at the hands of his victim. Should the viewers vote to have him killed, so it shall be, however, if they choose to spare him, they will see a different finale. This reeks of William Castle's Mr. Sardonicus, in which viewers were invited to make the exact same choice in theaters. In both cases, however, I suspect that only one ending has been filmed and the rapist won't get out alive.
The trailer premieres today, and it's not half bad. I definitely get a Ms. 45/I Spit on Your Grave vibe coming off of this. Check it out, Kill the Rapist is due in Indian cinemas in early 2014.
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