Women Make Movies: Pink Saris

In Pink Saris, Longinotto collaborates with Amber Latif and Girjashanker Vohra to follow the Gulabi Gang at work.

Distraught women come to Sampat Pal for help, believing their only other option is suicide. Sampat Pal courts controversy with her disdain for religion and custom. Combining the sensibilities of vigilante and opinionated auntie, she advises: “When a man does wrong, give him a beating.” Often attracting a crowd of gawkers she settles problems in the streets, conducting personal arbitration like the judge of a citizens’ court. Her empathy comes from her own hardships; she was married at age twelve and fought to establish her independence. Pat’s unorthodox lifestyle has her cohabiting with a man from a higher caste than her own.

Special Formula:• Pink Saris A film by Kim Longinotto UK/India, 2010, 96 minutes.