Ruchi Narayan’s Guilty, (now streaming on Netflix) is more or less, a 119 minute summation of the core premise of 13 Reasons Why. With a few exceptions made for the post Me Too furore in the Indian context. This is a quick and accurate articulation of rape culture where the final act is just as normal and acceptable as the shaming of women in other seemingly innocuous ways.
As when a 13- year- old is told that she must be more careful because she has a “sexual vibe” and because men can’t control themselves.
Or when a survivor is gaslighted into believing that she is exaggerating her trauma or that she is unreliable, has fragile mental health and must never become one of those women who have “trouble written all over them.”
This is a topsy turvy world where victims of sexual violence are held accountable for their actions but rapists are not.
And rape is a male bonding sport that begins with a violating gaze, with language that disrobes a woman before grasping hands can, and comes with the privilege of invincibility baked in gender.
Rape is just another perk in an all forgiving milieu that mocks feminism, and classifies women either as victims who should have known better or gold digging manipulators or attention whores. Even women buy into the subjugation of their minds and bodies and betray their sense of right and wrong when they belittle each other in the pursuit of men and even stand up for the sexual abusers in their life.
And a female body whether covered with tattoos or revealed proudly in a sequinned dress, is just an object. To be targetted by a pervert in a dimly lit subway. Or to be mocked and debased in bro speak as slutty.
And it is easy to erase or disbelieve women in connivance with an easily compromised system. As was portrayed in much more detail in the fantastic series Unbelievable, also on Netflix.
In a significant scene, in a supposedly safe space like an office, a girl screaming out for justice, sees a circle of enablers closing in like sharks. To intimidate and silence her.
So Guilty is not just about rape. It is about us all. As a character says in the film, it takes a village to raise boys who think it is okay to rape because rape is just the culmination of unchecked privilege given to them by parents, teachers, enablers, bystanders, peers.
On another note, the collage romance that is at the heart of the story subtly channels Kabir Singh which painted a volatile co-dependent relationship as romantic.
in this film too, Kiara Advani’s Nanaki has a boyfriend, who like a caveman throws her over his shoulder to carry her to a class room. And habitually creates a scene outside her hostel when she won’t answer his calls. Their passion is hurtful and demeaning to her at times. But as the film unfolds, it establishes something crucial. That toxicity in a relationship is about power, not love.
Guilty also reminds one of Sheesha, a path-breaking 1986 film directed by Basu Chatterjee, which too questioned the myth of the imperfect victim. This one though is not a seamless film. It is chaotic, has uneven performances and is unnecessarily confusing at times but it comes from a place of real rage. It thankfully does not go by the recent political and cinematic playbook where privilege is painted as victimhood and victimhood as opportunism. And it stands it ground to say that victims, even the so called imperfect ones, have the right to tell their story and to be heard .