A year after Bollywood film Pink was released, Amitabh Bachchan tweeted a photograph of himself with other members of the film crew, calling it 'the team of 'Pink'...all in one frame'.
Ironically, though Pink was hailed as a rare feminist film that spoke about consent and slut shaming, Big B's photograph did not have a single woman in the frame. Yes, that's right. It was a bro fest that Amitabh Bachchan chose to tweet.
T 2549 - The team of 'PINK' .. all in one frame .. and .. ALL, independent, individual .. NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS !! pic.twitter.com/uQV55nUQsO
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) September 16, 2017
The three female leads of the film – Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, and Andrea Tariang – who won praise for their portrayal of three women fighting a case of sexual assault, are nowhere to be seen. This, even though, Bachchan's name appears after Taapsee's in the film's credits.
Calling all the men in the picture "independent, individual, national award winners", Amitabh Bachchan seems to have forgotten why exactly the film went on to win critical acclaim and a National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.
Twitter users, however, were quick to point out the irony.
Can't see those three girls who lived independently, how they face society, how they face their morals. Pl repost with their pics too, sir
— rahul verma (@rahulverma08) September 16, 2017
A film on women with no woman in the frame.
— Shusmita Khan (@ShusmitaKhan) September 16, 2017
Where are the ladies? Kirti n Tapsee??
— Dhiraj (@AAPlogical) September 16, 2017
A national award winning film about women's dignity and rights but the celebration above has only meṅ in the frame. Wrong messaging sir
— Monica Jasuja (@jasuja) September 17, 2017
Sir the woman, about whom this is all about, missing #respect for them too
— Amit Chauhan (@Amipal2006) September 16, 2017
PINK girls Missing in the picture.
— Arth Vaishnav •EF• (@ArthVaishnav) September 16, 2017
Though a wonderful pic
Not the entire team of PINK. The three female protagonists- they would make it a TEAM.
— Murukesh Krishnan (@MURUKESHK) September 16, 2017
Where are the Girls ? Who made the characters memorable, they are not in the Team?
— pramod k nair (@pramodknair1) September 16, 2017
It's a strange choice, indeed, for Bachchan to have tweeted this particular picture and not any others that included the women stars for the film's first anniversary. It left us feeling blue and seeing red