Former beauty pageant queen turned actor Urvashi Rautela has been garnering praise for her stint as a coy and romantic girl in her previous films. Not to forget her sizzling dance moves make us groove even now. After achieving so much at a young age, Urvashi has now made her digital debut with the film 'Virgin Bhanupriya'. As the title suggests, the film deals with the concept of virginity and the taboos surrounding it in a straight forward humorous manner.
In an exclusive conversation with International Business Times, Urvashi Rautela spoke at length about her take on the concept of virginity, lovemaking and sex, how her film will break the stereotypes surrounding the concept related to virginity and more.
Experts from the Interview:
On making her web debut with the film 'Virgin Bhanupriya.'
When I was offered the film, it was untitled and was supposed to be a theatrical release. However, due to the pandemic, the makers decided to release it on the OTT platform Zee 5. The movie is everything that the title suggests. Adding to this, I would say, virginity is considered a taboo in a country like ours, and there is a considerable stigma attached to it. It feels less like a social blessing and more like a social curse.
Coming back to the film my character Bhanupriya is a conservative girl who wants to fall in love on her terms, and in this process, her mother and her best friend acts as a catalyst by helping her. However, an astrologer tells her (Bhanupriya's) dad that her daughter has a certain kundali dosh. This whole fiasco leads to comedy of errors, the film is a meaty and straightforward watch.
At the same time, I would like to say that through the film, we are trying to point out the fact that it is essential to realise that virginity is a conjecture and every person acts differently, and each person's idea of love is different. The concept of virginity is a personal choice, and the pressure shouldn't be a catalyst to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Adding further,
It is your body and you should decide what you want to do with it. And I hope that the film breaks the stereotype and spreads a lot more awareness about the virginity.
On virginity still being a taboo in rural India.
This girl in the film Bhaupriya is conservative, innocent and a simple girl and is also semi-urban. On the other hand, her best friend is bold. So there are two different females and their contrasting mindset.
Continuing further:
India is a land of contrast, it is a land of Kamasutra and different sculptures, and at the same time, a land with purity and virginity is given great lymph of importance at the time of marriage. In ancient India, sex was not a taboo. They were very open in regards to lovemaking. There are various instances in Mahabarata and their characters were very much open to pre-marital sex, and about virginity and it is interesting to know that men and women would have equal autonomy over their body of sex and desires.
There is also an episode from Mahabharata where 'Adi Parva' which states that an unmarried woman, can express her love and desire for lovemaking. Having said that, Indian has double standards towards virginity. There are two sides to this subject as at one end we see people are openly accepting your sexual aspirations and at one end you hear that there are several Virginity tests being conducted on the woman and some of the matrimonial ads also explicitly state that the bride must a virgin. Even though the attitude of the people is changing, several urban areas undergo a surgical procedure, so they are pure in the eyes of their husband.
Personal views on virginity
Virgin Bhanupriya is a female-centric film, and this is the first time a female desirer is taking a centre stage. We have often seen actors like Ayushmann Khurrana, Akshay Kumar talk about real issues and showcase liberal thinking towards a subject that was considered as a taboo.
Lastly, I would like to say, that with the help of sex education in schools and Indian youngsters developing open mindset toward virginity and now they do not consider virginity to be a necessary quality of their spouse. With this move, I really hope that people understand that virginity is entirely a choice of an individual and no society can dictate what is proper for anyone.
Urvashi Rautela's web film 'Virgin Bhanupriya' is currently streaming on Zee 5.
