Pinky Beauty Parlour is an engaging and poignant look at the obsession with fairer skin and color bias in Indian society. The film centers on the relationship between two sisters, Bulbul and Pinky and their beauty parlor in one of the by-lanes of Varanasi, the holiest of cities in India. Since they were children, Bulbul has been criticized for her dark skin while her younger sister Pinky has always received praise and preferential treatment for her fairer complexion. Their physical differences draw out repressed emotional feelings that result in a tragedy. The story starts one morning as a dead body is found hanging in the beauty parlor. Police Inspector Jata Shankar and the somewhat slow Constable Sami Akhtar, starts the investigation in their own quirky ways.. As the cops’ investigation progresses, we enter a unique colorful world of the beauty parlor and we peek into Pinky and Bulbul’s life and come across a retinue of interesting, unique characters, anyone of whom could have been responsible for this shocking death.. We are drawn into a complex, engaging and entertaining story of inter-mingled loyalties and insecurities. At the same time ‘Pinky Beauty Parlour’ has a timely message for the audience to take home and chew on.
112 min | 2023 | India
