Gulabi Gang chief raises danda against film, says makers yet to take her permission

MUMBAI: If 52-year-old Sampat Pal Devi has her way she would go to the makers of the upcoming Hindi film 'Gulaab Gang' with her gang of vigilante women swinging their trademark bamboo dandas. "We could let the danda talk," says Pal, laughing. Jokes apart, she insists that the movie, whose recent trailer shows a fierce Madhuri Dixit leading a group of pink sari-clad women wielding six-foot-long sticks against villains, is nothing but a copy of her own fight against atrocities on women in the last two decades.

"They haven't taken permission from me as they say it is not about my Gulabi Gang. But we have sent a legal notice as where else in Uttar Pradesh do you have a women's group fighting against discrimination wearing pink saris and using dandas? " asks Pal.

The unlikely crusader from Bundelkhand came into prominence after she formed a women's movement in 2006 to primarily protest against domestic abuse. What set apart the group was the hot pink saris of its members and the use of dandas to instill fear in errant or drunken husbands. "We chose a uniform to make it easier for us to locate members in public areas. Gulabi was the only colour left as parties and religious groups had taken the blue, white and yellow," says Pal, who is in Mumbai to accept yet another outstanding woman award from a TV channel.

As for the use of the danda, Pal insists that she and her fellows have used it only twice. "In the trailer, Madhuri hits somebody with her hand but we have never beaten aam aadmi! The few times we used the danda was against police and others and it was enough to put fear in the hearts of other men," says Pal.

The focus has always been to bring around wife-beaters or deserters through arguments and persuasion after shaming them or instilling fear in them. "I don't have a problem with showing violence but things should be correct. The film on Phoolan Devi (dacoit-politician) had all kinds of incidents and that shouldn't happen," says Pal. Producer Anubhav Sinha couldn't be reached for comments.

Apart from awards, a Paris-chapter of the Gang, an entry to Bigg Boss 6, two police cases and a huge collection of pink saris, Pal is now a veteran at putting up a show if the cause is right.

According to her, artists like Dixit have a bigger responsibility and shouldn't have danced at UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's recent cultural show, Saifai Mahotsav. "Salman Khan and Madhuri should've distributed blankets to the riot victims living in the cold and not be blind like the CM," says Pal, who is dismissive of most politicians, including Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal.

"Yes, I am hoping to get a Congress ticket in the Lok Sabha elections," says Pal. Men will surely vote as the problems are the same for everyone - lack of power, water and bad roads. If there any more reality show offers in the meanwhile, Pal is game. "I might not be able to spread the message about empowering women but more people will know me and my work," she says.

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