Actor Swara Bhaskar’s scene is the first time female masturbation has been depicted in Hindi cinema. Photograph: PR
A hit Bollywood film described as India’s answer to Sex and the City is causing controversy for its depiction of women masturbating, having casual sex and smoking.
Veere Di Wedding, Hindi for Friend’s Wedding, is a buddy comedy about four childhood friends who live in Delhi’s upmarket southern neighborhoods and reunite for one of their weddings.
One is desperately seeking a husband, another going through a divorce, one has eloped and now has a child and the other is about to be married to a man she is unsure whether she loves.
The women drink, flaunt their wealth, have sex and swear, and in the film’s most controversial scene the actor Swara Bhaskar’s character masturbates using a vibrator – the first time such a scene has appeared in Hindi cinema.
The film also stars Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, and Shikha Talsania and was produced by Ekta Kapoor, who is known for creating films aimed at women with strong female casts.