Lihaaf Movie Review: Tannishtha Chatterjee and Anushka Sen in newest Chughtai adaptation

Rahat Kazmi's Lihaaf stars Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sonal Sehgal and Anushka Sen. Based on Ismat Chughtai's short story of the same name, the film is streaming on Voot Select.

Lihaaf, one of the most infamous short stories of noted Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai was adapted into a film by Rahat Kazmi. The film, starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sonal Sehgal and Anushka Sen, is currently streaming on Voot Select. The film runs two parallel tracks. One features author Ismat Chughtai's court trial for obscenity in Lahore for writing Lihaaf, while the other features the short story's dramatised version. And the subtle hat tip to Manto is evident. Tannishtha's Ismat says in the film, "Sharm, haya aur ghutan mein giraftar ek aurat ki bagawat ka afsana hai Lihaaf." And that sets the tone, or at least shows us what the makers tried to do. The story is about repressed sexual desires, women exploring their sexuality, and child abuse. Anyone who has read the short story would already know that.