In 2008, the graphic serialisation of the sexual escapades of a sari-clad housewife called Savita Bhabhi was the unlikely catalyst for a discussion on women’s emancipation and our right to freedom of speech and expression.

By 2009, the website on which Savita Bhabhi’s adventures were dutifully uploaded had been banned by the government under it’s anti-pornography laws. Support for the toon character, however, continued, and Savita Bhabhi’s creators announced that a film was in the pipeline. The trailer for Savita Bhabhi Movie has now been released, and “invites” have been sent out for an online premiere, where fans will be able to access the film’s live streaming at a designated time.
In an interview with this publication, the creator of Savita Bhabhi, “Deshmukh”, answered questions about just how risqué the film version will be compared to the original comic strip, and the free speech and anti-censorship themes the film touches on.

Just how risqué is Savita Bhabhi Movie?
Savita has always been about using sex to push forward the agenda of freedom of choice. So when we decided to make the movie, we knew exactly what it was going to be about. It had to have sex, and had to push forward our agenda that every person should be allowed to make his own decisions on how to live life as long as it does not harm others.
Ironically, because of its controversial storyline and central character, we are expecting a backlash to the movie itself. However, this is a story that needs to be told, and we are more than willing to take on the additional effort of justifying the making of this movie.

Was the idea for a full-fledged movie always in the pipeline even when the comic strips were being worked on?
We toyed around with the thought of making a movie in the very early days of Savita Bhabhi. The comics had been building up a fan base for the past five years and one recurring request from every fan was a Savita Bhabhi movie. We were finally in a position last year, to start work on this project, and in a month, I will finally be able to give all the fans something they have been waiting for a long, long time.

Working with a character that is banned in India, were you also simultaneously thinking of how its delivery to fans here might be achieved?
I think technology and the Internet had a big part to play in our ability to bring Savita to her fans. Since it’s going to be fairly difficult to get theatres to show our movie in India, we have embarked on a very novel concept for the premiere of the Savita Bhabhi Movie.
It is the first time in India that a premiere is going to be streamed live at a particular date and time. All our VIP ticket holders will be given access to watch the live streaming movie, and we are getting infrastructure ready for an expected 10,000 users simultaneously watching the premiere screening of the Savita Bhabhi movie.

When Savita Bhabhi started out, it was as an alternative to the regressive idea of the ideal Indian woman as modelled by TV’s favourite bhabhis. But now, the over-sexualisation of women in the media is being talked about in connection with the increasing violence against them. Where does Savita Bhabhi fit into this scenario?
We seem to be going backwards in our goal to be an open and liberal society. Incidents like the arrest of the two girls for voicing their opinion on Facebook shows that we are becoming less tolerant of free speech. The Savita Bhabhi Movie is an attempt to kickstart a conversation to reverse that.