Gone Kesh: A story of crushing societal standards of beauty

“Gone Kesh” is a 2019 Hindi language feature film directed by Qasim Khallow, and one of the exceptional film made on female Alopecia areata. The first Hindi film on premature balding was Saurabh Shukla’s I Am 24 (2012), and after that film like Ujda Chaman and Bala comes in the same year 2019 and did well on the box office, where the protagonists suffer from premature balding. Qasim Khallow made a brave attempt and raise real issues faced by many women and girls in society. The film set in the town of Siliguri, West Bengal, it is the story of Enakshi Dasgupta (Shweta Tripathi), the only daughter of middle-class parents, who wants to get her married. But the issue is, Enakshi suffers from a medical condition called alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that often results in hair loss. For a girl with such difficulty is tough and challenging to live, they can’t step out from the house without a scarf or stole, because in this so-called society a bald man is accepted, but a bald girl won’t be accepted and respected by anyone. The story travels in time from school days to college to working days and it focuses on how her life gets hard. Enakshi who is highly ambitious and wants to make a name in the field of dance is felt devastated when at the age of 15, she was diagnosed with such a problem. Throughout this journey, her parents (Deepika Amin and Vipin Sharma) supported her in every way. His father used up all his savings for her treatment and made many more sacrifices. Now, despite the wig and working as a salesgirl at a cosmetic counter in a mall, her self-esteem is low. She spurns her hobby of dancing, for the terror of being exposed as a “takli”. One fine day she came to know about a dance competition at the mall. Being a staff of the mall, she is barred from participating in the competition. Her state of mind to participate in the competition is so strong that she gives up her job. The other subplot, the romantic side of the film, her shy college mate Sujoy (Jitendra Kumar) struggles to express himself, as he’s still unaware of her problem. Jitendra Kumar as Sujoy is competent and charming working in the same mall as a Sales manager. A scene where he happens to see her without her wig plays out brilliantly, and after knowing the truth he still supports Enakshi and married her. Shweta Tripathi portrays the trauma of her condition in the most real and simplest manner. The narrative ends to show the world how she learned that life is not about the hair on your head, it is about the lessons you learn, the friends you find, and the difference you can make, and after so many ups and downs she finally made it. Her accomplishment, through this film, is a message for millions of people around the globe suffering from this disease. The pace of the narrative is slow, but the simplicity and spontaneity of the good performances that keep you captivated. This film set a perfect instance of crushing societal standards of beauty and exploring the parent-child relationship.