I was extremely lucky to be present at the opening night of the Indian Film Festival last night screening I AM. I am a happy member of both the Indian community as well as the gay community in New Zealand. It was a very proud moment and achievement on the part of the directors and actors involved in the movie to showcase the movie here before its Indian release.
Gay Indians are very lucky living in New Zealand where the community is a lot more accepting than back home. Unfortunately Indian families still struggle to integrate the concept into their modern society living. I am a Bollywood movie buff from childhood and cinema has definitely changed with the growing intelligence of the Indian audience.
The short stories have universal appeal, I know there is a focus on “I am OMAR” as this has gay characters on the quest for love and freedom, but the story “I am AFIA” about the struggle of a woman finding a sperm donor can also be paralleled with the struggle of lesbian women looking for the same. The director Onir and the actress Juhi Chawla were overwhelmingly personable and definitely the right people to bring revolutionary Indian cinema. Their association in the movie My Brother Nikhil is also a memorable depiction of gay rights in India. The audience received I AM well and it certainly pushes boundaries for Indian viewers, some gay scenes were hard to digest for the average Indian (based on the sounds of discomfort in the cinema) but overall, extremely eye-opening.
I would personally recommend that everyone support the opening of the movie in New Zealand on 22 April when it comes to our screens outside of the film festival circuit. It is an amazing product of a publicly funded project.
| V. Chauhan
Send your letters to editor@gayexpress.co.nz.
Related posts
Indian Film Festival opens with gay film
Loading ...
Dear V. Chauhan,
On behalf of the Indian Film Festival, thank you so much for your inspiring letter regarding Onir’s groundbreaking film, I Am, and sharing what the screening meant to you. We were very moved to learn that it reached the right audience and made the impact we hoped it would.
I’m writing to let you know that the festival is also screening another film this week which I think you’d love. Just Another Love Story is an acclaimed Bengali drama about a transgender film-maker who runs into trouble while making a film about Chapal Bhaduri (who plays himself here). As Bhaduri, who found fame playing female roles before women were allowed in theatres, looks back on how a life in the closet cost him his great love, the director’s own relationship with his bisexual cameraman ignites an already hostile and homophobic local media. Just Another Love Story is mostly English language too so it’s a great gateway for any friends who are unsure about foreign language films too.
Thanks again for supporting the Indian Film Festival in beautiful Auckland.
Kind regards,
Andy Roberts
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
Thank you Andy for the recommendation. I would have overlooked it had you not drawn my attention to this enlightening movie on the life of the wonderful Chapal Bhaduri. The parallel ‘past and present’ story structure was very clever and acting superb. I loved it!
For future viewers, be warned, movie is 80% in Bengali and 20% in English so Anglo- saxon friends with aversion to subtitles will not respond well. Friends unsure about foreign language films would be better with another more palatable alternative that runs at a shorter length and faster pace e.g. ‘Its A Wonderful Afterlife’ or ‘West is West’.
Vineet Chauhan
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
P.S. Just Another Love Story plays on Thursday at 8.30pm, Hoyts Sylvia Park.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0