Fire, Deepa Mehta (1996)

U for Usha, (2019), dir. Rohan Kanawade, 22min

“The film is a subtle and courageous portrayal of rural lesbian love, as a single mother and farm labourer is drawn to a woman teacher at the local school. It also shows the gender impact of economic distress: when a farmer is in debt or dies, his wife can immediately become sexually vulnerable or prey.” —Jury for the Satyajit Ray Short Film Award

"I was sure while writing the script that I didn't want to show my protagonist struggling with her sexuality," says Kanawade. "Instead, I wanted it to be a nice, light film. At a young age, I found out I was attracted to boys and that I identified gay. Unlike how they show in movies, I never questioned myself for being different. I accepted the way I felt and that is exactly how Usha is in the movie. There are no villains in this movie, just Usha's ways of exploring her new attraction."

“Ultimately it’s about finding completion in love, whether it is between man and woman, man and man or woman and woman,” he asserts. All Kanawade wanted to do was make a positive film about a gay relationship, especially after the striking down of Section 377. “The homophobia in people’s minds is still not gone,” he says.

Archana Akil Kumar by Taras Taraporvala for Elle India - April 2019

Chitra Ganesh, Mermaid, 2009.

Dec 29, 2018: Trans people held the first ever trans pride march in Pakistan

today’s pride piece is from ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga, aka the first mainstream bollywood film to feature a queer protagonist and love story! not to mention it was directed by a woman and written by a trans woman. good news: this heartwarming coming out story is on netflix!‬

ipad pro, procreate

Happy Ramadan to all the lgbtq Muslims

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019)

Media and entertainment has a huge part in helping us empathize with characters that we see on screen and that in turn helps us empathize with people in our lives because we will apply the feeling that we felt towards the character on the screen to people who surround us. Bhavya Pandit’s version of the Bollywood classic song Kuch Toh Log Kahenge meaning people will say something or other tells a story about a transgender woman and even though lgbt representation is lacking in Indian entertainment it’s good to see that people like Bhavya Pandit are helping to show the representation that lgbt people deserve and hopefully help people realize that there is nothing wrong with being lgbt. 

omg……..

Please listen to this Podcast of Shelly Chopra talking about the importance of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga to its Indian audience as well as how she hopes this movie could be something for the the “young generation of [queer] kids” “who’ll grow up differently” to have something to hold on to. 

She explains why this movie was intended for the family audience, understand the criticism that the movie has received due to its lack of scenes between Sonam Kapoor and Regina Cassandra but explains that their goal was to make this movie as a stepping stone, a conversation opener for the adults, and ultimately something for the younger generation to hold on to. 

Saying:

“Representation is very important, but i wanted this to make a difference in peoples lives. I didn’t just want to help the existing [lgbt] community, I wanted this to help the upcoming communities; the younger kids. We are all adults here, but I am thinking more about the children that are out there that will grow up differently if they have an open community. […] which is what my intentions are; to change the lives of the younger generation, to help them.”

hey guys! as a lot of you know, you know i didn’t have a great coming out experience with being from an indian back ground. a good family friend of mine had actually had my back, and been far more supporting than i ever would have thought. recently, she produced a short film about a young indian girl’s coming out experience. it would mean a lot if you would check it out!

Halal love

Works of Anusha Raichur (instagram). The works are aimed at creating awareness of LGBT issues in India. 

Top to bottom, It reads in Devnagri: 1) Lesbian 2) Gay  3) Bisexual 4) Transgender 

this mv on elkdtal is so so beautiful

Gurrrrrrl killing it in this sweet cover of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.

And no, she didn’t mess with the words in the song. My girl is crooning about a Ladki :)

Listen, like and share!!