LGBT. The acronym itself is filled with controversies. After all, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code makes sex with persons of the same gender punishable by law. With homosexuality being taboo in our country, we not only have taken away people’s basic right to love, but also their right to be their own person. While hijras (eunuchs) have always existed in the Indian culture, same sex intercourse is not only frowned upon but is also illegal. It is heartening then, in this conflicting definition of democracy, to see Doordashan, a government-backed channel put itself out there and take a stand. The channel has scheduled a screening of Purple Skies, a documentary that aims to give a face to the LGBT community. While it talks about same-sex relationships in general, the focus is more on lesbians and transgenders who take on the identity of a woman, and how they face a far bigger discrimination than their gay counterparts.
The 66-minute documentary is a series of interviews shot between 2008 – a year before the Delhi high court passed the historic verdict, decriminalising consensual adult same-sex relations – and 2013, shortly after the Supreme Court overturned the ruling.
“While the trailer of the documentary itself is heartwarming, I think the fact that Doordashan is screening the movie speaks for itself,” shares Gregory Francis, a luxury writer who is also gay. “DD as a channel has a large viewership in the rural parts of India and I think screening a LGBT documentary movie on such a channel is just going to take things to an absolutely new and liberating level. While tier and tier two cities are already evolving in the space of accepting the LGBT community, rural India definitely needs this push,” he adds.
What also makes this a historic move of sorts is the fact that it plays right into the Indian society mindset of getting influenced by Bollywood movies. An industry that is high on typecasting lesbians and gays, remember John and Abhishek in Dostana, this is a step in the right direction. Faraz, a fashion stylist and a closet gay agrees. “Gays, lesbians and even transgenders in India are seen in the same light – people who are crazy about sex, are either very pansy or tomboyish and who also turned to same-sex relationships because they couldn’t score anywhere else. Movies like these then do a great job of putting a real and honest face to the community. Hopefully, a film like Purple Skies, can help people get over the stereotypes that Bollywood brushes us with,” he says.
Apart from Bollywood, religion also remains a tool to threaten gays and lesbians. “Take any community as an example and you will always have sermons on why being homosexual is a sin. It is perhaps the lack of understanding that people have for our kind of love, that makes them view the relationship in this sense,” adds Faraz. “Perception of homosexual relationships, unfortunately, are only limited to sexual acts. People cannot move beyond the thinking that we also invest in the relationship, the same as they do, and having the government or just about any random person come out and tell you to STOP loving him/her is just heartbreaking.”
The movie has already been screened at 27 International film festivals and this national TV debut will just add to its acclaim. “It is important to break barriers and expand our discourse to a larger mainstream audience, to enable a more equitable and accepting society,” shares Sridhar Rangayan, director and founder of Queer Ink. “We are happy that the film is finding a larger space to amplify the lives of lesbians and bisexuals within a larger discourse on women’s issues,” he adds.
The movie has a U certificate and will be screened on national TV soon this year.
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