GAY, HAPPY, MERRY & MORE…
Sridhar Rangayan – gay activist, producer, director, screenwriter and Founder-Director of ‘KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival’ – is high on cinematic honesty. His movies have lassoed in a truckload of awards - nationally and internationally - consolidating his position as a filmmaker of merit, highlighting issues surrounding sexual minorities. Ajit Ramachanddran profiles the pioneer
Ajit Ramachanddran
GAY, HAPPY, MERRY & MORE…
Sridhar Rangayan – gay activist, producer, director, screenwriter and Founder-Director of ‘KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival’ – is high on cinematic honesty. His movies have lassoed in a truckload of awards - nationally and internationally - consolidating his position as a filmmaker of merit, highlighting issues surrounding sexual minorities. Ajit Ramachanddran profiles the pioneer
Tired of hearing about that poor little fortunate boy who rose from the grimy slums to a life encompassing the Big Villa, a fleet of fancy cars and power? Try this one on for size.
On April 2, 1962, the resounding wails of a new-born pierced the air at Mandya in Karnataka, India. The parents were elated, and more so years later, as they witnessed their academically-rich scion: Sridhar Rangayan beam brightly with an array of credentials – graduate of National Institute of Technology (Karnataka); Post- graduate from Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay, and more. In the recesses of his mind, however, a well-guarded secret was gnawing away at Rangayan’s happiness.
Touch Of Truth
‘Evening Shadows’- crafted under his banner Solaris Pictures - is a tale that holds realistic resonance in ample measure with Rangayan. “The film definitely has slices of my own story,” he says, “When I “came out” in 1995 to my mother, it was not easy for her to accept me, because she had no concept of alternate sexuality, coming from a small-town household.”
He adds significantly, “But ‘Evening Shadows’ also assimilates stories of other gay men “coming out” to their parents, as well as stories of the challenges parents find in accepting their son’s sexual orientation. Wherever we have screened, even outside India, the film has resonated with audiences – young & old, gay & straight, white & brown – all kinds of audiences who keep sending us their appreciation after watching the film at festivals, or Emirates Airlines, or now on Netflix.”
Queer Cheer
In media circles – where “sensational” is sacrosanct - Rangayan has come to be synonymous with his film-fest illumining sexual minorities that he green-lighted in 2010. “The 12th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia’s biggest LGBTQ+ film festival, was held virtually from August 19th to September 5th 2021,” he reveals, “This was the second time the festival was held completely online. The response was very heartwarming, considering the fact that the pandemic is still on-going, and people are also fatigued by constant online activities over the past two years. We lost many of the regular attendees who would attend the ground event every year to enjoy not only films, but also to socialise. But we gained many new attendees not only in Mumbai, but across India and across the world too.”
Truthful & Insightful
Be it airing his views on homophobia (“It has less to do with the law and more to do with ignorance and a patriarchal society that only accepts heterosexuals”); Section 377 ( “It gave a tool to exploiters of the community who used it to blackmail, sexually harass and even kill LGBTQ+ persons over centuries.”) lesbians (“ They face double discrimination and find it extremely challenging to come out with their true identity.”) trans-genders (“They have it the toughest, they cannot hide their gender identity and so drop out of schools”) or other thorny issues, Rangayan has been far from reticent.
Pricey Honesty
In a world of flourishing hypocrites, a life lived fearlessly does come with a price. Says Rangayan,“I have been out to my entire family, and even my extended family, and also colleagues and everyone around. While I have not faced any violent homophobia, people have distanced themselves, some close ones too. But that’s life, right? You lose some, you gain some, and move ahead in life. Once you are confident about your own sexuality, it becomes easier to find acceptance through conversations, not confrontations.”
ALL NOTCHED UP
* Founder – member & Trustee of ‘The Humsafar Trust’ – the first gay NGO in India alongside Ashok Row Kavi; was actively involved till January 2013
* Designed and edited ‘Bombay Dost’ – India’s first gay magazine (1999-2003)
* Founded his production company Solaris Pictures in 2001 alongside Saagar Gupta, a writer, art director and long-standing companion of 26 years
* Bagged the National Award in 2016 for ‘Breaking Free’ in the ‘Best Editing’ (non-feature) category for editors Pravin Angre and Rangayan
* Was handpicked as one of the ‘Grand Marshals’ at the 2016 Montreal Pride Parade; led it along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
*****************************************************************************************************************************************
