Summary
The film raises issues of cultural identities and challenges stereotypes. It is an important milestone in making the Indian gay community visible. The film is written and produced by Niranjan Kamatkar of arts charity Wise Thoughts, London UK who is sole copyright holder, and was co-produced by Solaris Pictures, Mumbai, India.
The director Sridhar Rangayan, who earlier made the award-winning film The Pink Mirror, says that what is wonderful about this film is the fearless participation, for the first time, of more than 100 gay and transsexual members of groups like The Humsafar Trust in Mumbai and Lakshya in Gujarat.
Reviewing the film for Frameline30, Corey Eubanks wrote:
- "From the director of The Pink Mirror (Frameline27) comes this intoxicating queer journey through India. Ravi is a young Indian man living in England who impulsively heads to an all-night gay party in an Indian village, dragging his British friend Paul along.
- Fueled by erotic performances, flirting, and sex, Ravi connects at the party with Mani, a closeted working-class guy. Rooming at the very gay-friendly hotel belonging to Murthy and Anna, an older gay couple who have been together for more than thirty years, Ravi decides to stay for a few days to pursue what may be the love of his life, but the consequences of their hedonistic night catch up with them. With bursts of surreal images and scenes, Ravi tries to reconnect with Mani, but the situation becomes rocky when his slutty friend, Paul, flaunts his own careless hook-up with Mani.
- Thankfully, Ravi has the wisdom of Murthy and Anna to guide him. They share their stories of defying tradition, loving against all odds and being true to oneself. Invigorated by his time with the couple, Ravi meets Mani once again to see if their fates may indeed be intertwined. In addition to the colorful and bizarre situations, the camera lingers lovingly over the queer Indian male body and exalts its sexuality. With a consistently surreal look, Yours Emotionally feels like a beautiful fever dream inspired by both avant-garde gay cinema and the tropes of Bollywood."
The Pink Mirror, titled Gulabi Aaina in India, is an Indian film drama produced and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. It is said to be the first Indian film to comprehensively focus on Indian transsexuals with the entire story revolving around two transsexuals and a gay teenager's attempts to seduce a man, Samir. The film explores the taboo subject of transsexuals in India which is still much misunderstood and ridiculed.
NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival put on by The New Festival, Inc., is one of the most comprehensive forums of national and international LGBT film/video in the world.
The Frameline Film Festival began as a storefront event in 1976. The first film festival, named the Gay Film Festival of Super-8 Films, was held in 1977. The festival is organized by Frameline, a nonprofit media arts organization whose mission statement is "to change the world through the power of queer cinema". It is the oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world.
Sridhar Rangayan is an Indian filmmaker who has made films with special focus on queer subjects. His queer films, The Pink Mirror, Yours Emotionally, 68 Pages, Purple Skies, Breaking Free & Evening Shadows have been considered groundbreaking because of their realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the largely closeted Indian gay community. His film The Pink Mirror remains banned in India by the Indian Censor Board because of its homosexual content.
68 Pages is a 2007 Indian film about an HIV/AIDS counselor and five of her clients who are from marginalized communities. The film is directed by Sridhar Rangayan and produced by Humsafar Trust in association with Solaris Pictures. It had its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Kerala and screened at several international film festivals. It won the Silver Remi award at WorldFest Houston International Film Festival 2008, USA. The film was also screened in the Pink Ribbon Express, a National AIDS Control Organisation initiative.
Solaris Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. It was created by Sridhar Rangayan, and Saagar Gupta in 2001. The two have gone on to create several award-winning films under Solaris Pictures' banner, focusing on LGBT issues and HIV/AIDS.
The KASHISH Pride Film Festival is an annual LGBTQ event that has been held in Mumbai, India, since 2010. The film festival screens gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer films from India and around the world. It is voted as one of the top five LGBT film festivals in the world.
Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival was a four-day festival held in Mumbai, India between 8–10 December 2010. It screened eight films from around the world that dealt with human rights issues at a macro as well as at a micro level; from global concerns to indigenous issues. The festival concluded on the International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2010.
Maaro (Violent But Silent) is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Siddique. It stars Nithiin and Meera Chopra in the lead roles. The film was shot in 2005 and in 2006, the film was shelved. It was eventually released in 2011 to cash in on director Siddique's recent success with Bodyguard. The music is scored by Mani Sharma. The film was remade in Tamil as Sadhu Miranda, which ended up releasing three years prior to Maaro. The film is loosely based on the director's own 1995 Malayalam film Mannar Mathai Speaking which was based on the 1958 movie Vertigo.
Humsafar Trust is an NGO in Mumbai that promotes LGBT rights. Founded by Ashok Row Kavi, Suhail Abbasi, and Sridhar Rangayan in 1994, it is one of the largest and most active of such organisations in India. It provides counselling, advocacy and healthcare to LGBT communities and has helped reduce violence, discrimination and stigma against them. Humsafar Trust is the convenor member of Integrated Network for Sexual Minorities (INFOSEM).
Yeh Hai Chakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo is a 2003 Indian children's film directed by Sridhar Rangayan, and written by Vijay Tendulkar and Sushma Bakshi. The film is based on a short story by Shakuntala Paranjpye and was shot on location over 20 days in Mandangad, Bankot and Mumbai.
Mona Ambegaonkar is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and television. She has featured in over 15 plays, 18 feature films, 38 TV projects, 37 advertising campaigns. She had a minor role in film Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa and medical drama Dhadkan as Dr. Chitra.
Yamini Singh is an Indian film and television actress who works in Hindi films and television. Her first film role came in K. Bikram Singh's Tarpan (1994), also starring Om Puri, Revathi, Manohar Singh and Mita Vashisht. Some of her television shows are: Bandhan (1999), Daaman (2001), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi...Let's Go (2015), Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari (2009), Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai (2007) and Jhoome Jiiya Re (2007).
Chennai International Queer Film Festival is a three-day LGBT- event that usually takes places on the last weekend of July as a part of the city's pride events. The main organizers are SAATHII and Orinam in partnership with Goethe-Institut, Chennai. The other volunteers include various community groups and NGOs, including Nirangal, East-West Center for Counselling, and RIOV. The last day is usually performances along with a panel discussion, usually to discuss and bring out the challenges faced by community members.
Purple Skies is a 2014 movie directed by Sridhar Rangayan and produced by Public Service Broadcasting Trust and Solaris Pictures. It documents the opinions of lesbians, bisexuals and trans men in India. It was broadcast on Doordarshan in 2015.
Evening Shadows is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Sridhar Rangayan. The film stars Mona Ambegaonkar, Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, Devansh Doshi, Arpit Chaudhary, Yamini Singh, Abhay Kulkarni, Veena Nair, Kala Ramnathan, Disha Thakur, Sushant Divgikar and Faredoon Bhujwala.
Breaking Free is a 2015 film directed by Sridhar Rangayan and produced by Solaris Pictures. In this documentary, filmmaker and gay activist Sridhar Rangayan embarks on a personal journey to expose the human rights violations faced by the LGBTQ community in India due to a draconian law Section 377 and homophobic social mores of a patriarchal society. The film was selected to be part of the Indian Panorama (non-Fiction) and screened at International Film Festival of India in 2015.
Saagar Gupta is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and film producer.
The Frameline Audience Award – Best Feature is an award of the San Francisco Frameline Film Festival. Since the festival's inception in 1984 the Best Feature Film has been awarded by the festival's audience selection.
