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class="postAuthor">By <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/author/nandita-dutta/" title="Posts by Nandita Dutta">Nandita Dutta</a></span> | <span class="postDate">Wednesday, April 21st, 2010</span> </div> <p><em><strong><a rel="attachment wp-att-14626" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://66.147.244.207/~bikasmis/dearcinema/wordpress/?attachment_id=14626"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-14626" title="sridhar rangayan" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609im_/http://66.147.244.207/~bikasmis/dearcinema/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/sridhar-rangayan-300x235.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="235"/></a>Sridhar Rangayan</strong>, who is a renowned queer filmmaker and a queer activist for the last twenty years, has now blended his passions. 聽He is the festival director of Kashish , which promises to be the largest queer film festival in India presenting about 110 films from over 25 countries over four days at two venues in Mumbai. Rangayan was also on the Berlin Teddy Bear Jury this year where films dealing with LGBTs competed. <strong>Nandita Dutta</strong> in conversation with Sridhar Rangayan, one of the pioneers of the LGBT movement in India about Kashish and beyond 娄</em></p> <p><strong> Is it the first year for Kashish? What was the starting point of this queer film festival?</strong></p> <p>This is the first year of the festival. The concept of the festival began 7-8 months back. There were queer film festivals happening across India. I felt there was a similar festival needed in the cinema capital of the country. Mumbai is not just the cinema capital but also the queer capital, in that there is a large visible gay community in Mumbai.</p> <p>The best part was that Movies That Matter Foundation an initiative of Amnesty International, a human rights festival funding organization came ahead to fund our queer film fest. As we went along we realized that we wanted it to be a festival and not just a discussion space, one could attend any seminar for that.聽 As a queer filmmaker and an activist, I wanted this festival to be a combination of both these things.</p> <p><strong>What are the highlights of Kashish? </strong></p> <p>We pitched Kashish as an enjoyable film festival with a wide ranging and engaging spectrum of queer films and a high glamour quotient. I say glamour shamelessly because I want people to come in. And people will come where they don t feel alienated, when it doesn t seem just like a queer space. So the very first and important step towards this was to arrange for a mainstream venue. These kinds of screenings usually take place in community centres. But we got PVR Cinemas as our venue. This works in two ways, providing people accessibility and also visibility to our festival. Kashish will be the first queer film festival in the country to screen films at a PVR. This is also a kind of an experiment. We will see what kind of people turn up and in what numbers.</p> <p>Kashish is for the queer community, we screen a variety of queer films from across the world for them to see that their feelings resonate globally. There are also a lot of misconceptions about gays. Being gay is not all about sex. 聽They too have emotions like everybody else. But the sex factor is heightened due to repression. Gays have been denied their space for a long time. We want to showcase all their emotions through this festival. Kashish is not just for the queers but for everyone who wants to see queer films.</p> <p><strong>Tell us about some of the films that will be showcased in the festival. </strong></p> <p>Mostly these films have sublime messages; audience can take back something from them. They are mostly centered around families. The festival also has huge lesbian content as lesbians are double marginalized in the society. The opening film of the festival is about two gay men wanting to adopt a child. Don t Know Why will be screened as the closing film of the festival. It is a very bold and sensitive film starring mainstream actors like Zeenat Aman, Helen and Kabir Bedi.</p> <p><strong>How is the experience of organizing a queer film fest in Mumbai in terms of support of the people and the authorities?</strong></p> <p>We are poised at a time when queer festivals can be organized. Two years back, we couldn t have thought of a queer film festival. The people I approached for support have been very encouraging and welcoming. I have not had any major blockades as far as organizing the festival is concerned.</p> <p>I remember when we were setting up the Humsafar Trust (the first gay NGO in India), even getting office space was a big challenge for us. The queer community had to make this kind of space for themselves. This time, the response from the people has been very positive. I didn t know people in India love gay men so much!</p> <p><strong>Has the scenario for queer activities in India changed after the decision of the Delhi High Court last year decriminalising consensual homosexuality?</strong></p> <p>The High Court verdict has definitely changed things a lot. For one, more people are now aware of what is being gay all about. They do not cringe or shy away from things. Secondly, one is not apologetic of being a queer anymore.</p> <p><strong>The Bangalore Queer Film festival early this year, Queer Nazariya in Mumbai and now Kashish 娄what are the factors that have triggered queer film fests in the country?</strong></p> <p>There is a demand, people are wanting to see more and more queer films now. And hence organizers are trying to offer spaces which are queer comfortable.聽 This is also the right time to push queer issues up. Film festivals can be a good medium to do so. The audience sits in a dark hall and enters a different world altogether. They can feel things deep within and take it home with them. Films can act as a catalyst for change.</p> <p><strong>How do you view the queer filmmaking scene in India, you being one of the renowned filmmakers yourself?</strong></p> <p>There are not too many queer films being made in India. The number of feature films is really less, most of the queer films are either shorts or documentaries.</p> <p>In the slate for Kashish, the maximum number of films are from the United States, India comes next. What is really interesting about our festival is that we have a huge spectrum of Indian films. We have a section called as Emerging Voices where we screen queer films made by student filmmakers. We received a good number of entries from institutes like Whistling Woods, NID Ahmedabad and Sophia Polytechnic. It s nice to see that these students are thinking so radically and their institutes are supporting them. These students have no apprehensions about anything. They are going to be the future queer filmmakers of the country. Being a queer filmmaker doesn t mean that you have to be a queer yourself, it s all about making films on queer issues.</p> <p><strong>Anything else that you would like to share with us? </strong></p> <p>This is the first year of the festival. We are waiting to see how things shape up. We want to make it into a continuous movement. The festival is a part of a larger movement. It is our way of trying to say that we are normal . I really hope we are able to sustain this effort. <div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a class="tm_button" rel="&source=DearCinema&style=normal&b=2" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/interview/a%c2%a2a%e2%80%9a%c2%aceoekashisha%c2%a2a%e2%80%9a%c2%aca%e2%80%9e%c2%a2-is-our-way-to-say-that-queers-are-a%c2%a2a%e2%80%9a%c2%aceoenormala%c2%a2a%e2%80%9a%c2%aca%e2%80%9e%c2%a2-sridhar-rangayan/2601"></a></div> <p class="fb-like"><iframe src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609if_/http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fdearcinema.com%2Finterview%2Fa%25c2%25a2a%25e2%2580%259a%25c2%25aceoekashisha%25c2%25a2a%25e2%2580%259a%25c2%25aca%25e2%2580%259e%25c2%25a2-is-our-way-to-say-that-queers-are-a%25c2%25a2a%25e2%2580%259a%25c2%25aceoenormala%25c2%25a2a%25e2%2580%259a%25c2%25aca%25e2%2580%259e%25c2%25a2-sridhar-rangayan%2F2601&layout=box_count&show_faces=true&width=450&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=65&font=lucida+grande" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:65px"></iframe></p> <p><h3>You might like reading:</h3></p><div><dl><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/news/kashish-mumbai-international-queer-film-fest-from-april-22-25/3611" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Kashish-Mumbai International Queer Film fest from April 22-25">Kashish-Mumbai International Queer Film fest from April 22-25</a></dl> <dl><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/article/kashish-mumbai-international-queer-film-festival/0513" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Kashish- Mumbai International Queer Film festival">Kashish- Mumbai International Queer Film festival</a></dl> <dl><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/article/festival-diary-kashish-mumbai-international-queer-film-fest-2010/0311" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Festival Diary: Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Fest 2010">Festival Diary: Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Fest 2010</a></dl> <dl><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/news/queer-film-fest-a%c2%a2a%e2%80%9a%c2%aca%e2%80%9ckashisha%c2%a2a%e2%80%9a%c2%aca%c2%9d-announces-winners/4443" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Queer Film fest 鈥淜ashish 聺 announces winners">Queer Film fest 鈥淜ashish 聺 announces winners</a></dl> <dl><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/news/indian-filmmaker-on-berlin-teddy-bear-jury/5218" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Indian Filmmaker on Berlin Teddy Bear Jury">Indian Filmmaker on Berlin Teddy Bear Jury</a></dl> <dl><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/news/indian-filmmaker-on-berlin-teddy-bear-jury-2/5236" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Indian Filmmaker on Berlin Teddy Bear Jury">Indian Filmmaker on Berlin Teddy Bear Jury</a></dl> </div><div class="clear"></div> <div class="clear"></div> <div id="entryMeta"> <img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609im_/http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/3c2a4e2701d32482a8f7a5d83b3f57b5?s=39&d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D39&r=G" class="avatar avatar-39 photo" height="39" width="39"/> Posted by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161609/http://dearcinema.com/author/nandita-dutta/" title="Posts by Nandita Dutta">Nandita Dutta</a> on Apr 21 2010. 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