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Content about Indian films

June 7, 2013
'Love doesn’t have any gender crisis or bias' says 1980s Bollywood sex symbol

India's 1980s sex symbol Dimple Kapadia responds Kunal Mukherjee's book about a gay boy growing up in Hyderabad

One of 1980s Bollywood's leading ladies, Dimple Kapadia, has spoken of her admiration for a book that tells a gay coming of age story set in Hyderabad, southern India.

The book, My Magical Kingdom by Kunal Mukherjee, focuses on 13-year-old Rahul Chatterjee who discovers his sexuality through his obsession with Bollywood actor Rajesh Khanna.

This is something Kapadia can relate to because she happened to marry Khanna when she was just 16 in 1973.

'I wasn’t much older to Rahul when I fell in love with the phenomenon called Rajesh Khanna,' said Kapadia.

May 30, 2013
Queer Indian filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh dies aged 49

'His passing will be a big loss not only to lovers of cinema and art, but a huge loss to the LGBT community,' said Onir

Award-winning filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh died at his home in Kolkata this morning. The 49-year-old, who had been suffering from disease of the pancreas, had a heart attack.

After an early career in advertising his first film Hirer Angti in his Bengali mother tongue was released in 1994. Since then he has directed 20 films which won over a dozen National Film Awards in various categories. His 2000 film Bariwali won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

May 17, 2013
Indian TV show talks about gay roles in Bollywood

On the release of Bombay Talkies featuring gay characters movie talkshow The Front Row with Anupama Chopra discusses portrayal of gay characters in Indian cinema

Indian film talkshow The Front Row with Anupama Chopra discusses alternative sexuality in Bollywood this week.

Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival director Sridhar Rangayan, openly gay filmmaker Onir, director Karan Johar and actors Randeep Hooda and Saqib Saleem were guests on the show, broadcasting tonight at 8.30pm.

The guests discuss the recently released Bombay Talkies, an anthology of four short films including one, directed by Johar about a gay relationship.

May 14, 2013
Gay Indian film-maker Onir clashes with fellow director over Hamlet

Onir says he is 'very disappointed' fellow director Tigmanshu Dhulia didn't call him to say he's making his own version of Hamlet

Indian film director Onir said he would be 'very disappointed' if fellow film-maker Tigmanshu Dhulia goes ahead with his version of Hamlet.

Onir announced three years ago that he plans to make an Indian film version of Hamlet called Vedaa, and he is upset Dhulia is going ahead with his own version.

'As a colleague and a fellow-filmmaker I’d at least expect him to speak to me about it,' said Onir, DNA India reports.

May 8, 2013
Indian director: Gay kiss in Bollywood film 'stunned audiences'

Director Dibakar Bannerjee says he has had the time of his life making the LGBT friendly anthology film

The director of a new Indian anthology film has praised Karan Johar for choosing to break the mould and show a gay kiss in a Bollywood film. 

Director Dibakar Bannerjee has made the eagerly awaited Bombay Talkies, made up of four short films celebrating 100 years of Bollywood cinema.

‘I am too close to my own work to judge its value,’ Bannerjee told Business of Cinema.

‘But my favourite film of the omnibus is Karan Johar’s. Not only has he yanked himself out of his comfort zone, he has made sure he has not compromised on the telling of his story.

April 15, 2013
IMDB removes Famous Gay People in Bollywood list

Popular website removes inaccurate famous gay people in Bollywood list

Internet Movie Database (IMDB), one of the most popular and oldest websites, has removed a list of famous gay people in Bollywood.

The list was largely inaccurate, Indian news site DNA reports, with straight stars Shah Rukh Khan, Mahesh Manjrekar and Sanjay Gupta listed, but prominent gay film director Onir left-off.

February 13, 2013
Onir says Bollywood is to blame for mistreatment of women in India

Gay Indian filmmaker says Bollywood encourages commodification of women in India

Gay Indian filmmaker Onir said in an interview that Bollywood has some responsibility for the mistreatment of women in India. The topic is in the news since the gang rape and death of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi in December.

December 10, 2012
'I don't want to be called a gay director' says Indian filmmaker Onir

Indian director of My Brother... Nikhil and I Am writes about labels and responsibility for Times of India

Indian filmmaker Onir has spoken out about being labelled a 'gay director' in a newspaper column.

'It irritates me when everyone goes, "a gay director da da da". Does that report end with "a heterosexual reporter reports"?' said Onir in an opinion piece published in the Times of India on Saturday.

August 3, 2012
A magical debut

Kunal Mukherjee’s touching coming-of-age story about a young gay boy in 1970s Hyderabad, My Magical Palace, is captivating. He talks to Gay Star News about the writing process and who has helped along the way

The Magical Palace, a debut novel by Indian-born author Kunal Mukherjee recreates in sensuous detail the world of 13-year-old Rahul Chatterjee in Hyderabad in 1973.

Rahul grows up amongst the decrepit building and expansive grounds of a wealthy family’s former home. The novel follows the year when he becomes aware of his forbidden sexuality, in a society where his classmate is zapped brain-dead by electro-shock-therapy for sending a love letter to another boy.

July 3, 2012
Doc about repeal of Indian gay sex law seeks funding

Filmmaker Sridhar Rangayan launches crowd-funding campaign to complete his documentary about the decriminalization of gay sex in India

Gay filmmaker Sridhar Rangayan is seeking crowd-funding for his documentary about the repeal of the Section 377, the Indian law that criminalized homosexual sex.

After a long campaign by LGBT groups, the law was repealed by Delhi High Court on 2 July 2009, but that decision is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court.

May 30, 2012
Indian lesbian filmmaker receives $50,000

Sonali Gulati’s new film will look at doctors who sell liquid ‘cures’ for homosexuality

An Indian lesbian filmmaker has received a $50,000 grant to make a film about a liquid ‘cure’ for homosexuality peddled by inscrupulous ‘doctors’.

Sonali Gulati got the idea for the film while she was making her 2011 documentary I Am (not to be confused with Onir’s I Am) about what it’s like to be a lesbian woman in India.

May 25, 2012
Bollywood stars tickled pink at gay film festival opening

Actress Moushumi Chatterjee attends star-studded opening gala of Kashish, India's only queer film festival in Mumbai

Vintage Bollywood star Moushumi Chatterjee and filmmaker Sai Paranjpye opened the third Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival yesterday (24 May).

The star-studded red carpet event at the Indian city's Cinemax Versova kicked off five days of celebrating LGBT filmmaking, with 120 films from 30 countries to be shown at two venues from 23 May to 27 May.

'I wish Kashish all the success,’' said Moushumi Chatterjee, who also inaugurated an art exhibition called Celebrating the lost art of Bollywood billboards with a queer twist.

May 4, 2012
Mumbai queer film festival seeks crowd-funding

Free queer film festival Kashish is turning to crowd-funding to achieve it's vision of spreading better understanding of queer culture

India's most mainstream queer film festival, Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, is trying out the trend of social media generated crowd-funding for it's third festival.

May 1, 2012
Sleazy straight Shakti Kapoor a new gay icon?

Indian gay icon reader's poll met by skepticism by community representatives

News that comic actor Shakti Kapoor has been voted a new Indian gay icon in a reader's poll has been met by skepticism by community representatives.

Kapoor, 59, has starred in hundreds of Bollywood films usually in a comic or villainous role and was a contestant in the Indian celebrity big brother (Bigg Boss) last year. Yesterday he was voted a new gay icon in an online poll.