Homosexuals are often subjected to 'corrective rape' where the victim's own parents arrange for a close relative to rape their son or daughter, with the misguided belief that this will change their sexual orientation.
“When a stranger assaults you, you go to your family. But when your family attacks you, who do you go to?”
Filmmaker Deepthi Tadanki was horrified when she heard of inhumane practices meted out to homosexuals, in an attempt to 'straighten' them or make them 'normal'. Corrective rape is one such practice, where often, the victim's own parents arrange for a close relative to rape their son or daughter, with the misguided belief that this will change their sexual orientation. As the rape is perpetrated by the family, victims often choose not to report it to the police.
Corrective rape is driven by homophobia. The term was coined in South Africa, after several cases of rapes and murders of lesbians in the country hit the headlines. The horrific practice seems to have made its way to India as well. Compelled to throw light on this societal malaise, Deepthi embarked on making Satyavati, a film on societal rape.
Deepthi says she was motivated to make the film after hearing of two particular instances of corrective rape in India. One, where a lesbian was raped by her cousin, and another, where a gay man was forced to have sex with his own mother, in order to 'set him straight'.
Satyavati, Deepthi's debut film as a director, is entirely crowdfunded. The film covers the sensitive topics of homosexuality and corrective rape through the story of three friends, and how one girl's family takes matters into their own hands after they suspect their daughter of being involved with her female friend. “Whilst writing the script of Satyavati, I had to be careful about the plot and treat the subject with sensitivity,” says Deepthi.
Having completed its pre-production as well as almost 30% of the production, the film is now looking to crowdfund the rest in partnership with Milaap. While extreme care has been taken for keeping the film's budget to a minimum, Deepthi says her team still faces a deficit of Rs 16 lakhs.
Deepthi hopes to spark a debate about corrective rape arising from homophobia in India. She admits that while it may take some time for our society to accept homosexuality, she hopes the film will stop people from resorting to horrific measures like corrective rape.
Watch Deepthi talk about her movie here:
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