City gays stand up for 'Milk'

The Oscar-nominated film Milk, which opened in the city on Friday, has been given a limited release by its distributor, Multivision.

It’s being screened at select theatres in Mumbai and at only one in Pune. But that might change with the Academy Awards. If Gus Van Sant’s film about California’s first openly-gay elected representative, Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn, gets some awards, it might make it to more theatres.

The city’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community is not taking  a chance. Harking back to the recent Pink Chaddi campaign, activists have begun a campaign, called Operation Flood, asking both queer and straight people to “flood” theatres and force the distributors to screen the film more widely. An email and SMS campaign kicked off on Friday.

“As a group we have always supported gay and lesbian cinema,” says Vikram of Gay Bombay. “We invited members of the queer community to watch Dostana together. But this operation is to ensure that Milk gets the opening it deserves.” The film has received eight Oscar nominations.

Says activist Geeta Kumana: “We went for the film in large groups at select theatres. The film is fabulous but it won’t do well.” Kumana feels since it isn’t the typical Bollywood masala fare, people might reject it.

The distributors say they respect the content of the film, but it is not a crowd-puller. Ajay Gupta, director of Multivision, says: “A limited release is important for such films. If the response is good, we will release the film in other states as well.”

The queer community is optimistic. Vikram says, in Pune the film got a standing ovation. “A large number of people from the straight community have responded positively to Operation Flood. They have a large role in its success.” he says. 

The name of the campaign takes off, quite aptly, from the 1970s White Revolution started by Verghese Kurien, the ‘milkman of India’, to consume and produce milk and milk products. “The name was a joke, but it has caught on,” says Vikram.

Adds Gupta: “Movements like Operation Flood are inspirational. I am glad they are taking up the issue. An Oscar will work in the film’s favour, and we might release it in metros across the country. This is a common practice in the US. Only four or five prints are initially released and, depending on the response, the movie will be screened more widely.”