Kashish focuses on Indian films

The Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is one of the many things that Mumbai should be proud of as it is an eclectic mix of movies from around the world. However, Kashish is not just known for movies. It is one of the best LGBT networking spaces. Cinema draws all minds together, and then the people gather and discuss everything from gossips of love affairs to current politics to Section 377 and trans bill. The festival director, Sridhar Rangayan, makes best of this gathering by channelling these conversations from cinema to activism through panel discussions on varied topics. Cinema is the most potent medium for activism. Through moving visuals and sound, the experiences that one creates in one’s mind can well be taken to the next level. 

This year’s country of focus is India. My favourite Kashish moment is  when I watched Ravi Jadhav’s Mitra at this festival. The film is a maverick and explains sexuality in the simplest of ways using a woman protagonist and her desires toward another woman with the male protagonist being a companion. It not only showed women taking agency of their sexual desires, it also showed men being considerate and compassionate. I am a TamBrahm by birth, but as a Maharashtrian by choice, I take immense pride in Ravi Jadhav and his kind of cinema. I am even proud of the fact that Kashish showcases such moving pieces every year. There are also films that I dislike — some that I find amateurish and some that are made with half-baked knowledge. Even ill-researched classics. For instance, I have seen films that have a closing frame reading “homosexuality is illegal in India”.  Homosexuality is not illegal in this country. Sex against the ‘order of nature’ is what is illegal. I mean, I cannot go to jail for being gay. I can go to jail for getting caught while making love to another man, or for that matter, having anal or oral sex with a woman. But that’s also the beauty of the festival, it doesn’t only cater to the critics and activists, but also encourages young minds that have expanded themselves to the horizon of cinema. This may lead them to making new films. It allows the audience to take their own pick. 

So, Kashish is filled with cinema lovers, gossip queens, and most importantly fashion police. Parmesh Shahani is someone you should look out for everyday for his fancy clothes that he designs himself by sourcing fabric from indigeneous groups. My gay son Sushant Divgikar would be there dressing like a diva and performing like no one else. And I am sure, the love of my life Rohini Ramnathan would be dazzling the audience once again with her impeccable ability to enthral the audience with her effortless anchoring.  

Visit mumbaiqueerfest.com for more. 

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