Music of the Fish

The pinnacle of creativity is in the city of the film titled, Maacher Jhol (Fish Curry) – West Bengal. I had the pleasure of releasing the music video of the film. The music is melodious and soulful. In this film the protagonist comes out to his father by setting the mood right. He prepared his dad’s favourite dish, Maacher Jhol, to initiate the conversation on sexuality. This 12-minute animation film from Matchbox Studio has already made waves in the international film festival circuit. The journey began with the film winning top honours at the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, which is one of the most prestigious queer film festivals in the world. In fact, I would further say that the film festival does not just cater to the queer community, but the attendees in Kashish are a lso a lot mainstream (now whatever mainstream means!).   

The gossip that encircles the queer community is that we dig pits for each other most of the time. However, this is far from the truth. We just tend to appropriate a few uncomfortable examples and apply it to the entire community. Instead, there have been many examples wherein the community has picked each other up, whether it is signing your property as surety for a complete stranger or standing up for your friend in the dead of the night. 

The line producer of the film, Piyush Priyadarshini Singh, told me that the Kashish team has been a pillar of support in the film’s journey. Kashish has been nurturing talents since its inception. Besides being the mecca of Indian queer filmdom, it is also at the crux of conversations that lead to change. The film festival team has been supporting initiatives. With its expansive network of collaborators across the world, the festival has also ensured that Indian queer cinema finds the right audience. 

After winning the Kashish MIQFF title in 2017 and being part of the Kashish Global, Maacher Jhol’s journey became smooth and beautiful. With Kashish, the film went to IRIS, BFI Flare and had several other screenings in Colleges & Corporations. “The film has been presented in the big LGBTQ festivals of the world and we were overwhelmed with the response, love and reaction. As a beginner, we would have never able to take the film to such festivals.” added Piyush.  

In fact, it will not be incorrect to call this movie the pride of our nation, considering the fact that this was the first independent animated film from India which won in last 60 years. Speaking about the hardwork, the film is a recipe made up of 7500+ drawings, 570 days of hard work and most of all, the belief and faith of supporters to bring this 2D hand-drawn animated film. 

I should confess, I had a moment of thinking to do before agreeing to release the music video. More so because I am vegan.. However, veganism to me also means standing up against discrimination. 

Therefore, I continue relishing this film while drowning on my vegan Vada Pav.

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