Gaysi

Film Review : The Parade

Sherlock Homo — Sat, 25 May 2013 05:59:49 +0000

[Editor's Note : The Parade was screened at the on-going Kashish Queer Film Festival in Mumbai]

The Parade is based on the story of Belgrade’s first successful Pride Parade in 2010, where 1000 men & women needed 5000 police to protect them from attacks by the neo-Nazis and other hooligans. The only difference between the successful march of 2010 and the first Pride march of 2001, was the fact that the government finally provided its citizens with protection. In 2001, marchers were brutally attacked, injured and killed by neo-Nazis and other protesters, while the police stood by.

Director Srdjan Dragojevic guides us through the stories of a gay couple, Mirko & Radmilo, and a straight couple Lemon & his fiancé Pearl. After a drive by shooting, Lemon rushes his pit-bull to the vet, Radmilo, who is taken aback by Lemon’s pompous behavior. It’s not too long before they cross paths again, but this time at Mirko’s (a wedding planner) store, where Lemon and Pearl are looking at wedding outfits. This time however, Mirko is at the receiving end of Lemon’s thug like mannerisms. After an argument, Mirko is thrown to the ground and cuts his head open. As Radmilo tends to Mirko’s injuries, Mirko tells him about how he had applied for a Canadian Visa and how perhaps the time had come for him to leave. Radmilo is now faced with the fear of permanently losing his loved one and the life they have built together. Simultaneously we see that Pearl, having had enough of Lemon’s pompousness, has left him. Both Radmilo and Lemon are now forced into doing almost anything to keep the person they love. Radmilo makes a deal with Lemon; Lemon’s security company will provide security to the upcoming Pride parade, and in exchange his partner, Mirko, will plan a lovely wedding for Lemon and Pearl. And thus begins a very unexpected journey of acceptance and friendship between Radmilo and Lemon. The most unexpected group of criminals and war veterans from Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Albania are tasked with protecting their new friends despite the police’s decline at providing any manpower, even as hundreds of neo-Nazis surround them. An idealistic Mirko motivates his friends to fight one last time, telling them that the years of hiding in the shadows is more painful than the beating they are about to receive; a thought that every part of the liberated gay world has once felt. While political incorrectness and derogatory terms are strewn about, they do not seem out of place with the character of Lemon and his thug friends that we are introduced to. The movie through all it’s humor and stereotypes, does a fantastic job of portraying Lemon as he overcomes his homophobia and develops an unshakable friendship with Radmilo.

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Silly Games

Chicklet — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:30:18 +0000

“Oye Jassi”, yelled my mother. “Karu is ready to go to Sukhi’s place”. “Uff Mummijee, what will I do there? I don’t want to go. These people play silly games and I have to study for my Punjabi paper”. “Oh Jassi Puttar, you will do fine haan. You are a Sikh! Punjabi runs in our blood haan. I didn’t even go to school, and see how well I teach you two. Sukhi’s cousin Preet is here too. You two used to play all day long when you were little. Ab jaa na!” I was regretting making the promise of taking Karu to Sukhi. Usually Mummijee isn’t this paranoid but with all the tension going on in Jammu, she doesn’t like any of us to travel alone. Ours is a little town called Madhopur. As they say, no beauty without a beast – it lies on the highway that connects Pathankot-Jammu NH1. The evenings are picture perfect here. It was on one such picture perfect evening by the river where I and Preet were enjoying the view of Kangra hills when,“Oye Jassi!” Presently Karu’s shrill voice broke the train of my thoughts. Only Guruji knew how grateful I was to Karu. I held his hand, and out we went. I am Jaswinder Kaur. I’m 15 years old; my parents’ first child. I’ve been studying at the Army School, here in this town. Papajee has served the army for 15 years now. He has made us tough and strong. Karu wants to join the Indian Police Service when he grows up. Well, given that he’s only 7 and prefers thieves over terrorists, speaks a lot about his smart head. A sharp boy indeed. He prefers details, precision, and things done the right way. Mummijee used to teach the students at the primary school but she quit a year ago. I usually don’t mind taking Karu to Sukhi’s place. Even though they play silly games, I actually enjoy their company. Sometimes I play with them, and other times I just enjoy reading my Mills and Boon in one corner. My friend Jaswinder’s sister is studying in Delhi. She secretly sends us all the latest Mills and Boon novels. I enjoy them for the jitters I feel in my stomach when the tall handsome hero pulls the fragile secretary in his arms, and covers her lips with his. “Jassi, today we will play Chor – Police. You and Preet promised to play with us” “Karu.. “ . “No, you promised!”, Karu said defiantly. After ten minutes, we were standing outside Sukhi’s house. Before we could ring the doorbell, Sukhi came out running. He had a pistol toy in his hand. He held Karu’s hand, and ran towards his room. “Preet is in the kitchen”, yelled Sukhi. I closed the door, and stood there nervously. After what had happened at the river side, I really didn’t know how to face her. It wasn’t my fault alone but … Suddenly I heard Preet say something to me from the kitchen. “Juss, come here and taste this!”. I went into the kitchen and noticed she was making cheese tomato sandwiches for us. She was wearing this pair of fitted jeans, high boots, and a hot red shirt. Her gorgeous hair was a little wet and hung loose on her back. She was the most beautiful girl I knew. “Juss, come closer and taste this,” she said this with a notorious smile in her eyes. Boom.Boom.Boom. BANG. BANG. I turned and saw Karu running after Sukhi. “Stop! Surrender yourself to the police. We will forgive you. My grandfather is a judge. Stop or I will shoot you.” Sukhi tripped on the floor, and then my darling Karu over him. They both started giggling like girls, and I looked at Preet. She was laughing too, and looking at me. Sukhi got up and ran to Preet, “Play with us, Please!! We need teams.” “Okay, I will be in Karu’s team,” I said before Preet could say anything. I thought it’s better we play this silly game, lest Preet bring up the kiss episode, which I wouldn’t know how to explain. It’s all that stupid Mills and Boon novels’ fault. Had I not read about those passionate kisses, I wouldn’t have noticed the blood pink color of her lips, and ran my tongue in her throat the next second. But in the novel, it’s always with the hero. Could Preet be the hero of my story ? “Yayyy”, screamed both the boys. “The winning team will be the one who kills the other team”, said Karu excitedly. “That’s very dark. How about we just capture the opponent team”, Preet said smiling at us. “Dead or Alive, we have to win Preet. These stupid police officers cannot stop us from going to Kashmir. We will go there and kill all the terrorists”, said Sukhi from under the table. He was taking out more guns, and god knows what from his bag. “Oh guruji, why am I stuck in this silly game with a wanna-be terrorist, a police officer, and a gorgeous girl?”, I silently said. The shootout was planned to happen on the highway. Our team was posted there, and we were to stop the other team who was driving in a make believe foreign made SUV. Zzzz…zoom.. “Look look that’s the car our friend officer told us about. Block the road,” Karu said in a serious tone. “Stop! Please come out. We have to frisk you”. “FRISK?!!!”. “Yes Jassi, that’s what the police do.” The next minute both Preet and Sukhi stepped out of their SUV with their hands on top of their heads. “Look at the wall and don’t act smart. Jassi, please frisk the girl. I will deal with this boy”, Karu commanded. “No Karu. This is stupid. I don’t want to play your silly game. “ “Jassi, you promised! Please.” I sighed and walked toward Preet. I touched her shoulders, and felt her breathing grow heavy. “Do it properly. She could be hiding the gun anywhere”, Karu commanded from behind who was finding it difficult to hold Sukhi still so that he could take away his gun. I touched Preet’s hands and slowly moved them towards her shoulder. She is two inches taller than me. So, I had to be move really close to reach her hands. Something was rising in me. I couldn't define it but it was crazy and making me dizzy. My newly grown breasts were grazing her shirt from behind. My hands touched her bare neck and I found myself smelling her hair. It was a moment when my hands realized they had a mind of their own. I slowly felt her back beneath my palms. My fingers traced her ribs, and I slowly cupped her breasts. She arched back, putting herself into my arms. Well almost. “Check shoes”, said some distant voice. I knelt down and held her ankles. I slowly moved my trembling hands up her legs, and inhaled the smell of her skin into the core of my being. It was the most exhilarating experience I had ever known. I reached for her other leg and started rising with the moments of my hands. My fingers almost traced the crack of her butt when I heard her sigh. “Juss.. “ Boom.Boom. She was still. My hands touched her smooth stomach and I closed my eyes. Her stomach was moving in and out and I could almost feel her heart beating loudly. I had moved so close that I was lost in her. My hands moved across her crotch and I was wet with desire. I held my hand on the button of her jeans when I heard her say my name in weak breaths. I had slid my leg between hers, and I was about to put my hand inside her jeans when… BANG. “Oye Jassi, you are so Dead!” Sukhi pulled my tee from behind. I turned away, gasping for air. My face must have been all red and flushed because Karu had stopped crying on losing the game, and was holding my hand with concern. “I’m sorry we lost. Please don’t be upset. It’s just a silly game!”

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The Beginning : India’s First Pride March, 3rd July 1999

MJ — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:30:04 +0000

Every time I look at this picture, I cannot help the massive smile on my face. It's a happy feeling within filled with warmth, and gratitude. Thank you for leading the way and showing us what courage looks like. ...as they say, "Dilli ab door nahi hair".

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These Colors Don’t Bleed

Jeff Roy — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:45:34 +0000

[caption id="attachment_22004" align="alignnone" width="470"] Picture courtesy : Jeff Roy[/caption]

Last week, inside an old East India Company warehouse-cum-gallery space entitled Gallery Beyond, the established Delhi art contingent ‘En Gendered’ hosted the long-awaited Mumbai premiere of their traveling, multimedia art tour “Resist”. The exhibition is a self-proclaimed “temporal art intervention and protest” about gender-based violence and discrimination. As part of a “survey exhibition,” the show brings together a diverse array of high-quality visual works from over 100 established and emerging artists, as well as live installations featuring collaborations from some of India’s best-known designers and artists. In addition to the visual works, Friday’s impressive opening also featured music performances from two Delhi-based ensembles and poetry from notable poets and lyricists including the esteemed Javed Akhtar. The visual pieces, absent of their live components, remained available to the public until Monday evening.

Myna Mukherjee, En Gendered's master-mind and third eye, cites the recent Delhi rape case as having provided the impetus to launch their first pan-Indian tour "Resist". “While protests are useful to capture the frustration that entire nation is feeling, it doesn’t leave space for reflection. We wanted to have something that would allow people to react and provoke, but also to question, reflect, and really think about it in constructive terms,” she said.

“Resist” also represents a new effort to transcend the walls of En Gendered’s Delhi-based, three-story gallery space, to spread the message of social awareness and gender equality through mixed-media art to audiences throughout India.

The show includes a curated portion of commissioned and non-commissioned work from 27 artists and designers including Manish Arora, Arjun Saluja, Satya Paul, Kallol Dutta, and Gauri & Nainika. There is also a non-curated portion of the show entitled “The Wall of Solidarity” that functions as “a visual open-mic” inviting artists from across the world to express their feelings about the rising violence against women and minority communities in South Asia. Since its inception, the Wall of Solidarity has grown to include works from over 100 contributors. Even you can submit your work to be featured in upcoming exhibitions. To submit yours, send an inquiry to them.

An India native, Mukherjee lived in New York for over 10 years where she immersed herself in the art scene. After moving to Delhi over one year ago, she strived to bring modern art with socially-conscious themes to India, and founded the group En Gendered, which holds permanent residence in their three-story gallery space in Delhi. “Recently we’ve seen popular culture has been ridiculously irresponsible. En Gendered is an answer back to the notion that art cannot be socially responsible.” The En Gendered space functions as an open platform for established and emerging visual and performing artists from all over the world to raise awareness about issues of gender and sexuality in South Asia through the four disciplines of music, film, performance, and visual arts.

For pictures of “Resist” in Mumbai, check out: Flickr

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A Cup Of Coffee

Kairi — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:55:20 +0000

[caption id="attachment_21984" align="alignnone" width="492"] Picture Courtesy : London Art Girl[/caption] To P, You told me you get “too emotionally involved.” You invest too much, I corrected. I said I envied you and you asked me why. I had no answer because I lied. I don’t. I watch you dial your heartbreak. It hasn’t been a minute and you hang up but you don’t let go of the phone. You don’t let go, you fall too hard and you sink too deep. You are that child who carries the bloody tooth in her pocket to plant when the tooth fairy didn’t show up. You believe she will grant you a tooth tree instead. These are the times I want to punch you in the face. Instead I bring you a cup of coffee. You scratch at my silence with “I really shouldn’t trust so much.” No, you probably shouldn’t. And yes, you’re going to do the same with the next girl who saunters in. You would not be you if you didn’t. What is it like to carry all those bloody teeth in your pocket? Mine conveniently has a hole. I wonder if I should get that sewn up. But watching you hold the phone reminds me why I never took to needle work. There’s a knock and you answer with that smile I know all too well. She tells you she can’t stay long but you’re humming a little too loudly to hear. I’ll bring the coffee. K.

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Gaysi Podcast 9.0 : Interested In Funk Mixes?

Fishead — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:56:12 +0000

Fishead : MJ, Chicklet, I make mixes. Deep and progressive house mixes. Some chill-out also. Some funk as well. MJ, Chicklet : Oh yeah? What's that? Fishead : Basically dik-chik but smoother and nicer. And sexy too. Fishead : Can I put em up on Gaysi? Fishead : I'm a bit fed up of Madonna and Jab we Met remixes at gay parties. Maybe other people are too. Also Salman sucks. *MJ goes red and pulls out a stone-age club out of her pants. Chicklet calms her down and puts stone-age club back in her pants.* Fishead : *With big puppy eyes* I'll mix in an EDM track requested by a Gaysi user every month? Plus I'll make nice posters for you. MJ : Ok, but no more Salman bashing. Fishead : Ok. Note - The first ten minutes of the mix keeps it deep, and the funk kicks in after, peaking at about 30 minutes. If you like a track, just throw in a comment and I'll put the tracklist out. **The copyright of all tracks used in this podcast belongs to their respective owners. This mix is solely intended for listening and not for commercial use** [display_podcast]

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Interview : Artist, Balbir Krishan

The Cathartist — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:54:11 +0000

He is Queer, he is daring and he is freaking talented! Meet our very known and famous artist, Balbir Krishan. Q. Give us a brief about this collaboration with Engender and what Resist means to you. Engendered is a New York based organisation which has been working on the subject of gender and sexuality for the last few years. In 2012, Myna Mukharji, the director of Engendered opened a gallery named ‘Engendered Space’ in Delhi. Few months ago, when the horrific rape of a medical student rocked the nation, the artist community felt that we as artists should also protest against such tragic incidents. Myna Mukharji gathered the artist fraternity together for this cause. Today, I feel very proud that I am a part of Resist. Q. Could you tell us a bit about the exhibits and paintings you plan to showcase at Resist. What has been the inspiration behind your work? My exhibit in Resist is titled "The Inside Woman", the fable of Shiva, Mohini and Harihar. There is a very interesting story behind this. The legend goes that once Vishnu took the avatar of Mohini and came to Earth. After seeing Mohini, Shiva was attracted to her. They say that Mohini did not have a womb and that every drop of Shiva's semen is potent. So during the intercourse between Shiva and Mohini, few drops of semen fell on the thighs of Mohini. It was then, that from the thighs of Mohini a child was born; Harihar. My exhibit in Resist depicts this story, linking it with the present situation only. My insipiration behind this painting is the Director of Engendered Gallery, Myna Mukharji. Q. Resist aims at being a voice of protest against gender based violence. In your opinion, what role can art play in fighting social problems? In my opinion, Resist has emerged as a strong protest in the Indian contemporary art scenario. Resist is not only a medium, but it has become a movement. Not only artists but designers, musicians and people from other art fields have come together for this. It is also important that post Delhi and Chennai, Resist has reached Mumbai. Art is a strong medium that can be used to stand against societal wrong doings- to fight. But in reality there are very few protests against gender based violence. There are a few organisations/ bodies who are doing good work on this, but it is important that it reaches the masses. Especially when we speak about art, then these kind of protests are very few and far in between. Artists usually work at a very individual level. There are very few artists in India who are working on the subject of Gender and sexuality; the new generation of artists is working on it. Art has played an important role for a long time as a commentary on the society. Works like "Third of May" by Goya, "Olympia" by Manet and "Guernica" by Picasso still touch a raw nerve with society. Art plays an important role of wake up a sleeping society. Q. Do you think that the Indian society has become more accepting/ open to the concept of homosexuality in art? When people talk about society and homosexuality, the topic is still behind closed doors and they want it to remain like that. So it is natural that the society is not very willing to accept homosexuality in art. People who believe in this subject, are fighting for it as a cause. Every time we come and stand in front of the society in a strong manner, but still they look at us very astonishingly. I am sure there will be a day when everything around us will be normal and the society's questions will vanish. In the Indian art scenario, till a few years ago, the situation was quite different. Besides Bhupen Khakkar, very few artists used to work on homosexuality as a subject. Today the situation is very positive. A lot of artists are working on this subject. This is also important that these artists are not working behind any closed doors. They are in the open and quite literally telling the society that, "Look I am also here, so you cannot ignore me". Q. You were attacked earlier at an exhibition in Delhi. Is freedom of expression becoming difficult in our country? It is true that in India, it is not easy to work on what you think is right. There are a lot of problems. Not only the society but galleries, artists, art critics also suffer from homophobia. In 2011 when I wanted to do my solo exhibition on homosexuality, no one came forward to extend support. Galleries did not want to exhibit my work, art critics did not want to write my catalogue. Some people wanted to buy my work but their families did not want to hang my work in their homes. Some people supported me and when I did my show, there was a lot of protest and caused a lot of loss to me personally. When people realised that I was gay, a lot of close friends left me treating me like an untouchable. Today when I look back, I realise that after the attack I have become stronger and stand by my reality. Where the society is concerned, they were very forgiving but some so called guardians of the society became a problem. For them, freedom of expression meant to create upheaval in the society. Some people in this society want to tell you that you are not even worth taking a breath. Society forgets that freedom cannot be curtailed, it finds its own way. Q. As an artist, do you feel that queer art has become a part of the mainstream consciousness? How has expression of homosexuality in art evolved over the years? Queer art is still quite far away from becoming a part of the Indian mainstream, although the landscape is changing rapidly and lot of good things are happening. There are shows based on Queer art. Magazines are writing about it. There are debates and discussions happening. In 2012, the opening of Engendered marked a new beginning. Specifically for those artists who are working on gender and sexuality as their subjects and for those who cannot approach other galleries, Engendered is a happy reality. But still, a lot needs to change and a lot needs to happen. Society and the art fraternity should change their mode of thinking. We know it’s a long, long process. Q. Any message for up and coming artists? I am not comfortable giving any messages. All I want to say is that work and live life according to the thoughts and values you believe in. Never cheat yourself. Work hard. There is no substitute to hard work. [Resist : Opening on 17 May at 7:30 p.m. with performances starting at 9:30 p.m. at Gallery Beyond, Mumbai.]

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The Queer Front Row With Anupama Chopra

MJ — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:36:36 +0000

Will he? Won't he? Karan Johar step of the closet that is. Now to find out you will have to watch the show "Front Row with Anupama Chopra" on Star World this Friday, 17th May at 8.30PM. Though the show has nothing to do with confessions, and rapid fire rounds...but as they say life is full of uncertainties, and so is that "coming out" moment. So don't forget to watch the show this Friday! And in case you ain't a KJo admirer, well fret not because the show also features our very own Onir, Sridhar Rangayan and the gay dudes from Bombay Talkies all discussing 'Portrayal of Alternate Sexuality in Indian Cinema'. Thankfully in the last couple of years we have produced a handful of Queer content to be proud off, now some may not have been commercially successful but hey...they do make a valid reference point. Yes, but obviously barring the likes of Girlfriend. For some reason I have a feeling that this is going to be one hell of a fun ride! Here's a snippet of what is in store...

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The Koovagam Way

Broom — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:59:31 +0000

[caption id="attachment_21953" align="alignnone" width="500"] Picture Courtesy : Varsha Yeshwant Kumar[/caption]

In case you didn't know, on April 23rd and 24th, Kuthandavar-Aravan Mela (aka Koovagam Festival) came to a close. The festival annually attracts over 100,000 participants, many of whom come from the transgender communities from all over India. Check out filmmaker Jeff Roy's experiences attending and capturing the festival on film in his latest Fulbright-mtvU documentary video installment. In the video, Mohiniyattam dancer Taejha Singh Susheela retells the myth of Mohini (Krishna) and Aravan, the story upon which Koovagam is based.

Koovagam (Part 1)

[In one of his previous posts, Jeff Roy covered Dirty Talk 2.0 and Dirty Talk: A Little Bit. Check out the rest of his blog for these and more stories from within Mumbai's LGBTQ performance scene.]

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Kashish 2013 : Mumbai International Queer Film Festival (Schedule)

Sherlock Homo — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:07:28 +0000

At a press screening on Tuesday, May 14, 9 short films/documentaries from India, America, Cambodia, Australia and Spain were screened for the press. This was a glimpse of what ‘Kashish’ – the Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2013 aims to cover this year.

Kashish opens doors for the fourth consecutive year on May 22^nd, 2013 at Cinemax, Versova. The theme this year is “Towards Change”, and the country in focus this year is China. The festival aims at giving us a peak into the lives of LGBT people from countries where it is not only difficult to talk about LGBT issues, but also make films/documentaries on them. These include Pakistan, China, Serbia, Slovakia, and Iran to name a few. Of course, Kashish’s goal of providing a platform for young Indian LGBT films and filmmakers remains unchanged. This year at Kashish, the two Indian films not to be missed are Urmi by Jehangir Jani and …And The Unclaimed by Debalina. Year after year, Kashish aims at providing LGBT people with a big screen experience of LGBT movies; something we do not see too often in India. Interestingly however, they have found that 32% of their audiences are non-LGBT people; which means that not only are people interested in the LGBT content, but also the quality of films being chosen. This year, out of over 300 entries, only 132 could be picked, from across 40 different countries. Even though the festival spans over 4 days, none of the movies will be screened twice. Director of Kashish, Mr. Sridhar Rangayan hopes that in the years to come, more screens can be dedicated to Kashish so that some films can have multiple screening for the benefit of audience members who may have scheduling conflicts. Kashish is open from May 22, 2013 till May 26, 2013. Cinemax, Versova: from May 23 till May 26, from 10:00 AM onwards. Alliance Francaise De Bombay: from May 23 till May 25, from 10:00 AM onwards.

And here is the film schedule :

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