Bollywood's 100-year kiss sparks bate on gay films

Contents:

• BOLLYWOOD'S 100-YEAR KISS SPARKS BATE ON GAY FILMS
• LBIAN AND GAY KISSG SCEN BOLLYWOOD
• AFTER GAY KISS ‘BOMBAY TALKI’,LBIAN SMOOCH ‘GO GOA GONE’
• AFTER GAY KISS BOMBAY TALKI TO LBIAN SMOOCH GO GOA GONE, INDIAN CEMA HAS E TO AGE – AND SUDNLY
• AFTER GAY KISS BOMBAY TALKI, LBIAN SMOOCH GO GOA GONE

BOLLYWOOD'S 100-YEAR KISS SPARKS BATE ON GAY FILMS

Commentator Sandip Roy says one of the shorts is pretty revolutnary bee has a gay protagonist, and what is probably Bollywood's first gay kiss. In 100 years of Indian cema, we'd never seen anythg like this: a man-on-man gay kiss a Bollywood movie. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)ROY: Outsi a multiplex showg the film, Sayan Bhattacharya, an edor wh the Indian culture magaze Kdle, says he'd heard there might be a gay BHATTACHARYA: It was nice.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)ROY: And gay men, when they show up at all, are queeny stereotyp. Aap-ka-beta-gay-hai, he lik Sayan Bhattacharya says the gay characters are sad clich. It's like a pet But the character "Bombay Talki" is a different kd of gay man - out, sexual and unapologetic, even wh his boss at the magaze where he's an tern.

LBIAN AND GAY KISSG SCEN BOLLYWOOD

But as a iend says, "Bombay Talki" wh s own stereotyp - gay as stalker, self-stctive, hband-snatcher. And Sayan Bhattacharya, the magaze edor, is not readg too much to the big gay kiss.

BHATTACHARYA: I thk 's too early to thk of as a landmark, bee whether 's a landmark or not, you know, we will only know two years later if opens the floodgat of more A gay kiss wh s own six-mute song and wet chiffon shirts the Swiss Alps - now that would be a real Bollywood revolutn.

A still of Ranep Hooda and Saqib Saleem om Bombay TalkiHighlightsNew Bollywood film Bombay Talki is billed as a tone not only for markg 100 years of Indian cema -- is also one of the untry's few mastream movi ever to have shown a gay kiss. While such scen the past may have eliced tlls India's populist sgle-screen theatr, this time the kiss has been wng applse om dienc, acrdg to gay rights advote N Karani. "That's a posive reactn, which may dite that society is more ready than film producers when to gay stori, " he said.

AFTER GAY KISS ‘BOMBAY TALKI’,LBIAN SMOOCH ‘GO GOA GONE’

The tal Bombay Talki have sparked bate over such issu Bollywood, where homosexualy has long been kept the closet -- or portrayed stereotypil rol.

"Mastream Hdi cema has portrayed gay characters as feme, over the top, obssed wh sex, and to be lghed at, " said director Onir, who only his first name. "When they are not stereotyped like this, they are shown as boyiend stealers or home-breakers, " he said, potg out than even Bombay Talki shows "the gay boy htg on his bt iend's hband". Nikhil won acclaim for portrayg the story of a gay relatnship and the issue of HIV wh both matury and sensivy -- tras that rema nfed largely to the pennt and documentary fields.

Organisers picked 132 films om 40 untri, cludg 18 om India, on lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) them, om about 300 entri. Numbers for this year are not yet llated but last year saw about 1, 000 ftival-goers attendg, a third of whom were not LGBT themselv, said ftival director Sridhar Rangayan. Dpe the growg succs of the ftival, Rangayan -- whose own films on gay topics clu Gulabi Aaa (The Pk Mirror, 2006) -- said homosexual them rema unrexplored even after 100 years of Indian cema.

AFTER GAY KISS BOMBAY TALKI TO LBIAN SMOOCH GO GOA GONE, INDIAN CEMA HAS E TO AGE – AND SUDNLY

Homosexualy remas a generally taboo topic India spe a 2009 urt orr crimalisg gay sex -- a cisn that met wh strong opposn. "If a brand-name filmmaker or actor were to make a gay love story, people would watch . New Bollywood film Bombay Talki is billed as a tone not only for markg 100 years of Indian cema -- is also one of the untry's few mastream movi ever to have shown a gay centenary film, which had a special screeng at Cann, pris four self-ntaed short stori by leadg directors lookg at the impact of Indian cema on people's short film om director Karan Johar featur a kiss between a young man and his bt iend's hband as part of an exploratn of sexual inty and maral such scen the past may have eliced tlls India's populist sgle-screen theatr, this time the kiss has been wng applse om dienc, acrdg to gay rights advote N Karani.

AFTER GAY KISS BOMBAY TALKI, LBIAN SMOOCH GO GOA GONE

"That's a posive reactn, which may dite that society is more ready than film producers when to gay stori, " he wh one of the characters the kiss played by 'sex symbol' actor Ranep Hooda, the film "shatters stereotyp faster", Karani another of the short stori, director Zoya Akhtar shows a young boy explorg his feme si by emulatg and drsg up as Katra Kaif, his Bollywood heroe. "The tal Bombay Talki have sparked bate over such issu Bollywood, where homosexualy has long been kept the closet -- or portrayed stereotypil rol.

"When they are not stereotyped like this, they are shown as boyiend stealers or home-breakers, " he said, potg out than even Bombay Talki shows "the gay boy htg on his bt iend's hband"'s 2005 film My Brother... Nikhil won acclaim for portrayg the story of a gay relatnship and the issue of HIV wh both matury and sensivy -- tras that rema nfed largely to the pennt and documentary alternative films are gag ground wh wir dienc: last week saw the fourth Kashish Mumbai Internatnal Queer Film ftival, the first such event to be held a mastream Indian theatre. "Homosexualy remas a generally taboo topic India spe a 2009 urt orr crimalisg gay sex -- a cisn that met wh strong opposn.

After that extremely athetic pertent and stunng gay kiss between Ranep Hooda and Saqib Saleem last week Bombay Talki, we have a lbian kiss g up this week Go Goa Gone. Asource rms, ”The gay kiss Karan Johar’s story of Bombay Talki was absolutely sential. After that extremely athetic pertent and stunng gay kiss between Ranep Hooda and Saqib Saleem last week Via 18’s Bombay Talki we have a lbian kiss g up this week Go Goa Gone.