Delhi to fight homophobia with films
Street marches. Check. Graffiti. Check. And now, celluloid seems to have risen up to the protest
Subuhi Parvez
n subuhi.parvez@hindustantimes.com
On a chilly-rainy winter evening, we found ourselves at the Oxford bookstore attending a session on a film movement against homophobia.
The last thing you’d expect on one of the coldest evenings in the city would be to see a packed house of people coming together for a cause. But the scene inside reaffirmed our faith in the city’s zeal to make itself heard loud and clear against this irrational aversion.
It was a room full of young, gay, straight people along with other human rights enthusiasts, who had come together in the hope to raise their voice against the Supreme Court’s recent judgment against gay sex. With the help of their camera all those present were hailing efforts made in this direction hitherto.
A production company led by students — Artist At Work — hopes to take the movement forward in top gear keeping in mind the current state of affairs. This, after organising another recent campaign, Same Love, for LGBT rights.
Dhruv Arora, founder of GotStared.at, raised an interesting point at the event. “We don’t talk about ‘sexuality’ per se, we only talk about homosexuality. We just don’t address the word. Sexuality is more than sex act. The more we address it, the more we’ll express ourselves. So, the divide exists within us and not outside us”, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Dhruv Arora, founder of GotStared.at, raised an interesting point at the event. “We don’t talk about ‘sexuality’ per se, we only talk about homosexuality. We just don’t address the word. Sexuality is more than sex act. The more we address it, the more we’ll express ourselves. So, the divide exists within us and not outside us”, he said.
{{/usCountry}}These enthusiasts are working to raise awareness with such public talks, and the next on their agenda is to screen the couple of films that they have shot, and display artworks of artists in order to raise the collective consciousness to bring about change - something more substantial than street protests.