Not that we watch much Bollywood here, but it’s good to know that they’re progressing into the 21st century… a sane portrayal of gay men first, doubtless women to follow in about a decade.
For the first time, a mainstream Indian film portrays a homosexual relationship in a serious light
It started with a kiss … Aryan Vaid (left) and Kapil Sharma break down barriers in Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyon.Indian film director Sanjay Sharma is a religious man. This becomes obvious when you dial his Mumbai mobile number and, instead of a ring, you hear Om Bhur Bhuva Swaha – a devotional song played in Hindu temples during prayers.
Sharma’s choice of ringtone is curious given the topic he’s about to discuss: homosexuality in Indian society and as portrayed in his movie Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyon, which kicks off the Satrang: South Asian Queer Film Festival next week.
“It was a difficult subject; I knew that from the beginning,” Sharma says. “But I had no idea how challenging it would be to [actually] execute it.”
Indeed. Nobody ever knows how challenging it’s going to be - but at least they try. I’m pretty sure the same could be said of this recent film ‘A Jihad for Love’
This week Heinrich Boll Foundation-Middle East Office and Nasawiya hosted two screening of the Movie “A jihad for Love” by Parvez Sharma. The movie was received well (to say the least) in the Western world and received more awards (deservingly of course) than I could count. The movie however was not received in the Arab world very well. The screening was hard to organize and advertise since the movie would not be approved through general security, the crowd didn’t know what to expect, and I am not sure what they felt after sitting through this 6 years in the making piece of work.
What jumps at you when you watch this movie is that for the first time it is not just anyone talking about Islam and homosexuality, but rather religious practicing Muslims discussing their homosexuality, their own battle to re-conciliate their faith, religion, and sexual orientation.
The movie traces six stories from South Africa to India, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and Morocco.
Imam Muhsin Hendricks talks about his life as a gay Imam and father. The Iranians: Amir, Payam, Arsham, and Mojbata wait receive asylum in Canada. Mazen ran away from Egypt after 2 years of jail following his arrest in the 2001 Queen Boat incident. Ferda, a turkish sufi muslim, takes her lover Klymet to meet her mother. Ashen and Qasim, the two indian friends who reject western constructs and identify as ‘koti’ and ‘zenana’ even though these are derogatory words for many indians. Last but not least were Maha and Maryam.
Maha & Maryam were perhaps the most interesting story in the movie, they embodied the struggle of being muslim and gay. They search for texts about lesbianism only to find that Islam condemns their love, they pray for forgiveness, and they declare their love in an ancient mosque.
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