[Guest Author : Zeba Siddiqui]
Let’s get this straight. I’m not gay. No, I’m not bi-sexual or bi-curious (if you don’t know what that means, it’s high time you did!) either. And yet, when I heard about a film festival on LGBTs happening around town, I was more than excited to attend. And I did.
Being arguably one of the largest such film festival to be held in our country, Kashish 2010 brought together Mumbai’s queer diaspora in a way hardly any other event has, before. From fashionistas and Page 3 celebs, to collegians and student filmmakers, they were all there and they all made their presence felt. And yes, most, if not all of the attendees, were queer. The percentage of non-queer attendees including me, I’m guessing, wouldn’t have accounted for any more than 5% of the lot. Well, for obvious reasons you might think. But is that really a good thing?
Most would argue, that since it was clearly a film festival for the queer community, why would it draw in any straight crowd? Well, I think the main thing that non-attendees failed to realize, is that the festival wasn’t so much ‘for’ the queer community as it was to ‘celebrate’ the community; to celebrate the existence of such a community as a part of our society and social mores, and for some, to even just acknowledge its existence. Although such events and festivals are primarily organised to bring the queer community together, they also to act a gateway for the non-queer community to be able to enter the queer zone and learn more about them, so that they are able to lose their prejudices and preconceived notions. This is how ignorance should be treated and eradicated.
For me the prime reason for attending the festival, I’ll admit, was because it was a ‘film’ festival. My love for this medium is what led me to this fest. I didn’t give two hoots about LGBT rights and related issues until a year ago. But in the past few months, I happened to watch some brilliant films on gays and lesbians, which opened my eyes to a whole new world! You might think that you don’t have to acknowledge their existence because it doesn’t concern you. But I don’t think I would have been as comfortable around my gay friends as I am now, if it weren’t for my knowledge about the community. I know of plenty of people, who are still ignorant about homosexuality and often shocked when introduced to gays. Especially in our country, if you look for one, you’ll find twenty such people! That’s why it’s necessary to know. Knowledge leads to familiarity, and once you’re familiar, you’re going to be comfortable! And that’s when films come into the picture. Films know no language barriers, therefore, they are the best possible way of educating people. And festivals like Kashish 2010 take this seriously. It’s a pity then, that most people opt to skip them.
The four-day festival which kicked-off on April 22nd, was a sort of celebration of brilliance in cinema itself, as it showcased over 100 exceptionally directed short films and documentaries contributed by national as well as international filmmakers and activists. Moreover, the various panel discussions provided a platform for the queer community to voice their opinions about their status and standing in the contemporary Indian scenario, and about the evolving scene. All in all, very insightful!
P.S.: The entry for the festival was absolutely free too, so if you missed it…you really did!
Here in the states, there’s a sort of ghetto mentality with a LOT queer folks where we actively exclude straight people from gay events. While I understand the attitude, I don’t agree with it. How can we possibly gain understanding and acceptance if we shut everyone out? It’s like many of us are addicted to the false notion that queer identity is meant to be kept hidden and shady, which is quite sad.
So I’m VERY happy to read articles like this which demonstrate that the Indian queer community is actually very open and inclusive with regard to dialogue and expression. Stay true, dosts!
This is awesome and thankyou so much for sharing Zeba. I have always felt totally out of place with India but hearing so many stories about events and stories in Mumbai totally makes me change my view. I agree with bejuwala in certain aspects that the Q community cuts off others but I think sometimes it makes sense because there is a need to create a safe space for the community to discuss topics openly. But in this context, probably not, since its a Film festival and we should welcome anyone and everyone.
But I have always noticed some resilience among the Indian community(guys particularly) to steer away from Q events. Some of them won’t even watch mainstream movies like Brokeback. Infact I find a lot of them are so phobic and they ridicule people who enjoy these events, and these are the people whom I think should be there in very first place to gain some insight. We seriously need some Sex and Queer 101 in schools.
Rashmi- every culture suffers from the self-loathing you described. It’s VERY unfortunate, but it cannot be bulldozed away. It takes time- generations! It allows these people (usually men, yes) to keep queerness a “dirty secret” while enjoying the privileges of straight/mainstream society. Conservatives and patriarchs would prefer this, which is why it’s very crucial for queers to keep open minds and arms to straight folk who support us.
And yes- I DO agree that there needs to be gay “space”, particularly in India where there is little to no privacy and plenty of prejudice. However, people must be careful to not turn it into a party scene (celebration is great, but serious down-to-earth time is needed too) or a boys-only/girls-only/trans-only clubs. Inclusiveness is the way.
Thank you Rashmi and Bejuwala. 🙂 You’ll have an amazing blog here! It was a pleasure to contribute, I would love to do so more often in fact, as and when I have something to write about.
In India I think, the major glitch that prevents the straight community from participating in queer-related events is that 9 out of 10 people will think that they’re queer too. Ditto for straight people who show even an interest in such issues. Like with this very article for example, I just posted the link on my Facebook, and within ten minutes I have a friend who comments, “Why u supporting LGBTs so much? U changed your orientation or what?” And I’m pretty sure most of those who didn’t dare to comment, at least for a moment considered that I may be gay, which is why I attended the festival and contributed to a queer website, etc.
This is the kind of stereotyping that most straight folks despise, and therefore, stay away from queer events. But having said that, I think that makes it all the more necessary for them to be involved in queer issues, in order to break this very stereotype. I personally feel that straight icons for gay communities could go a long way in doing so. Celina Jaitley for instance – though not exactly the kind of person I would want to mention around here. (She clearly has completely different reasons for highlighting LGBT issues.)
Cheers! 🙂
yesss! breaking the stereotypes is the way.
one of my straight friend visited the festival & all she commented was “they all looked so gay & happy!! i wonder why . But it was an interesting event”
so, i guess that does say something about why they prefer to stay away 😀
[…] MJ May 26 2010— 8:07 am Comments0 Posted inOpinion & Personal Stories For straight people who show even an interest in such issues. Like with this very article for example, I just posted the link on my Facebook, and within ten minutes I have a friend who comments, “Why you supporting LGBTs so much? You changed your orientation or what?” And I’m pretty sure most of those who didn’t dare to comment, at least for a moment considered that I may be gay. [Link] […]
zeba, I admire your courage and openness in sharing this in FB. I can imagine it would raise a lot of eyebrows in India and only toudh sane people can do that. Hats off to you and we would love to hear more from you, atleast I do 🙂
Ok , now the important one -what’s the scoop on celina 😉 ?
[…] you have missed these films at the KASHISH festival, do catch them on September 5th and […]
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