I’m being the bitch, and ‘cos Hrithik graced the private screening “Agneepath” (2012) in Mumbai for the Queer Azaadi Mumbai 2012 organizing members and supporting personalities. L, G, B, T, H, I, K, Q and the rest of the Queer Alphabet were touched by Hrithik’s warmth and friendliness. And like MJ said it, we’re pimping Bollywood honey!

I don’t think it’s fair to compare the 1990 movie with the 2012 re-make/revamp/vamped version. Couple of things that definitely went wrong in Agneepath 2012:

-          the Censor Board’s license – U/A – really? how are children supposed to watch a post-rape scene, couple of bloody murders and extreme violence in the name of a ‘storyline’ and still stay awake at night? Or refrain from trying some of the stuff out?

-          Hrithik’s character has no consistency in the adult role unlike Amitabh – he’s weak even when he faces Kancha (Sanjay Dutt) in Mandwa. He’s not so weak, when he faces his not-so-bold or non-dramatic mother. –

-          Supporting characters: Kali, Shiksha, Inspector Gaitonde – are less impressive, since the violence of Kancha and the bloodthirst- not-so-clever Vijay fill the screen.

-          Rauf Lala (Rishi Kapoor) is a brilliant character, but somehow lacking a decent end. Could’ve been a lot more emphatic towards the ‘death’

-          The whole progression of Vijay Chauhan from kid to Don is somewhere amiss – nobody can really say the 1990 dialogues of “Vijay Chauhan, Vijay Deeanath Chauhan” etc quite like Amitabh did.

-          Suhasini Chauhan (Zarina Wahab) is utterly small and boring against an imposing Rohini Hattangadi, who makes Amitabh Bacchan shiver, sweat, cry and yearn for love. In fact, the mother who hates him for his violence, in the 2012 movie, later on almost cheers him towards killing Kancha

-          The villagers of Mandwa are shown as ultra-dumb, money-minded people. Really? Will anyone in this age even be able to relate to that? Satanic colonies that trade cocaine? Mafia that is only full of venom, blood and the Kolaveri (urge to kill)?

-          Hijras shown as clever, scheming people is okay. But as violent mobs? Dagger and knife-armed killers? Come on! Get a life! I know we’ve not portrayed Hijras in Bollywood for quite some time, but then comes this ghastly, scary image of the queens. Don’t compare them with the buggers in Ninja Asssassin.

-          Chikni Chameli – I’d anyday prefer the Kombdi Padali version, but we gotta give it to Katrina – brilliant dancing. Btw, is she trying to reach Audrey Hepburn’s waist-size?

-          Kancha – seems like a master-villain, but again, what does he smuggle? Isn’t he supposed to be rich and famous? Why is he only a don controlling a small village, that’s not shown to export millions of kilos of Cocaine or trade with the outside world? Quite weird, no? In all, I think the movie was a disaster.

If Dharma Productions hope to get their 62 Crore INR back, they gotta make movies better than this. And let’s not compare this to anything from Kaminey or Scarface. Not even dust.

The QAM team did not advertise the fact that this was a queer event when we marked our little space on the beach at 4 pm. We only waved two rainbow flags for other gay folks to locate us on the beach. There were no placards or posters in plain sight. Soon a crowd of beach revellers gathered around to watch. We spoke mostly in English among ourselves and some of those bystanders started asking us if they could participate in the games. We cheerfully allowed them, ofcourse. All participants were asked to pay a nominal entry fee for each game and the collected money will go towards meeting the expenses of the Mumbai Queer Azaadi March on January 28.

Scott Kugle is a research scholar in Islamic studies who has held positions at Duke University, the University of Cape Town, and Swarthmore College. He is familiar with Arabic text and has read almost all the Islamic scriptures, including the Qur’an, the Hadith, and Islamic laws like the Shar’ia and the Fiqh. Instead of relying on one translation of the scriptures, Kugle has used multiple translations and his own knowledge of Arabic to understand the essence of these texts. In the very first chapter he clearly and convincingly establishes his groundwork, explaining his approach and the reasons behind his book. A young man from Moracco flees his country and overstays his tourist visa in the US, facing deportation. Worried about the extreme homophobia he faces in his home country, the young man seeks asylum in the US. The author is called in as an expert witness to talk about homophobia in Islamic countries, which also inspires him to write this book. Titled “Islam on Trial”, this introductory piece is a fascinating and moving read.

In Chapter 2, Scott discusses the Qur’an, the ultimate authority of Islam. He says the central message of the Qur’an is solidarity with the oppressed and that God’s will works with the oppressed. The story of Prophet Lot and the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is often quoted by Muslims to say that Islam condemns homosexuality. Scott analyzes these verses from the Qur’an and several other verses to show that such assumptions are simply not true. His analysis is not one-sided or defensive, but very logical, objective and clear. This chapter should be an eye-opener for Muslims across the world.

In the next two chapters he talks about the Hadith (reports of things the Prophet Muhammad said or did, that were verbally passed down) and the Fiqh (the Islamic legal reasoning). It is very liberating to read how the author disqualifies many of the false, motivated, biased interpretations that have been provided mainly to enforce the patriarchal domination of the heterosexual male Muslim. Chapter 5 takes a reformist approach and suggests the Shar’ia law can be reformed to accommodate same-sex marriages.

Chapter 6 is dedicated to transgender Muslims. The author explains how the Qur’an clearly and unambiguously affirms that transgender and other gender variant people are indeed created by God to celebrate human diversity. His example from the Qur’an about the Sun (female according to the Qur’an and the Arabic language) and the moon (male) and how they merge to form day and night and how it relates to gender ambiguity is a very beautiful read. Kugle also exposes how patriarchy has always used transphobia as a tool to condemn homosexuality.

Throughout the book, Kugle also gives insights on how Muslims from different parts of the world understand and practice Islam in various interpretations and how present day LGBT Muslims find peace, comfort and strength in their religion.

The book has its limitations and Kugle discusses them openly and honestly in the introduction. If you read the title carefully you will notice that bisexuals are left out of the book and the author’s research. Kugle attempts to explain why, but it is not convincing. I can only imagine how isolated and left out Muslim bisexuals would feel after reading the author’s opinion. Disappointing!

The tools and techniques he provides to approach sacred texts is actually not just limited to Islam. The book speaks volumes about the dedication, sincerity and honesty with which Scott Kugle has approached the topic. Overall, this book is a brilliant and thought-provoking read.

Scott Kugle’s Homosexuality in Islam is a must read for Queer people of all faiths (not just Muslims) and also for feminists, atheists and other minorities that challenge patriarchy.

Here an extract from http://flaunt.com/features/117/james-franco

[*Note: All images and 'script' used in this post are courtesy http://flaunt.com/]

—————-

“You guys are going to arrive at the bungalow like you just got dinner across the street at Googie’s,” James Franco instructs in the main cavity of the bungalow. “You come looking for Nick Ray, but he’s not here so you follow Natalie Wood. She used to sleep with him, so she knows the way. She takes you through the back and you break in and go crazy. Just grab drinks or whatever, and we’ll tell you what to do. Adarsha, make sure to take pictures.”

Franco then hands strap-on dildos to the girls in drag. “Get your dicks on,” he says with his famous grin.

On his cue, Natalie Wood leads everyone through the back entrance into the kitchen. Shots of tequila are downed, and beer bottles are popped open and sprayed about. There is the sense that Franco is trying to get us to free ourselves and channel our characters, but this wild and carefree routine also sets the tone for the evening.

Wood leads the conga line to the living room, where Franco hands James Dean the cymbal-crashing, wind-up monkey toy that a drunken Jim Stark is playing with in the opening salvo of Rebel Without a Cause. Franco tells Dean to pull out her strap-on and start stroking it while the monkey bangs its cymbals hysterically. Dean has a skinny dick with a big mushroom head. When she “cums,” Franco squirts hand lotion on everyone. Vampira takes over my body, and I start to go down on Dean, licking the cum-lotion off his dick and snowballing it into Dennis Hopper’s mouth. This by no means is one of Franco’s directions.

Wood takes us to the bathroom. Champagne bottles are popped and sprayed all over Wood. She, in turn, removes all her clothes and starts yelling, “My pussy hurts!” She’s apparently following a loose script.  Franco tells us to carry her back to the kitchen and help cool her off in the sink.

At this point, everyone is a sopping mess of booze and water. Franco leads us to an alley behind the Chateau where an old convertible Mustang is parked. “We’ve got to watch out, because we don’t have any permits,” he says. “We don’t want to get arrested by the cops.” I’m riding shotgun, while Franco sits in the back with Hopper, Wood, and Dean. We peel out onto the Sunset Strip, roar past Googie’s former location, then scream up Laurel Canyon with the top down.

Franco rolls an 8mm camera as we’re flying up the same tangled, winding hills that the real Hopper and the real Wood sped on the night of their famous accident. Franco commands the girls to take their shirts off. They giggle and strip. Dean sparks a butt in the back with his tits out. The wind slaps hard on our faces. We snake up the road, way too fucking fast. We are under the spell of the legend. I stand on the seat with my arms in the air while we jerk left and right. Franco shouts a nervous, “Careful!,” but we are too far gone. I close my eyes and feel myself possessed with the spirit of Dean’s reckless youth, and…

    BLANGGGG!

My heart skips a beat. A hubcap flies off and goes spinning to the shoulder. James Dean is racing to his death.

I, too, at this moment, want to die young.

    BLANGGGG!

Another hubcap frisbees off the car. This is it. I’m ready to burn out for eternity.

——–

Gaysi thanks http://flaunt.com for this awesome feature!

Addendum: I read a correspondence from the publisher to Broom, that leads me to believe the book may not be fictional. If this is indeed true, I would urge more people to buy this book simply to be astonished by the kind of life Antonia seems to have led. If it turns out that it isn’t a real life story, you’ll still be glad for having read it.

Tomboy

Dir.: Céline Sciamma (France / 2011 / Col. / 81′)

When ten year old boyish looking Laure moves to a suburb east of Paris, she feels lonely as she does not know anyone of her age, among the children playing in the sun outside. Till one day, she meets the cute neighbourhood girl Lisa, who is of the same age. Somehow Lisa mistakes Laure to be a boy and when Lisa asks ‘his’ name, Laure says “Michael”!

From then on Laure pretends to be a boy with all the neighbourhood kids with whom she immediately finds a rapport after this ‘transformation’. But it brings its own set of boy-problems that is humourous and innocent – like how to piss or make a crotch in a Speedo! One particularly funny scene is when Lisa puts on make-up on Laure and exclaims “You look great as a girl”!

But things complicated when Laure’s relationship with Lisa becomes very close and ambiguity of her gender identity becomes complicated. She is left with a dilemma – Truth or dare?

Filmmaker Céline Sciamma, director of the earlier festival hit ‘Water Lilies’, manages to extract very natural and believable performances from her young actors with tight close-ups and constantly moving camera.

Winner of this year’s Teddy Jury Award for best queer film at Berlin International Film festival, the film is quite challenging for those who think boys will be boys and girls will be girls… because in reality they may really not be so!

Thursday Oct 20^th 12.45 pm at Screen 4 Cinemax Versova

This film screens under MAMI’s 4th Rendezvous with French Cinema programme

Mountain (Fjellet)

Dir.: Ole Giæver (Norway / 2011 / Col. / 73′)

Nora & Solveig, a young lesbian couple go on a hike through snow-covered, starkly beautiful mountain to rediscover their love and rebuild their relationship. As the two women in bright orange parkas trek up the ragged blue cliffs with wind and snow blowing into their faces, many harsh truths tumble out.

Two years ago, their five-year old son Vetle died on a mountain hike and Nora, the biological mother, has never been able to get over the loss, blaming Solveig for her carelessness in letting Vetle out of her sight as he wandered beyond the edge. She says bitterly, “He wasn’t really yours”, to which Solveig says tearfully, “Vetle was ‘our’ son”. Now Solveig is pregnant and is upset that Nora hasn’t even touched her belly.

Tender and touching, this first film by Norwegian director Ole Giæver, contrasts still shots of the forbidding mountain scenery with extreme hand-held close-ups of the women’s faces and elicits utterly authentic performances from the two leads. The sparse, soft, sonorous music underlines the unsaid grief and unspoken strains in their relationship.

The film is a bit slow and stretched, but if you are one of those movie buffs who like to soak it in, then you will be rewarded with an utterly enchanting experience. Just carry a shawl and coffee along, because the airconditioning in the theater alongwith the cold blue mountains could be a bit more chilling than you would like!

Monday Oct 17^th 3.30pm at Screen 1, Cinemax Versova

Wednesday Oct 19^th 5.30pm at Screen 1 Cinemax Sion

She Monkeys (Apflickorna)

Dir.: Lisa Aschan (Sweden / 2011 / Col. / 84′)

When teen Emma joins a group that is learning to perform gymnastics on horseback, she meets the slightly older Cassandra, a circus rider and the two begin a relationship that is laden with physical and psychological challenges. Soon, lines are crossed and the stakes become higher and higher.  Their relationship is pervaded with jealousy and power which turn it into a battle for supremacy and control.

A rather unpalatable side track of the story of Emma’s precocious younger sister Sara initiating some startling, sexually charged experiments with her cousin and babysitter Sebastian is rather unnecessary and avoidable.

First time director Aschan works magic that is both a pleasure and torment and elicits convincing, naturalistic performances from her young not-pro actors. The film has won the Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival and Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.

A film not for the light hearted, it takes a dangerously subverted twist to the coming-of-age genre films. It sure could be unsettling and uncomfortable to many, but its intense complexity could be a challenge to decipher and enjoy.

Wednesday Oct 19^th 12.45pm at Screen 4 Metro

‘She Monkeys’, has been directed by a first time director, and competes for cash awards at MAMI amounting to USD 200,000 in the International Competition category for first film of directors.

STEALING NASREEN – Farzana Doctor 

The book shows us glimpses of the lives of three very different characters, Nasreen, Salma and Shaffiq.

Salma & Shaffiq have moved to Canada, from Bombay, in search of better opportunities and a better life for their children. Shaffiq, an accountant, takes a job as a janitor working the late night shift to pay the bills. Salma used to be a teacher in Bombay and is now a house wife.

Nasreen is the Canadian born daughter of Indian immigrants and is a psychologist at the hospital where Shaffiq is a janitor. She also happens to be a lesbian who’s in the midst of recovering from an ugly end to a long term relationship.

The story begins to take shape when Nasreen starts to take Gujrati lessons from Salma, not realizing that she is Shaffiq’s wife.

There is an undeniable chemistry between them and as you watch them trying to avoid it you know that something’s going to happen between them.

The book deals with the secrets, lies and confrontations that arise because of this chemistry with a great deal of tenderness and wit.

My favorite character was Salma and I kept wanting her to get out of this trapped existence that she lived in and so I was really rooting for Nasreen and her to end up together.

Although I don’t call myself a Torontonian, any longer, it was still lovely to read a book that brought so much of a familiar city into its pages. The added bonus was that the city that I do call home – ‘Bombay’ – was also part of the story.

I have to admit that parts of the book were a little surreal and I wished the ending had been different.

Still – ‘Stealing Nasreen’ is a good, fun read. Go buy a copy!

Aniruddhan, an accomplished performing artist conceptualized this very unique blend of artforms  – An artful evening of Poetry meets Dance meets Spoken word meets Singing and quite a lot of interaction with the audience. If Aniruddhan’s graceful dance and androgynous dressing to imitate Brihannala was not enough for the audience to be glued to our seats, then there was his articulate expression of her feelings, the way he saw it.

As I understand,  Brihannala’s story is largely ignored in retellings of the great epic Mahabharatha or retold rather hurriedly. It is indeed very brave and creative of Aniruddhan to explore Brihannala’s character to this detail and that makes his performance original and one of a kind. When asked what inspired him to create this performance, he said

It was not one single point of inspiration. Personal experiences, my interest in myths, legends and mythologies, a general liking for storytelling – all of these were the motivations, I guess.

His command over english was impeccable and the performance was so evocative  it  left a lot of us teary-eyed and awe-struck. My personal favorite during this performance was Aniruddhan’s rendering of  a Subramanya Bharathiyar’s poem called Aasai Mugam (sung in Ragamalika I think) . Aniruddhan then went on to describe the hidden meaning behind these verses and the complications of translating such a complex piece of Thamizh poetry in English. Frankly, as a native thamizh speaker, I was ashamed that I did not know there could be a deeper meaning to those verses. But the culminating point for me was when Aniruddhan rendered one of my all time favorites, Irakkam Varaamal Povadhenna Karanam sung in Raag Behaag (and composed by Gopalakrishna Bharathi).

About Aniruddhan vasudevan

Aniruddhan is a queer rights activist from India in addition to be a performing artist of the fine art of Bharata Natyam. He trained with the uber famous Chitra Visveswaran and is a writer, a poet, a peer counsellor and an activist. Fluently bilingual in Thamizh and English, he has written for the Chennai-based queer blog, Orinam, in the past and while at Chennai also works with the Sakthi Resource center in addition to several others. He writes his own blog at “Some of us speak in Cliches. Some of us love“ and can be reached at aniruddhan.vasudevan@gmail.com .