It rare to see a film about an Indian mother’s struggle reconciling with her daughter’s lesbian-ness resonating deeply with its audience. And this is exactly what It’s OK Pammi, a new short film manages to accomplish.
At its heart, It’s OK Pammi is a simple, fun and warm Punjabi family drama with moments of good comedy. The mother’s quest to understand her lesbian daughter begins with confusion, amidst the many perspectives offered by her family members, and peers – as is expected in an Indian family. But working through her culture and beliefs synthesized from societal norms, Pammi eventually proceeds to make sense of it all at her own pace.
The film was put together by Riya Kulkarni, a graduate of the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, for her graduation project and it does a wonderful job of capturing the experience of countless LGBTQ youth, and shows that families can indeed overcome society’s rampant homophobia and heterosexism.
The film is the result of honest conversations with parents, grandparents and young people who identify as LGBTQ+. No wonder it hits the sweet spot – and ends up being exactly the kind of story that we need in today’s climate of intolerance and hate.
Riya made the movie bearing in mind the commonly insensitive responses of our society towards homosexuality. She says, “I have a lot of friends who came out their families, which thought of homosexuality as a sin and an abnormality. I know of a very well-educated, modern family that took their child for shock treatments to cure him of being gay! I was appalled to see that reaction.”
It’s OK Pammi is a good watch, and we hope it changes the way sexual identities are formulated and communicated. Watch it, and invite your parents to your private screening.
