Bollywood film on gay lovers set to create ripples

Mumbai, May 12: A newcomer director plans to challenge the audience with a film on homosexuality -- a taboo subject in the tradition-bound country.

Mumbai-based Shamin Desai's debut feature film "Auroville 316" follows two gay lovers on a long car journey after a woman hitch-hiker forces one of them to rethink his sexual orientation.

"It is not just about gays, but gays as a metaphor for outsiders ... people not accepted by society," said Desai, who sees himself as an outsider in Bollywood. Desai's film -- shot in just 22 days in the harsh, barren landscape of Gujarat -- is a bold cinematic experiment, coming two years after some Hindutva activists forced a film on lesbianism off theatres across the country.

The Hindutva activists felt the now famous film, Fire, violated the country's traditional Hindu culture.

Homosexuality is frowned upon in Indian society and punishable under the Indian Penal Code.

There are a few voluntary organisations in the country which provide a platform for gay men and women to interact in relative safety, but very few are open about their sexual preference.

Desai's film, made with a budget of $80,000, stars Bhutanese-English model Kelly Dorji, theatre actor Faredoon Bhujwala and Meghna Reddy.

It will be screened at international festivals from next month and will be released in select Indian theatres in September. The writer-director-producer said he has entered his production in several international film festivals like the New York, Sundance (in Utah) and Palm Spring festivals.

The Indian movie industry is usually a steady fare of light musicals, where the good guys wear white and beat off the baddies to get the girl. (Reuters)