When is comes to the question of equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community in India, the blame for the continuing struggle can be blamed at the feet of the English. In the 19th Century and early 20th Century the British Empire (which included India) was the largest empire in history and, for a century, was the foremost global power. It imposed both Christianity and its Victorian morality throughout the Empire, including outlawing homosexuality. on all these ‘alien’ nations, and they were still on the Statute Books when each of the countries were granted independence.
In India’s case that happened in 1947 because the Brits could no longer afford to administer the country after the expense of WW2. It however would take another 70 years and even then when The Supreme Court ruled to legalize homosexuality, some factions still dragged it though the courts to get it overturned. And as recent as October 2023 The Supreme Court unanimously voted against the legalization of same-sex marriage ….. so that fight is still ongoing.
It is therefore impressive that against all this legalized homophobia there are some excellent Indian additions to the queer cinema canon. In fact in 2021 we published Queerguru’s Picks of Indian Queer Films which needs updating now to take into account all the new ones released since then. The original list included EVENING SHADOWS a tender tale about a mother and her son dealing with his coming out. The film by Sridhar Rangayan and Dantani Ravindrakumar not only found a very receptive global audience plus picked up a very impressive 26 Awards. They have followed this with a highly anticipated sequel Kuch Sapney Apne (Dreams Such as Ours) a very compelling drama about both love and acceptance.
When Kartik (Satvik Bhatia) is in Sweden taking a photography class he had a ‘quickie’ with a local but when he is back home in Mumbai his live-in lover. Aman (Arpit Chaudhary) finds out. A row ensues resulting in Kartik stomping out and going back to his parents. He is ‘out’ to both of them with his mother Vasudha. (Mona Ambegaonkar) fully accepting both him and Aman, whereas his conservative father is permanently angry with him and the whole family. That includes his father’s younger brother Ramesh (Abhay Kulkarni) who has left his wife (from an arranged marriage) and their two children so he can live as a transwoman. And also his divorced sister who is about to re-marry a man from Dubai that she had met online .
When push comes to shove the father takes his anger out on the mother and she ups ands leaves him and moves to Mumbai with Kartik and Aman (who she has contrived to get back together). It takes the father having a mild stroke for the whole family to reunite ……. but you will have to view the film to see how that all turns out.
This is a delightfully compelling film that will definitely having you reaching for a box of tissues at times. But considering the stalemate over same-sex marriage in India this sensitive heartwarming film fills you with hope as you see it is possible to overcome uncomfortable truths that challenge relationships. Even if you not gay too … Totally unmissable
Labels: 2024, Dantani Ravindrakumar, Dreams Such As Ours, Evening Shadows, Indian, review, sequel, Sridhar Rangayan
