Fine film

As a gay man who is fascinated by India, its history and its culture, I was delighted to see that there was an Indian film that confronted the challenging topic of homosexuality within that culture. I'll confess, I held my breath a bit, somewhat expecting at least a little resemblance to a typical Bollywood product in which the characters occasionally break into song and dance for hardly any reason. That's fine for lighter entertainment but for me it can dilute the power of a serious drama dealing with controversy. So I was quite gratified that the very small amount of singing/dancing was confined to the neighbor's wedding and thus integrated logically into the plot. I was also drawn by the casting of one actor I already knew: Atul Kulkarni (Ed/Prakash). I had seen and been very impressed by Atul in Rang de Basanti. He stood out for me even in a very fine cast, though it's possibly due to my familiarity with him from before.

If this is the first feature from Lotus Piktures, I'm very eager to see more from them. There are (to my eye) precious few places where any inexperience is perceptible; the way they time the touches of comedy amid the serious scenes especially impressed me. However, the most moving scene in the film is the first meeting of Ed/Prakash and Kamlesh in the park. What could have been emotionally manipulative (particularly with the "saving someone from suicide" angle) was handled so skilfully and honestly by the two actors that it became utterly unforgettable and profoundly moving. The bittersweet final two scenes were also a fine piece of work from the cast and director. In most cases I abhor sequels so it's a compliment to all concerned that I really would love to see a sequel to this film. I came to care about all the major characters and am very curious to see 1) how Ed's character develops (i.e., how fully he embraces honesty about himself); 2) whether Kamlesh and Sharad can make their relationship a success on the second try; 3) the consequences of Bunny's decision to show the world his real self; 4) whether Kiran forms a friendship with Deepali to cushion this latest emotional blow; 5) whether Bunny's new honesty affects his relationship with Ranjit (and I'd like it clarified what type of relationship it is!).


"Tell you what . . . the truth is . . . sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it." --Jack Twist