Mumbai Showcases Gay and Transgender Films

[Shana A]

June 2, 2012, 5:04 am
Mumbai Showcases Gay and Transgender Films
By MAYANK SHEKHAR

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/mumbai-showcases-gay-and-transgender-films/

This could be any other courtroom scene from a mainstream Indian drama except that the heroine the audience is cheering for is a hijra, or eunuch, named Anu (based on the real-life transgender activist Laxmi Tripathi), demanding to know why hijras aren't allowed ration cards, even voting rights, merely because the government can't decide which gender they belong to.

The Marathi -language film by Ramesh More,"We the Outsiders (Aamhi Ka Tisre)," is about a gay boy who gets kicked out of home by his family but finds love and protection among the hijras in Mumbai. The movie, which had its premiere at the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, picked up a jury mention for best feature film.