Sridhar Rangayan: ‘The film industry & civil society have grown to be a bit more inclusive of LGBTQ voices’

Kuch Sapney Apne is about one’s dreams and the unwavering support of their loved ones, which not only helps turn those dreams into reality but also provides the strength to overcome life’s challenges and keep moving forward.

Mona Ambegaonkar is among your regular cast?

Rangayan: Mona Ambegaonkar has been our muse since 1990, when we both worked with her; we were both assistant directors to Kalpana Lajmi for her serial The Awakening (1998) based on [Leo] Tolstoy’s novel Resurrection (1899). We struck a chord and now we are as thick as a family. We worked with her on many television projects for Rishtey (2000) and Kagaar (2000-01) series, and I also cast her in my children’s film Yeh Hai Chakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo (2003). She is a fantastic artist who totally immerses herself in every role. So, when we wrote Evening Shadows, there was no doubt who will play the protagonist Vasudha, the mother who struggles to accept her gay son.

Mona Ambegaonkar and Shishir Sharma in a still from 'Kuch Sapney Apne'.

Was this the first time you are collaborating with music director Vishal and Rekha Bhardwaj?

Rangayan: Yes, this is the first time we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with Rekha ji and Vishal Bhardwaj ji for any of our films. Vishal ji has composed the song Din Joh Dhal Gaya for Kuch Sapney Apne, which is beautifully sung by both Rekha ji and Vishal ji, with lyrics by Saagar Gupta.

For our previous film Evening Shadows, we were honoured to collaborate with Shubha Mudgal ji, who composed and performed the title track Behti Hai. The lyrics were again written by Saagar.

You both have been together for 30 years and yet haven’t been able to get married. Kuch Sapney Apne talks about gay marriage, which is illegal in India. On the one hand, gay marriage is not allowed but on the other hand, states like Uttarakhand are using the new Uniform Civil Code law to compel live-in partners to get registered. How important is marriage equality?

Rangayan: Marriage equality is very important to everyone. We would like to emphasise that a marriage is vital not only for the right to be together during medical emergencies but also for emotional stability. We will remain committed to advocating for these rights with legislative bodies. As one of the protagonists in our film says, ‘Our dreams are the blueprint of our future, and one day, I will be able to achieve them.’ Similarly, we remain hopeful that one day we, too, will achieve our rights.

How has the queer movement grown in India since when you started making films? Talk about your own journeys — both personal and in the film industry.

Rangayan: We are happy that the film industry along with civil society have grown to be a bit more inclusive of LGBTQ voices. The ridiculing and stereotyping of LGBTQ characters which were seen in earlier films have reduced considerably. While we don’t have completely positive portrayals and inclusive casting, we do have some amazing films like Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Shubh Mangal Zyaada Savdhaan, Badhaai Do and our own Evening Shadows — all of which came out in 2019 and 2020 — focused on the LGBTQ narrative.

Gupta: We both consider ourselves truly fortunate to have been trained by two amazing filmmakers of our time — Kalpana Lajmi and Sai Paranjpye.

With Kalpana, Sridhar and I — we both assisted together on a TV series and the feature film Darmiyaan: In Between (1997). Her sense of visualising a scene or what we call in technical lingo ‘mounting a scene’ was simply brilliant.
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We joined Sai at different times, for different projects. Highlighting humour in day-to-day life is Sai’s forte. I believe some of that has rubbed off on us and now, a bit of humour often finds its way into our work as well.

Should queer cinema stick to talking about the queerness of the characters. Isn’t the attempt to break that trap? To show that queer people also struggle with a lot of life issues, harbour dreams/aspirations… as we saw in Saim Sadiq’s evocative Pakistani film Joyland (2022).

Rangayan: The films that we make are reflections of the society we live in. While our earlier films like Gulabi Aaina (2002) and even Evening Shadows (2018) were about identities and the struggle of characters and people around them with their identities, our current film Kuch Sapney Apne (2024) moves beyond coming out and acceptance to portray issues like infidelity and marriage equality which are the current concerns of the LGBTQ community. Our films are a mirror of the realities we live in.

What is your lens with which you approach/write stories? Recently, a Marathi film about love between two men, Sabar Bonda, that goes beyond the struggle for acceptance and combating hostility, won the top prize at Sundance. Do you see a new direction for queer stories on Indian screens, and filmmakers like yourselves and Onir, among others, paving the way for younger filmmakers to tell positive queer stories?

Gupta: As someone who is already a part of the community, we find that it deeply influences our writing process — which is about being more inclusive and accepting of all kind and types of people without any prejudices in our stories. Having said that we’d like to add that queer narratives are just like any other stories because at their core they all are human stories — which are about people, like you, us, and everyone else.

It’s definitely a positive sign to see how emerging filmmakers are shifting their focus from just coming-out stories to exploring other facets of queer life! Films like ours, along with those by filmmakers like Onir, have been telling more affirmative and positive stories about the community. I believe these films have played a key role in shaping the new generation of filmmakers and their approach to queer narratives.

Has Bollywood’s attempts at queer representation evolved? 

Rangayan: As already mentioned, we feel Indian mainstream films have given up on stereotyping of LGBTQ characters, though transgender characters still are included to invoke fear or laughter. That is a disturbing trend which creates wrong stereotypes and hope filmmakers give up on that. We are not laughing stock for anyone. If you want to find humour, find it in everyday situations, or laugh at yourself, for God’s sake!

We have always been respectful of all identities and have striven to portray gay, lesbian and trans characters as true to themselves.

What has been your experience/challenge with distributing your films, finding theatrical and OTT releases for them in India and abroad?

Rangayan: We have always believed in making LGBTQ focused films that are true to the realities that the LGBTQ community faces, without whitewashing or pinkwashing to suit mainstream aspirations. We have been doing it for past two and half decades and will continue to do it, whatever the challenges.

Gupta: We believe in pushing the boundaries and creating new pathways. We will continue to chisel away at roadblocks.