tlavideo.com

Amos Lassen wrote on 08/25/2011:

Here is a new film about gay and lesbian families in India. It is composed of four stories about identity in India.

“I am Afia” is about a woman, Afia, who is eager to become a mother but she does not trust men. Her doctor looks for a sperm donor for her and tells that she cannot meet him but the doctor gives her the donor’s details and he sees them together in the clinic. The donor was not too happy to speak to her suddenly becomes compassionate.

“I am Megha” is the story of a woman who returns to her native Kashmir to discover that she is even more hostile than where she lives. Her family led Kashmir when she was a child. She is angry when she returns and no one can understand why.

“I am Abhimanyu” is about a filmmaker addicted to drugs who is trying to close his life with his stepfather who I sexually abusive. As a child he was given gifts in return for sex and he learned to become selfish. He dreams of himself as a young girl but there are many other issues as well.

“I am Omar” is about a gay man who has sex with a male hustler and then harassed by a cop. Jai is a successful gay male who meets up hustler Omar on the streets of Mumbai but they are caught in the middle of having sex in a car by a cop who beats Jai and takes money because he was involved in “criminal” activity and the film is a reflection of the Indian penal code.

We do not hear much about gay life in India so this is a welcome film especially since in deals with four different aspects of LGBT life there. The stories all share the idea that honesty is powerful and good intentions are evident. The film as a whole is a comment on the society of India and while not entirely successful, it is an interesting view that we do not usually get.