Indian Transgender Film – T – Unveiled At Cannes’ Indian Pavilion
Director Jitesh Kumar Parida’s much-awaited film T showcases its trailer and poster at Cannes’ India pavilion. The title is the first to highlight issues and struggles of the transgender community and is based on the real-life story of Meghna Sahoo. Story revolves around the struggles faced by Meghna Sahoo who became India’s first transgender taxi driver. Further showcases her life’s journey, her marriage and her struggles to help each and every transgender community, helping them improve their livelihood. Produced by Jitesh Kumar Films & RR Motion Pictures (UK) Ltd, Co-produced by Mohit Kumar Puri & Himadri Tanaya Das. Associate Producers include Thamrita Mohan Sambhuti, Soma Kiran Jena, Rajashree Mohapatra. Parida is the director. Dev, Usashi Misra, Hara Rath, Ranbeir Kalsi, and Prasanjit Mohapatra are roped in as cast.
Netflix Boards Darlings Starring Alia Bhatt & Shefali Shah
Netflix acquires Darlings, spear-headed by Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and directed by feature debutant Jasmeet K. Reen. This is the first production under Bhatt’s label, Eternal Sunshine Productions. Jointly backed by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment. Written and directed by debutant Jasmeet K Reen. Parveez Sheikh and Vijay Maurya are co-writers. The movie is billed as a dark comedy which explores the lives of a mother-daughter duo trying to find their place in Mumbai, seeking courage and love in exceptional circumstances while fighting against all odds. The cast also includes Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma and Roshan Mathew. Vishal Bhardwaj will be composing with Gulzar providing the lyrics. A release date is yet to be announced.
Badhaai Do & KASHISH 2022 Programme Revealed
KASHISH 2022, South Asia’s biggest LGBTQ+ film festival commences in the Pride Month of June, from the 1st till the 5th. The festival opens with Antharam in Malayalam and Tamil, about a transwoman’s journey of acceptance, played by real-life transgender actress Negha. This is followed by big-ticket films like Badhaai Do on June 2nd and Sheer Qorma, on June 4th. The latter is played as an Indian Narrative Centrepiece film. A panel discussion ‘Mainstreaming Lesbian & Non-Binary Identities’ will take place after the screening. Other notable features include silent Holy Wounds, Naanu Ladies in Kannada, July 2020 in English and Love Beyond Gender in Hindi. The fest will also screen the first-ever LGBTQ+ film in Sanskrit, titled Balbhushanani, KASHISH is screening around 194+ films from 53 Countries at Liberty Cinema (1-5), Alliance Française de Bombay (2-4) and online (3-12). A total of 31 titles will be premiered, across various mediums. These will be in the Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, Urdu, Kashmiri and Assamese languages.
