In a move that suggests the Indian state is working toward greater acceptance of the LGBT community, Rituparno Ghosh, the director of Chitrangadahas won top honors at the state-sponsored National Film Awards, reports The Indian Express. The film, which took home the Special Jury Prize, concerns a choreographer (Ghosh) who is struggling with gender identity. During the film his character goes through a complete transformation so that he and his lover are able to adopt a baby.
Ghosh, who has also starred in other films that explore gender identity, including Kaushik Ganguly’s Arekti Premer Golpo (‘Just Another Love Story’) and Sanjoy Nag’s Memories in March, took care to note that the award itself was not for him alone. “The award is extremely important because it has been given to his character of a sexual minority rather than him personally.”
India’s National Film Awards, which are given every year for excellence in cinematic achievements for Indian cinema and are comparable to the U.S. Academy Awards, agreed. They stated, in part, that the film won its Special Jury Prize for “for his excellent grasp of the medium of cinema and his multi-faceted versatility.” The film will share the prize with another picture, Kahaani.
Bollywood has long portrayed gay men in much the same way that Hollywood has up until very recently: as limp-wristed queens, tortured souls or criminals. But that is changing, albeit slowly. “This award has been given to non-conventional sexuality. People in India had started accepting it at their individual level but this award to the subject is from the government’s side. So it is a signal that they are accepting it,” observed Ghosh.
Although rare, Chitrangada is far from the first Indian film to take on issues important to the LGBT community. In 2005, the Indian director known simply as Onir wrote, directed and produced My Brother…Nikhil, about a young man dealing with AIDS. The film was widely received as a critical success and took home an acting prize for its leading lady Juhi Chawla.
