Hopefully, we can contribute to some of the conversation. “But now that it is all behind me, I cannot wait for the Indian release. I took a loan and paid for the film out of my own pocket,” she said. However, smiling and making eye contact is a friendly gesture, so it is a lower stakes version of flirtation that some other bolder options. “I was asked which star I would be casting, because that is what sells in India. Whether you see him from across a room or you are sitting across a table from each other, smiling and making eye contact is a good way to show your interest. Studio Viacom 18 Motion Pictures declined to fully fund the film over concerns about whether Bose would pick a bankable-enough star. We are talking about them,” said Kalki Koechlin, who plays the lead character of Laila in the film.īose said it was not just the release of the film that presented a problem there were obstacles in making it. But if most young people support gay marriage, and if there are clear. Hopefully, we are at a stage where we accept these things more. Same-sex marriage has become one of the most volatile issues in American politics. “I don’t know if depiction of bisexuality would be a problem. to do with the closet: How in same-sex sexual behavior do not iden- do we measure people who dont. “Margarita, With a Straw” must first make it past the censors. How many Americans do you think are gay or lesbian. In the past, the few Indian films that have dared to depict homosexuality without caricaturing it have faced protests and boycotts. In spite of the accolades and a tentative release date set for India early next year, Bose knows her film is not for everyone. “We always look at the disabled with so much empathy, so hopefully when you are presented with a prickly topic like sexuality from their point of view, audiences might be more accepting than if it was told from the point of view of a normal person,” she said. As long as people can see the film and talk about these issues, I am ready to face it,” the film-maker said in a telephone interview. “I am ready for right-wing protests when my film releases. “Margarita, With a Straw”, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September, tells the story of a teenager with cerebral palsy who is unabashed about her sexuality, much to the horror of her middle-class, conservative mother.ĭirector Shonali Bose, who lives in the United States and identifies herself as bisexual, said the film comes from two personal experiences - that of exploring her own sexuality and the life of her cousin, who suffered from cerebral palsy.īose, 49, said she hoped the film would contribute to the debate over Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which forbids homosexual sex, and eventually lead to sexual legitimacy for homosexuals, bisexuals and lesbians. Gay rights activists shout slogans during a protest against a verdict by the Supreme Court to reinstate a ban on gay sex, in Mumbai in this Decemfile photo.