Tag: Cinema | Varta Trust

This image is a combination of a photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The mid-range photograph shows filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh smiling, looking at and speaking to someone outside the frame. Other people can be seen in the background, suggesting it to be a public occasion. The filmmaker seems to be seated on a chair. He is wearing spectacles, a head wrap, and a scarf, all black in colour, paired with a grey-brown patterned shirt. The accompanying text says: “For me, Rituparno was a crossing, a journey between borders. Not India, not Bangladesh. Not man, not woman. Not familiar, not foreign. Somewhere in between, a new way of understanding emerged. What connected us wasn’t language or geography, but a shared longing. A shared desire to become.” Photo credit: Bollywood Hungama via ‘Wikimedia Commons’

My Story Jul '25

Rituparno Ghosh: Seen, unseen, and known in my own way

By Tara Asgar

In Rituparno Ghosh and his cinematic work Tara Asgar finds a shared longing to become something beyond binaries

This image shows a still from the award-winning documentary film ‘Amma’s Pride’ directed by Shiva Krish. In the image, Srija, the main protagonist of the film is seen smiling and talking on her mobile phone, while Valli, her mother, looks on standing next to her also smiling brightly. Mother and daughter are both inside their house, and in the background can be seen sundry household objects placed on shelves or hanging on walls. The background objects have been slightly blurred to enhance the focus on Srija and Valli. Image courtesy Shiva Krish

Happenings, Vartanama May '25

Pursuing resilience, embracing hope

By Meghjit Sengupta, Pawan Dhall

Meghjit Sengupta reflects on an event centred around award-winning documentary ‘Amma’s Pride’, the story of transgender woman Srija whose marriage to Arunkumar, a cisgender man, in 2019 set a legal...

This graphic shows a poster made for the promotion of the film ‘Don’t Interrupt While We Dance’. On a scarlet red background, the name of the film in large stylized lettering in yellow and white is juxtaposed against the images of a gun and a dancing human figure, arms splayed. Several pairs of angry eyes symbolizing the damning eyes of the State or a repressive society, stare on in the backdrop, behind the lettering. The name of the filmmaker Anureet Watta is mentioned at the bottom of the poster. Poster design by Sharannya Eledath Mukherji and illustration by Yathaarth Yadav

Cinemascope, Insight Sep '24

How can we be gentle if we aren’t very angry?

By Anureet Watta

‘Don’t Interrupt While We Dance’ is a film about queer and trans joy interrupted by the State, police, and shadows of violence and scrutiny that have always been cast on...

This photograph shows a scene from the re-enactment of the skit ‘Koti Ki Atma’ at Café Adda Ghar, Kolkata on November 4, 2023. Three actors are acting out a scene before a small invited audience. The play is being performed in an open but small and intimate part of the café, lit with a few overhead lamps and other sources of light not visible in the photograph. A black cloth background and a few props form the backdrop behind the actors who are facing the camera. Some of the members of the audience visible in the photograph, half a dozen or so (of the total 40-45), are seated close to the actors on plastic chairs, and have a bemused look as they watch the play up close. A video camera can be seen on the left edge of the photograph recording the play. A photographer, with her camera in hand, is also among the audience, standing just next to the people seated. Darkened tall glass panes forming one of the walls of the café can be seen behind her. A poster of the café menu is pasted on one of the glass panes. Photo credit: Suchandragraphy

From the Archives, Insight Jul '24

Remembered sexual futures

By Diksha Sanyal

Diksha Sanyal summarizes a study on the art and cultural advocacies undertaken by queer community groups in West Bengal in the 1990s and 2000s. The study has been co-developed by...

Happenings, Vartanama Jun '24

Celebrating the magic of friendship

By Pritha Bhattacharya, Sambrita Chakraborty

Pritha Bhattacharya and Sambrita Chakraborty report on an art exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of ‘Friendship Walk ‘99’, India’s first rainbow pride walk held in Kolkata on July 2,...

Cinemascope, Vartanama Sep '23

Celebrating the queer gaze in Hindi cinema

By Debjyoti Ghosh

As ‘Varta’ turned 10 on August 1, 2023, Debjyoti Ghosh caught up with pioneering filmmaker Onir for a chat on his vision for queer empowerment in Hindi cinema and beyond

This graphic is a colourful collage of a number of film stills from the songs and films mentioned in the accompanying article. Clockwise from top left, there are stills from Aga Bai (Aiyyaa), Girls Like to Swing (Dil Dhadakne Do), Mann Kyon Mehka Ri Mehka (Utsav), Khwab Bankar Koi Ayega (Razia Sultan), Raat Akeli Hai (Jewel Thief), Haye Haye Yeh Majboori (Roti Kapada Aur Makaan) and Aga Bai (Aiyyaa) again. The collage is made of cuttings from computer printouts of the film stills. It is placed on an off-white background, with a few hand-drawn pastel sketches in black on the edges of the collage. On the top left, there is a sketch of an unspooling film reel, and at the bottom right, there is a sketch of a movie camera. Graphic credit: Souvik Rakshit

Cinemascope, Insight May '22

‘Aa jaane jaan . . .’

By Jia Mata, Lipikor

Jia Mata and Lipikor on portrayals of female desire in Bollywood films and songs

This illustration is a poster of the film ‘Gay India Matrimony’. On a deep-yellow background sprinkled with multi-coloured hearts and stars, the name of the film is presented in stylized text in English and Hindi inside a heart shape created by a wedding garland. The garland is white with patterns of green and red. Dangling from the lower end of the garland are the symbols for love between two women and between two men, and another that depicts transgender identity. The film credits are provided at the bottom of the poster in English and Hindi. Poster artwork credit: Abhro Banerjee

Cinemascope Apr '22

Queering the marriage story pitch

By Karthik Hebbar

Karthik Hebbar reviews 'Gay India Matrimony', a documentary film by Debalina, one of India’s most exciting queer filmmakers

This illustration shows a poster for the documentary film ‘Sab Rab De Bande’ made by first-time filmmaker Sukhdeep Singh. Photographs of three of the five interviewees in the film occupy the centre space in the poster. These interviewees are the filmmaker himself; Ritika, a transgender woman from Delhi; and Amolak, an androgynous gay man from Kanpur. The photographs, placed in a row, are in black and white and in contrast with an artistic blue and peach background. The lower part of the poster shows a graphic silhouette of what seems to be a religious congregation of Sikhs. Two symbols of Sikhism are placed on either side of the silhouette graphic. To the left is the Ek Onkar, which means one supreme reality; to the right is the Khanda, a symbol of Sikhism that is an amalgam of three symbols – ‘khanda’, a double-edged sword in the centre; ‘chakram’, a circular throwing weapon, behind the ‘khanda’; and two ‘kirpans’, single-edged swords placed on either side of the ‘khanda’ and ‘chakram’ and crossed at the bottom. The accompanying text on the poster says: “A film by Sukhdeep Singh – a documentary on LGBTQ Sikhs – Sab Rab De Bande – We’re All God’s Creation”. Poster courtesy Sukhdeep Singh

Cinemascope Jul '21

On being queer and Sikh in India

By Shivalal Gautam

‘Sab Rab De Bande’ is an impressive debut film on a sensitive subject by queer activist Sukhdeep Singh, says Shivalal Gautam

Cinemascope Jul '20

Living on in death

By Debjyoti Ghosh

Debjyoti Ghosh reviews Leonard Cortana’s short documentary 'Marielle’s Legacy Will Not Die'

This illustration is a combination of a photograph and quote. The photograph is a day time close shot of trans activist and first-time actor Sudeb, the focus of the accompanying article. Sudeb is wearing an attractive saree in shades of green, has light make up on and coiffed hair, and is standing on a balcony at the shooting location of a Bengali short film titled ‘Goodbye Beautiful’. This film is also the subject matter of the accompanying article. Sudeb has her right elbow on the balcony railing with the left hand placed lightly on the right forearm. She has a gentle smile as she looks on at the camera. The accompanying quote says: “In a way, all our lives are acting, isn’t it? Especially for queer people and trans men and trans women. What I am and what I have to do to survive have never been the same. I have often acted out a male role, performed the male gender required from me by family, employers, society. So, in a way I think I had the acting skills already. But it has been a new experience to ‘act’ on camera, to a film script.” Photo credit: Pawan Dhall

Cinemascope, Insight Apr '19

All the world’s a stage, and an act

By Jia Mata

Jia Mata on a new short film that does not tick all the gender boxes in a conventional way

This main illustration is a poster of the film ‘S.D. Saroj Dutta and His Times’. A black and white photograph of Saroj Dutta, communist intellectual and revolutionary associated with the Naxalbari movement, occupies centre space in the poster. The edges of the photograph are stylized like that of a postage stamp, with a white border framing the photograph on all sides. Saroj Dutta seems to have a rather serene look on his face. The initials ‘S.D.’ in large font coloured red are printed on the bottom left of the poster. The top right corner carries the graphic of a circular rubber stamp with the name of the film printed along the circumference and the duration mentioned in the centre (115 minutes). The poster background has a partial hand drawn outline map of India, with places where the Naxalbari movement had its bases handwritten in Bengali – in particular Naxalbari itself and Srikakulam. Several other bases of the movement in eastern India are marked on the map with small star-like jottings. More Bengali handwritten text in the background, above Saroj Dutta’s head, says that the Naxalbari movement aims to show a way forward to the downtrodden masses in society. Text printed below Saroj Dutta’s photograph prominently mentions the names of the filmmakers Kasturi Basu and Mitali Biswas. Other film credits follow in smaller text in three lines. The poster also mentions that the film is in Bangla with English sub-titles. Poster courtesy: Facebook page of ‘S.D. Saroj Dutta and His Times’

Vartanama May '18

Cinema of questioning the world order

By Pawan Dhall

The summers just got that much more intense with some gripping cinema!

This visual shows a portion of the poster designed for Kolkata screenings of the film ‘The Little Girls We Were . . . And the Women We Are’. The poster text says: “RAHI Foundation presents ‘The Little Girls We Were . . . And the Women We Are’ – Five Indian women survivors of incest and child sexual abuse share their journey from abuse to recovery. A poignant blend of personal testimonies, information and expert comments, this film gives the message of hope and recovery to survivors.” The text is accompanied with two visuals from the film. One of them shows a woman writing something in a diary – the camera is behind her and we can see the back of her head, neck and shoulders. There is a tattoo with stars and some text painted on the back of her neck. The second visual shows a hand holding a piece of paper burning – there is writing on the paper, not fully visible but possibly talking about the sense of shame that victims of incest or child sexual abuse often feel. Poster visual courtesy RAHI Foundation

Vartanama Mar '18

Little women versus patriarchy – and the winner is . . .

By Pawan Dhall

Morning newspapers are all about marvelling with horror at the survival challenges we as a deeply unequal society throw at our girls and women. And then I marvel some more...

The photograph is an image from the 2009 film ‘Eden Is West’ (‘Eden à l'ouest’) directed by Greek-French filmmaker Costa Gavras. It is a long shot of a medium-sized motorized boat full of people standing or sitting on the edges, presumably undocumented immigrants. As the boat crosses a calm sea, it leaves behind a wake in the water. In the background the sky is aglow with the sun setting behind distant mountains. The entire scene is one of melancholy. The film ‘Eden Is West’ is a drama centred around the undocumented immigrants living in the European Union. The image has been used in a representational sense here. Photo courtesy: Google Images

Travel Travel, Vartanama Jan '18

No Eden anywhere?

By Sayan Bhattacharya

When I was asked to write the 'Varta' editorial for this month, I was in a fix. How does one write about yet another year ending and another beginning?

This graphic is a collage created with key illustrations used in the articles in this month’s issue of ‘Varta’ (November 2017). The long descriptions of each of the illustrations can be found in the respective articles, that is, ‘Cinema, Commerce and Causes', ‘Government Letdown on Transgender and Intersex Rights Legislation’, ‘PIL in Calcutta High Court to Push for Transgender Rights’, and ‘Voicing Out Stasis in Transgender Lives’. The collage is enclosed in a thought cloud, which is placed on a background with brown colour. Collage credit: Pawan Dhall

Vartanama Nov '17

Down, but not out!

By Pawan Dhall

Three of the articles in this issue of 'Varta' talk about the continued hardships faced by transgender and intersex people in India. All jab us in the eye at how far...

This graphic consists of pencil sketches on paper in caricature form of the faces of key actors from the films discussed in the accompanying article. The sketches are presented in two rows, one above the other. In the first row are Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan; in the second Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Bajpai. The background is made up of handwritten repeat text consisting of the names of the films – ‘Aligarh’, ‘Dangal’, ‘Dear Zindagi’, ‘Kahaani 2’, and ‘Pink’. The text is in all capitals but in small point size, and seems to form an intricate pattern on which the sketches of the faces are placed. Graphic credit: Shubhrajit Roy

Cinemascope, Insight

Cinema, commerce and causes

By Nitin Karani

Campaigns to highlight different human rights issues are just past, ongoing or round the corner. Last year saw a spate of Bollywood films on many of these issues. How true...

Tagged Under: Cinema

Rituparno Ghosh: Seen, unseen, and known in my own way

Pursuing resilience, embracing hope

How can we be gentle if we aren’t very angry?

Remembered sexual futures

Celebrating the magic of friendship

Celebrating the queer gaze in Hindi cinema

‘Aa jaane jaan . . .’

Queering the marriage story pitch

On being queer and Sikh in India

Living on in death

All the world’s a stage, and an act

Cinema of questioning the world order

Little women versus patriarchy – and the winner is . . .

No Eden anywhere?

Down, but not out!

Cinema, commerce and causes

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