CHENNAI: LGBT – The very acronym arouses mixed sentiments from across the general public, even today. Chennai-based filmmaker Lokesh Kumar has used this very topic in his new film My Son Is A Gay, the trailer of which has already gone viral on YouTube. Lokesh feels that though homophobia continues to prevail in 21st century India, there is a widespread misconception about the LGBT community in general and the gay populace in particular. “My primary aim through the movie is to break the stigma attached to the LGBT community,” he says.
Speaking about his projects, Lokesh says, “I have directed two documentary movies prior to this and have been taking up LGBT issues end number of times, but I wanted to make a nationwide impact to break the gratuitous stigma, and that’s how I chanced upon the idea of direct a film that would explore the relationship between a mother and gay son.” He adds, “It goes without saying that it’s extremely vexatious for a gay to reveal his sexuality to the outside world.”
Lokesh shares the outline of the script,“The movie talks about a widowed mother who is extremely attached to her son. But, when she discovers that he is actually a gay, things take a sudden turn in both their lives.”
Lokesh says he faced a lot of challenges while making the film and would continue to, given the fact that it revolves around a controversial topic. “The December 11, 2013, ruling of the Supreme Court has made matters worse for the LGBT populace in India. There are not many takers for movies of such genres but that has never been a hurdle to my spirit to convey a message to them,” he says.
He gives credit to actor Anupama Kumar and sub-titlist Rekhs who have supported the venture. “Anupama Kumar provided a breakthrough by agreeing to play the role of the mother without charging a fee. Rekhs, who’s providing subtitles, is also working for gratis. I’m thankful to both of them,” he says.
The movie is being crowd funded. Lokesh elucidates, “We have collected a sum of `1 lakh in just a week’s time. We have a small budget of `40 lakh and I sincerely feel that we would achieve the target soon through crowdfunding. Seventy five per cent of the movie is going to be crowdfunded.”
Despite not being proficient enough in Hindi, Lokesh went for a Hindi script. “My initial script was for Tamil audience, but I had no producers who were willing to come forward. Anil Saxena, a film buff, wanted to support the cause. He was of great help to me. Also, Shahnaz Hussain’s Starlight Herbal Salon is styling the artistes free of charge. They all encouraged me to direct the movie in Hindi saying that it would reach a larger audience,” he says.
Lokesh isn’t bothered about directorial nuances. “All I need is the money to make the film, and the message I wish to convey needs to reach society at large,” he says.
So when can we expect the movie to hit the silver screen? “You can expect it very soon, probably by the end of this year or beginning of the next year. Since it talks about a very sensitive issue, I’m pretty sure I would have to struggle a bit, especially with censors. But I am hopeful and confident that the movie would do well once it hits the theaters,” says Lokesh.