| Sridhar Rangayan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 April 1962 Mandya, Karnataka, India |
| Occupation | Film Director, Screenwriter, Film Producer |
| Parents | M. R. Thirunarayan, Yadu Narayan |
Sridhar Rangayan (also spelt Sridhar Rangaihn or Sridhar Rangayyan) (born 2 April 1962)[1]) is an Indian filmmaker who has made films with special focus on queer subjects. His queer films, The Pink Mirror and Yours Emotionally, have been considered groundbreaking because of their realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the largely closeted Indian gay community. His film The Pink Mirror remains banned in India by the Indian Censor Board because of its homosexual content.[2]
Rangayan was born in Mandya, Karnataka. As a gay activist, he has been one of the front-rank leaders in the LGBT movement in India and has contributed immensely towards the growth of awareness about sexual minorities in India,[3][4][5][6]
He is a Founder Member and Trustee of The Humsafar Trust, the first gay NGO in India, along with Ashok Row Kavi. He also designed and edited India's first gay magazine Bombay Dost between 1999 - 2003.
In 2006, he was awarded the South Asian Achievers Award for his contribution to global mainstream media by Triangle Media Group (TMG), UK.
In 2010, he has served on the prestigious Jury for the Teddy Awards at the 60th Berlinale (Berlin, Germany),[7] Jury for Matter of Act awards at the Movies That Matter film festival (The Hague, Netherlands)[8] and also as Jury for SATO-48 (USA) competition.
He is the Festival Director of Kashish Mumbai Queer Film Festival that was held in Mumbai, India from April 22–25, 2010 showcasing more than 110 queer films from 25 countries at two venues. For the first time ever, a queer film festival was held at a mainstream multiplex venue - PVR Cinemas.
He has been elected as Regional Director (region 19)[9] of Interpride which is a network of more than 160 Gay Pride organizations from more than 35 countries in 162 cities, dedicated to LGBT Pride parades and other events.
He is also the Festival Director of Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival that was held in Mumbai, India from December 8–10, 2010 at Alliance française de Bombay and screened 8 documentary films on human rights issues along with panel discussions on several topics like 'human trafficking and the law', 'violence against women' and 'religious intolerance'.
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Sridhar Rangayan is a graduate of National Institute of Technology Karnataka and has a Post-graduate in Design from Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay, specializing in Visual Communication. Sridhar Rangayan worked with the National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped as Mass Media Officer and then for a while as a textile designer for an export firm, designing tapestries and carpets.
In 1994 he attended a short course in film appreciation at the FTII, Pune. Thereafter he apprenticed with eminent Indian directors like Sai Paranjpye on the film 'Papeeha' and TV serial 'Hum Panchi Ek Chal Ke' and Dev Benegal on his feature English August. He wrote the screenplay and dialogues for Kalpana Lajmi's serial 'The Awakening' (Doordarshan) and was the Associate Director for the serial 'Dawn' (Star Plus). Both these were produced by Dr.Bhupen Hazarika, the legendary Assamese music director and singer.
From 1999 to 2002, Rangayan scripted and directed several television series like 'Rishtey' and 'Gubbare' for (Zee TV), 'Kagaar' for (Sahara TV) and 'Krisshna Arjun', 'Kahani Jurrm Ki' for (Star Plus). His serial 'Pyar Ki Kashti Mein' for Star One (2004) was the first Indian serial to be entirely shot on a cuiseliner (SuperStar Virgo) and also in Singapore & Malaysia.
In 2001 he founded his production company Solaris Pictures along with his partner Saagar Gupta, a writer and art director. The company is perhaps the only production company in India to specialize in production of gay themed films. For his company, Rangayan scripted, produced and directed ' India's first film on drag queens' - 'Gulabi Aaina'The Pink Mirror which came 9 years after India's first gay film - Riyad Vinci Wadia's bomGay. The Pink Mirror has screened at more than 70 international film festivals and won several awards. This film, which is a sensitive portrayal of the marginalized community of Indian transsexuals, has become part of libraries and academic course work in US Universities.
His first feature 'Yeh Hai Chakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo (The Sensational Six), produced by the Children's Film Society of India, CFSI is a children film that combines breezy fun-filled adventure with social values. It won the Bronze Remi Award at WorldFest, Houston and has been screened at several children film festivals. The film is written by noted playwright and screenwriter Vijay Tendulkar based on a story by noted writer and MP Shakuntala Paranjpye.
Rangayan's next film Yours Emotionally, a co-production with an UK production company Wise Thoughts portrayed the angst of a gay British Asian falling in love with a bisexual Indian man in a small town. The film is considered to be a bold exploration of the Indian gay milieu with its stark and naked portrayal of homoerotic desires. Termed as an 'intoxicating queer journey through India', the film also raises questions about racism and identity. The film has screened at several international film festivals including Tasveer - Seattle South Asian Film Festival and Prague Bollywood Film Festival.
His recent film '68 Pages' about stigma and discrimination faced by HIV+ people has been funded by DFID, UK and co-produced by his company Solaris Pictures along with The Humsafar Trust. This film which premiered at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in December 2007 is about a HIV/AIDS counselor and how she instills hope and a will to live, among 5 HIV positive people from marginalized communities. A transsexual bar dancer, a gay couple, a sex worker and a drug user form the five narratives in this film. HIVOS has granted a fund to support screening of the film throughout India as part of its advocacy initiative. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has made the film mandatory for all counselor training programmes throughout India as part of their NACP III program.
He was named to the jury for the Teddy Award for LGBT films at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).[10]
Apart from filmmaking, Rangayan is also actively involved with human rights issues and the disability sector. He has made short film on cancer intervention and rehabilitation as well as several films on hearing impairment.
Drama/ 90 mins / India / 2007 / Hindi with English subtitles
Directed and Written by Sridhar Rangayan
Produced by The Humsafar Trust and Solaris Pictures
Coming from a country like India that is still in denial, where being HIV+ is still a curse, 68 Pages rips open the underbelly of its society to reveal how it stigmatizes and shuns those who are HIV+ or even those who just want to be what they are. Through 68 Pages of a counselors diary, we see the stories of Paayal, a sex worker; Nishit, an ID user; Kiran, a gay man and Umrao, a transsexual bar dancer - their stories of pain and fear, humiliation and rejection - not only by the society, but even by their loved ones. While these stories expose the shallowness of the system, it also offers hope and healing by trying to bring about a better understanding of their fight to live with dignity. The film is a tribute to the human spirit of optimism and survival. { Source: imdb} [1]
Drama/Gay / HD / 86 mins / UK-India / 2006
Directed and Written by Sridhar Rangayan
Produced by Wise Thoughts (UK) and Solaris Pictures (India)
Two Brits, Ravi and Paul travel to India where they meet Murthy and Anna an older gay couple that have managed to form a partnership and live together for over 20 years. When Ravi meets and falls for Mani an Indian national who is betrothed to be married. He turns to the older couple for advise and help but traditions die hard in India. {Source: imdb} [2]
(English Title: The Sensational Six)
Drama/Children Film / 35mm / 90 mins / India / 2003
Directed by Sridhar Rangayan
Produced by Children's Film Society, India
Written by: Vijay Tendulkar
An adventure tale of four mischievous children together with a dog and a monkey stumbling upon a dark secret - of a dangerous smuggler Don Douglas who is all set to destroy the peace of a small coastal town. Two of the boys are caught spying and taken away by the goons. How the rest of the team, with ingenuity and daring, rescue them leads to an exciting action-filled climax.
Set in a picturesque Konkan village this entertaining story is also about the fight between the good and the evil and the truth that girls need not be any less than boys. Yeh Hai Chhakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo is all about 'The Sensational Six' who not only have fun, but also are true-life Samaritans. {Source: imdb} [3]
Winner: Bronze Remi Award at 37th WorldFest 2004, Houston
Screenings -
Drama/Gay / DV / 40 mins / India / 2003 / Hindi wst English
Directed and Written by Sridhar Rangayan
Produced by Solaris Pictures (India)
The Pink Mirror pits two Indian drag queens against a westernized gay teenager in a battle to woo a handsome hunk. It's a clash of the east and west. The drag queens, who are expert in the art of seduction with their wit, innuendo and cunning or the young teenager who is saucy, slutty and sly? Underneath the campy humorous exterior, the film is an exploration of the Indian gay landscape and understanding of the deep, humanly tender bondings that exist between drag queens in India who form unique, non-patriarchal families. Using the Bollywood soap idiom of song, dance and drama and for the first time in the Indian drag queens' very own language, Hindi, the film also explores other veiled issues related to the Indian gay community: the lurking threat of HIV/AIDS. {Source: imdb} [4]
Rangayan and his films have won several awards, both Indian and international. They are as follows:
Best Film on Social Issues Award at Ahmadabad International Film Festival 2009, India (for film "68 Pages)
Silver Remi Award at WorldFest 2008, Houston (for film "68 Pages)[5]
South Asian Achievers Award 2006 by Triangle Media, UK
Jury Award for Best Film at 'Fire Island Film Festival 2004, New York, USA (for film "Gulabi Aaina)
Bronze Remi Award at WorldFest 2004, Houston (for children film "Yeh Hai Chakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo' – CFSI )[6]
Best Film of the Festival award at 'Question de Genre' film festival 2003, Lille, France (for film "Gulabi Aaina)
RAPA award for Best Comedy Episode, 1999 (for "Piya Ka Ghar" – Gubbare, Zee TV)
RAPA award for Best Telefilm, 2000 (for "Khamoshiyaan" – Rishtey, Zee TV)