Curated for Pride Library, University of Western Ontorio, Canada
Copyright Sridhar Rangayan, 2009
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DISCLAIMER: All interpretations and readings is by the author. All the images and videos on this site have been used only for reference, collated from sources on the internet.
CREDITS
Title: Girlfriend
Year: 2004
Language: Hindi
Subtitle: English
Genre: Feature
Director: Karan Razdan
SYNOPSIS
Tanya hates all men because of the brutal way her father abused her mother, finally leading to her death. She learns kick-boxing and becomes an expert street-fighter. Then she meets Sapna and it is love at first sight. Tanya and Sapna share an apartment and settle in to a comfortable relationship for five years. But nothing lasts forever, and change came to their lives with the arrival of a London-based shipping company owner, Rahul Choudhary, who falls in love with Sapna and plans to marry her right away. Tanya's world comes crushing down, losing Sapna means losing everything. She hatches a devious scheme that will not only separate Rahul and Sapna, but also ensure that Sapna never ever thinks of leaving her again.
QUEER NOTES
The lengthy love making scene between the two women, the generous display of skin shocked viewers but also caught the attention of the Indian masses. But the critics ripped it apart for its insensitive portrayal of lesbians and for reaffirming the stereotype that �Homosexuals are psychopathic freaks�. Most people feel that the film fails to recognize and reflect the true essence of same sex relationships. The film became controversial and faced aggressive actions from Indian Hindu hardliners and also received flak from Gay and Lesbian community in India.
ACTOR/S IN QUEER ROLE
Isha Koppikar as Tanya and Amrita Arora as Sapna (lesbians)
LINKS
Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414714/
queer portrayals in Indian films