Published 18:56 IST, May 17th 2020
Apurva slams film portrayal, Onir proud of being gay as they mark day against homophobia
Apurva Asrani slammed portrayal in films and Onir expressed his pride at being gay as they marked International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia.
Celebrities from the film industry shared strong responses as the world celebrated International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on Sunday. Right from calling out the discrimination meted out to the communities, highlighting the portrayal in films and urging acceptance of the members, Apurva Asrani and Onir were among those who expressed their thoughts on Twitter.
Apurva Asrani termed the portrayal involving the community in films ‘appallingly homophobic’. The National Award-winner editor and writer called out leading protagonists for being gay for laughs, and about being gay shown only to ‘have sex/fun’. The artist known for work in Shahid, Citylights, Aligargh, said one could make money despite not showing love, but causing ‘irreversible damage’.
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Onir opened up in a strong-worded video where he pointed out how discrimination affected the community, while highlighted instances from mythology.
"It is a matter of shame that despite the Supreme Court verdict and the year being 2020, there is so much of hatred, so much of lack of empathy in our country and many other places all over the world against a community because of their sexual preference. I don’t understand why someone’s sexual preference should bother anybody, when I am not bothered by yours, so why would mine bother you," he is heard saying.
He added, "On giving the excuse of science, culture, religion, history, it has been constantly proven wrong that they are fake narrative. If you look back at our history, the Mahabharat was primarily won because of Shikhandi, and playing an important role, he was treated with love and respect by Krishna and the Pandavas. The Kamasutra or in the temples have celebrated and accepted various forms of sexuality and gender."
The National Award-winning director also shared how a 21-year-old girl committed suicide after coming out to her family that she was a bisexual and could not take the harassment and unacceptance over it.
“Every year, this claims many lives, causes mental torture and forces lot of people to lead double lives, which is very sad," he said while stating that despite the hurdles, he will proudly love to be born as gay.
Kubbra Sait, who had played the role of a transgender Cuckoo in Sacred Games, shared a snap from her look in the show and wrote how it had’ emphatically’ driven home the point that '#LoveIsLove.' The actor urged all to love the members of the community in the same way as she was showered with love for the character.
Updated 18:56 IST, May 17th 2020