'My Son Is Gay' An Interview with Lokesh Kumar

Lokesh Kumar’s unreleased movie, ‘My Son is Gay’ was recently screened at the NITTE International Film Festival in Mangaluru. In a short interview, he candidly shared his thoughts on movies, language and the LGBTQ representation in India.

*Treading on uncharted territory*

“I was really surprised when I came to know that this is the first movie to explore the topic of sexuality. I don’t understand why the Tamil film industry, which is about a 100 years old hasn’t touched upon such a topic.” Lokesh Kumar mentions how the film industry is reluctant to produce movies focusing on sensitive topics like this fearing censorship. In addition to this they must be extremely cautious as to make sure they’re not offending anyone or being politically incorrect.  

*Representing the oppressed*

Kumar’s movie was screened at multiple film and queer festivals. “At the Pune film festival, a guy came up to me and told that he’d brought his cousin to show him the movie to come out to him. It’s  incidents like this that make me feel like I’ve made a positive impact on someone’s life.” Another fan commented on how mainstream actors working on projects like this will hold a much larger appeal and will be readily accepted due to their existing fan base.

*H is for Homophobic Hate*

“I don’t receive hate from people who talk to me individually. But sometimes I come across comments on social media or articles related to the movie where people spew hate and threats. I don’t really pay attention to them. Most of these haters haven’t even watched the movie and thus don’t understand what it is about. I don’t pay much attention to them. I only focus on the good the movie has brought about.”

*The language barrier*

“The movie being in Tamil isn’t really a barrier anymore. We have excellent subtitles and the audience is much more receptive now. There is still a myth that making a Hindi movie will instantly get you a huge audience. This isn’t true. While there is a majority that understands Hindi, this doesn’t mean that regional movies lack in any manner “.

Lokesh was delighted to receive a welcoming audience at NIFF 2018 and commented that screenings like this open up new avenues to help represent the LGBTQ community and help their cause. ‘My Son is Gay’ is scheduled for box office release later this year in Hindi and Tamil. Mr.Kumar is now working on his next project which is entirely a commercial movie.

– Anusha Shetty