Filmmaker Faruk Kabir feels a lot changed after the decriminalisation of homosexuality by Supreme Court two years ago, on September 6 in 2018.
“I was very inspired that an entire law had been abolished in the country. It also drew my curiosity as to how the law got abolished and who were the people who were involved in protesting against it. There were so many petitioners who fought for about 17 years to get rid of Section 377. I have a lot of friends from the LGBTQ community and they feel more confident and comfortable about their orientation now. There’s more acceptance,” said Faruk, who was recently in the news for directing the digitally-released Vidyut Jammwal romantic action drama, “Khuda Haafiz”.
Faruk’s focus on Section 377 happens at this point because September 6 marked two years of the historic Supreme Court judgement that decriminalised consensual same-sex relations. The filmmaker had explored the subject in his 2019 film, “377 AbNormal”, which follows years of litigation to decriminalise homosexuality.
“I read about Arif Jafar, who was the first petitioner from Lucknow. He was one of the first persons in India to be booked under Section 377. He was arrested without remand for 45 days. That story lit the fire in my mind and I felt there was a poignant human drama waiting to be told. I wanted to explore it cinematically,” he said.
However, Faruk feels there is a long way to go for a complete change in society.
“Most of India still continues to be homophobic and there’s a long way to go to give homosexuals the same respect and dignity as heterosexuals. I made ‘377 AbNormal’ for the heterosexual community so that they understand what the LGBTQ community feels and goes through. I wanted them to witness their journey,” he added.
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