Channel 4 announces Bollywood gay film season

Channel 4 has confirmed to BizAsia that it will be telecasting its annual Bollywood movie season with a focus on four gay film titles.

The ‘Queer India’ season starts on Monday 8th October and will consist of the following films:
– ‘Chitrangada’ – Provocative director Rituparno Ghosh also stars as a choreographer whose love for a male drug addict leads him to undergo gender reassignment surgery
Telecast: Monday 8th October.

‘Fire’ is a powerful family drama and the first Indian film to deal explicitly with lesbianism, Fire is an honest portrayal of two women’s search for freedom in contemporary New Delhi
Telecast: Wednesday 10th October

‘Sancharram’ is based on a true story, this Malayalam film is a lyrical portrait of lesbian love between two young women in a small community in Kerala
Telecast: Monday 15th October

‘My Brother Nikhil’ is about a young sportsman Nikhil is the star of his family until his homosexuality and HIV positive status expose him to terrible discrimination.
Telecast: Wednesday 17th October

The Channel 4 Bollywood season started earlier this month beginning with a tribute to the late Bangladeshi director Tareque Masud with two subtle and thoughtful examples of Indian independent cinema centering on shifting attitudes towards Islam. The season continues with a compelling mix of mainstream commercial blockbusters and independent drama, with four films from celebrated composer-turned-film maker Vishal Bhardwaj, including ‘Omkara’: the all-star Bollywood retelling of Shakespeare’s Othello.

‘Kaniney’, ‘Makdee’ and ‘The Blue Umbrella’ are the other movies being telecast.

The films are being telecast in a late night Saturday/Monday/Wednesday slot. Please check listings for full timings.