Manoj Bajpayee Bags Cinema’s Highest Award For ‘Aligarh’.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award, which is India’s highest recognition in the field of cinema, is going to honour Manoj Bajpayee with ‘Best Actor (Critics’ Choice) Award for his outstanding performance in Aligarh.

The biopic, which features Manoj Bajpayee in the lead, portrays the story of a 64-year-old gay professor, Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, who was removed from his job due to his sexual orientation and was found dead in mysterious conditions. The film was recognised by many prominent national and international film festivals, and was marked as one of the best movie of Indian Cinema.

This year, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2016 is going to take place on the occasion of the 147th Dadasaheb Phalke Jayanti in Mumbai.

Talking about it, Bajpayee says, “I am honoured; it is a wonderful feeling. I would like to dedicate this award to Siras for his immense struggle in his journey to prove the true meaning of love to the world. A special thanks to our director Hansal Mehta for his courage to showcase this story, to my co-star Rajkummar Rao and to the entire team of Aligarh . I am thankful to my audience and critics for their tremendous appreciation and love.”

Indian Parents Launch LGBT Support Group After Son Comes Out!

Vijay and Sushma Agarwal, who helped their son organize his Hindu gay wedding at Canada, have launched a Support Group, telling they hope they can help their community to be ‘more open’.

After joining a support group for ‘parents, families and friends of LGBTs in Canada– the pair have been busy spreading the word about acceptance, with Sushma even publishing a book called Loving My Gay Child.

The Agarwals hope it will encourage people from Indian community in particular to seek support.

When Rishi came out to his parents, they were initially shocked but Vijay (father) quickly decided he should approach the situation with logic. He says, ‘I realized that even though I’d always thought I was a knowledgeable guy, I’d been totally ignorant about this subject. And I hope that before I leave this Earth, people will be saying how silly it was that they used to think being gay was unnatural. This is how humans have been made by God.’

Sushma, Rishi’s mother was especially thrilled to report that their story has been featured in The Hindustan Times. She said, “If we can get the community talking about this, instead of keeping things hush-hush and suffering inside, then that’s success.”

It takes a family to make a wedding memorable. From L to R: Vijay, Rishi, Dan and Sushma at the same-sex Hindu wedding of their son, Rishi with Dan.

 

 

 

 

James Franco Comes Out, Kind of!

“It’s where my allegiance lies, where my sensibilities lie, how I define myself. Yeah, I’m a little gay, and there’s a gay James.”

Actor and director James Franco has hinted again that he does not fully identify as straight, saying he is gay “up to the point of intercourse”. James recently admitted that he is a little gay and called himself a gay cock tease in a new interview.

The 38-year-old actor  ho has played gay in several hollywood movies, said that there is a bit of over-focusing on his sexuality, but he cannot understand why people care.
He added that because he is a celebrity, they care who is he having sex with, but if the definition of gay and straight is who he sleeps with then he could say that he is a gay cock tease.
“It’s where my allegiance lies, where my sensibilities lie, how I define myself. Yeah, I’m a little gay, and there’s a gay James,” said James, who has played gay in many hollywood movies.

His new film is ‘King Cobra’, in which he plays a seedy gay porn producer-cum-murderer who seduces a young star.

Sridhar Rangayan and Manish Gandhi Selected in Global List of LGBT Influencers!

Filmmaker Sridhar Rangayan, and theatre director and TV actor, Manish Gandhi, have been selected by a worldwide nomination to be part of British Council’s first Global List of 33 inspiring people who are changing social perceptions about LGBTQ communities throughout the world.

 

This incredible collection of 22 men and 11 women from 23 countries features people who are challenging laws and beliefs every day, using culture to create safe spaces and inclusive visions of their societies and connecting with people around the world.

 

Rangayan’s recent films are creating awareness about Indian LGBTQ community in mainstream platforms. His film Purple Skies was telecast on Doordarshan, his latest film ‘Breaking Free’ has been selected to be part of the Indian Panorama 2015.

 

Manish Gandhi directed and played in Theatre’s COCK – The Play. Cock, written by British playwright Mike Bartlett, rips apart the proverbial curtain that covers the sex closet.

https://www.facebook.com/GayRightsIndia/posts/854986924630051

 

The 33 LGBT cultural influencers who are part of the fiveFilms4freedom Global List were shortlisted from numerous nominations that were received in response to the global public campaign aimed to find people who are using culture to promote freedom and equality, who are provoking debate, and who are sometimes risking their lives to promote the rights of LGBTQ people in their communities, societies and countries.