'Rainbow Rishta' director Jaydeep Sarkar spoke at length about coming out of the closet, the challenges he faced, the acceptance and inclusion of the LGBTQI+ community in society, their representation in films and shows, and a lot more.
Filmmaker and writer Jaydeep Sarkar has pushed the envelope with the documentary series 'Rainbow Rishta' on the LGBTQI+ community. It released on Amazon Prime Video recently. The six-episode series is unscripted. Jaydeep and his team have sensitively represented the community by exploring stories of three singles and three couples. It will touch your heart and turn you teary-eyed for sure.
'Rainbow Rishta' features Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, Aishwarya Ayushmaan aka Lushmonsoon,·Soham Sengupta, Daniella Mendonca, Suresh Ramdas, Sadam Hanjabam, Sanam Choudhury and Aneez Saikia as the protagonists of the show.
Jaydeep is on cloud nine for the responses the series has received. He himself is from the community and like other queers, he too had his own struggles to come out. It took Sarkar years to finally come out openly in his 30s. 'Rainbow Rishta' to a great extent is 'therapeutic' for him.
Post the release of the show, Garima Das of Outlook India had a freewheeling conversation with Jaydeep where he spoke at length about coming out of the closet, the challenges he faced, the acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQI+ community in society, their representation in films and shows, and a lot more. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
In the 90s, you came out and I guess it was not easy for you. Can you please tell us about your story?
I grew up in Delhi, deeply in the closet but I used to really enjoy dressing up and slowly, I started getting aware of my identity. When in school I was called chakka, that's when the shame came in. The shame still remains till date and this show has been very therapeutic for me because after working with Ayushmaan, Daniella, and Trinetra, I have been inspired to be able to own my sexuality.
Once I came out at the age of 33, I had great colleagues, producers, friends, and family. My family has taken some time to come to terms and they still are but I have been blessed with a very lovely support group. In fact, one of the people I worked in advertising with, Swati Bhattacharya, was the first person who gave me the first project, 'Out and Proud'. It was just a 2-minute video and it was just about queer people talking about how they live and what they do. When it was received well, I felt like a validation and I wondered why I lived in shame in all these years.
Before Rainbow Rishta if I was in a meeting and while talking I felt a little bit of homophobia and I would go into my shell and I am talking about the workspace. But now when I feel homophobia in the room, I hold my hands and flash my nail polish right in front of them and it's an armour. It gives me so much power. Now, it's now finally, at 44, I have realised that being queer is a superpower and I am glad I discovered it.
This is a very sensitive topic. While making the show did you have any apprehension that people might take offence?
The only thing that I was sensitive, worried and cautious about was my characters and not pushing them beyond their comfort zone. I have always pretended to be somebody else till the age of 33. So, when I got this chance, I got greedy and we were telling very innocent and authentic stories. So, if someone gets offended by love, do I need to be worried about that person's point of view? I don't have the time for that.
Have you found love?
I am in an 11-year relationship now. Last year, I got inspired by Daniella and my mother-in-law did a havan for me and my partner in Jamshedpur.
Back in the '80s, '90s or the early 2000s, the community didn't get a proper representation in Bollywood films. As a filmmaker, do you think the representation has changed be it 'Badhaai Do' or other stories that have come up?
I do feel that the needle is moving but at the same time what is happening is that in a lot of other works, the stereotypes are being perpetuated. In Badhaai Do, it was brilliant but there are other pieces that have come out and have been very popular and got great reviews. If you ask queer people about the representation of their lives, they will say that it has been very problematic. It had perpetuated stereotypes of a transperson being a murderer or things like that. That is very problematic.
So, if you don't look at representation with a sense of responsibility, if you are just a bunch of cishead people who are looking at getting TRPs or numbers and a shocking plot point and that is why you bring us in, I would request not to do that. Do us a favour. Find something else but yeah, don't perpetuate stereotypes because it's really taking the conversation backwards. Representation is important but the tone has to be right and if you don't know the tone, do your homework and then come to the table.
I really thank OTT platforms for bringing in that representation. It's the people who are making it and constantly getting it wrong one after the other. The critics are not calling them out for it. It's very disappointing to see that because our fight has been fought by us, the queer people and not by the straight people. So, you are making a dent in the work that we have done all by ourselves. I feel sad that people want to see queer lives only as victims and villains.
There has been this debate about whether straight actors should play LGBTQ+ roles or not. What is your view on it?
I think lived experiences are very very important. If you don't have an actor who is willing to put in the work to understand that lived experience or if the person doesn't even fit that context, please don't cast that person. Yes, if you have a phenomenal actor like Konkana Sensharma playing a trans character in 'A Monsoon Date' written by Gazal Dhaliwal who is a transwoman, I get in because Konkana puts in the hard work. Similarly, I want trans actors to play various other roles as well and play not just trans people. But representation is important because it comes with a responsibility. So, when you are casting a straight actor in a queer role, that person should do a lot of homework and come to the table prepared and do justice. Don't cast because of star value. That is very offensive. You are capitalising on us and making money out of our sorrow and it's not even helping anyone.