KUCH SAPNEY APNE (Dreams Such As Ours)
120 min / 2024 / India, Sweden / Hindi, English
Kartik & Aman's relationship is tested when one of them has a fling which leads to a domestic spat. Kartik's parents' relationship breaks apart when Damodar and Vasudha have a tiff. Will these two couples ever be able resolve their differences? Will their relationships stand the test of time? Kuch Sapney Apne is a sensitive heartwarming film about relationships, queer or not, and what happens when relationships are challenged by uncomfortable truths.
Kuch Sapney Apne is a follow-up film to Evening Shadows (2018) which won 27 international awards and screened at 82 film festivals. The film boasts of some awesome songs by acclaimed Indian composers and singers.
Insta, X, Facebook: @kuchsapneyapne @solarispictures
Credits
Director : Sridhar Rangayan; Co-Director : Saagar Gupta
Writers: Sridhar Rangayan & Saagar Gupta; Lyrics: Saagar Gupta
Producers: Mohammed Shaik Hussain Ali, Pragyesh Singh, Sridhar Rangayan & Saagar Gupta
Cast: Mona Ambegaonkar, Shishir Sharma, Satvik Bhatia, Arpit Chaudhary, Abhay Kulkarni, Veenah Nair, Yamini Singh, Yateen Karyekar & Teo Wickenbergh
DOP: Subhransu Das; Editor: Pravin Angre; Sound Design: Rahul Rabha; BGM: Suresh Iyer
Singers: Vishal Bhardwaj, Rekha Bhardwaj, Shaan, Shashwat Singh, Sushant Divgikar
Composers: Vishal Bhardwaj, Priyabrata Panigrahi, Ashwin Shreyan & Nishith Hegde
Production Design: Sumeet Patil; Costumes: Inderjit Nagi, Syed Ali Arif & Bipin Tanna
Production Head: Monali Bhardwaj, Line Producer (Mysore): T.N.L. Shastri
Awards
Festivals
RAJA BRO (Raja Bhau)
25 min / 2023 / India / Hindi, Marathi
Producer: The Humsafar Trust
Co-Producer: Solaris Pictures
RAJA BHAU is a sensitive heart-warming story of an Indian transman’s acceptance, by himself and his family. Merlin, born as a girl, felt right from his childhood that he was trapped in the wrong gender. But it took a lot of courage and determination for Merlin to transition to become a transman. With unflinching support from his mother, and acceptance by his other family members, Merlin now is proud of his gender identity. He is now an inspiration to other younger persons struggling with their identity, as he advises them on the correct way to go through transition. His grandmother living on the outskirts of Ratnagiri tells with a chuckle, “I have always called him Raja Bhau (Raja Bro) right from his childhood!”
Facebook: @RajaBroFilm
Insta, X, Facebook: @TheHumsafarTrustOfficial @solarispictures
Credits
Director & Writer: Sridhar Rangayan
Producers: Suhail Abbasi, Vivek Raj Anand, Sridhar Rangayan, Saagar Gupta
Presented by: Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation (NOREC)
DOP: Subhransu Das; Editor: Mohosin Shaikh; BGM: Suresh Iyer
Equipment Courtesy: Accord Equips
Cast: Merlin Mandavkar, Devyani Mandavkar, Anita Bhatkar
Song Lyrics & Lead Vocals: Sharif D Rangnekar; Song Producer: Friends of Linger
Awards
Festivals
EVENING SHADOWS
102 min / 2018 / India / Hindi
Rating: UA (Unrestricted public exhibition, but parental guidance is recommended for children under 12)
In a small town in Southern India that lives within a cocoon of traditions and social morality, when a young gay man Kartik, comes out to his mother Vasudha, her entire world comes crashing down. She has no one to turn to dispel her fears and doubts, to understand her loving son’s truth. Moreover as a woman, trapped within a patriarchal conservative society, her biggest challenge is to deal with her dogmatic husband Damodar, and the conservative society around her. ‘Evening Shadows’ is a universal story about a mother-son bonding and its emotional strength to withstand the ravages of time and harsh realities.
Facebook, Insta: @eveningshadowsfilm @solarispictures
Credits
Director: Sridhar Rangayan
Writers: Sridhar Rangayan & Saagar Gupta; Lyrics: Saagar Gupta
Producers: Mohammed Shaik Hussain Ali, Karim Ladak, Sridhar Rangayan & Saagar Gupta
Cast: Mona Ambegoankar, Ananth Mahadevan, Devansh Doshi, Arpit Chaudhary, Abhay Kulkarni, Veena Nair, Yamini Singh & Sushant Divgikar
DOP: Subhransu Das; Editor: Pravin Angre; Sound Design: Madhu Apasara; BGM: Suresh Iyer
Singer & Composer: Shubha Mugdal; Arranger: Shantanu Herlekar
Art Director: Kuhu Malla; Costumes: Bipin Tanna, Inderjit Nagi & Syed Ali Arif
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BREAKING FREE
82 min / 2015 / India / English, Hindi
Rating: A (Restricted to adult audiences)
Filmmaker and gay activist Sridhar Rangayan embarks on a personal journey to expose the human rights violations faced by the LGBTQ community in India due to a draconian law Section 377 and homophobic social mores of a patriarchal society. BREAKING FREE, shot over 7 years, features real-life testimonies of gay and transgender persons who have been victimized or exploited, as well as interviews with prominent advocates and activists across India. See-sawing between despair and joy, anguish and hope, this National Award winning documentary feature is a path-breaking historical insider’s documentation of the Indian LGBTQ movement from invisibility to empowerment.
Facebook: @breakingfreeindia @solarispictures
Credits
Director: Sridhar Rangayan
Producers: Sridhar Rangayan & Saagar Gupta
Cast: Sridhar Rangayan, Anand Grover, Arvind Narrain, Anjali Gopalan, Shobhna S. Kumar, Pallav Patankar, Vivek Raj Anand
DOP: Subhransu Das; Editor: Pravin Angre, Sridhar Rangayan; Sound Design: Madhu Apasara;BGM: Suresh Iyer
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PURPLE SKIES
82 min / 2015 / India / English, Hindi
Producer: PSBT
Co-Producer: Solaris Pictures
Rating: U (Unrestricted public exhibition)
Fighting against stereotypes, gender and sexual bias, rigid family values and a law that criminalizes homosexuality, LBT (lesbian, bisexual or trans) people in India face insurmountable challenges to live openly and with dignity. Purple Skies weaves together heartrending stories of LBT people victimized and subjugated by the law, the family and society, as well as hopeful stories of youngsters who have come out of the closet bravely. By placing it in context of the historic struggle of the LGBT community in India, and juxtaposing personal stories with critical analysis of issues by activists and advocates; the film offers a compelling inside view of Indian LBT lives.
Facebook: @eveningshadowsfilm @solarispictures
Credits
Director: Sridhar Rangayan
Producers:Rajeev Mehrotra, Sridhar Rangayan & Saagar Gupta
Cast: Sonal Giani, Upasana Naithani, Prashansa, Vineet, Sonia Singhal, Anand Grover, Arvind Narrain, Anjali Gopalan, Shobhna S. Kumar
DOP:Subhransu Das; Editor: Pravin Angre; BGM: Suresh Iyer
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PROJECT BOLO
20 Episodes x 30 min each / 2011 / India / Hindi, English
Producer: The Humsafar Trust
Co-Producer: Solaris Pictures
For the first time in India, 20 LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) persons in four cities open up in a candid manner to offer an inside view into their lives, views and accomplishments in PROJECT BOLO, meaning 'Project Speak Up'.
Facebook: Project Bolo
Credits
Director: Sridhar Rangayan
Producers:Vivek Raj Anand, Sridhar Rangayan, Saagar Gupta
Cast: Aditya Bandopadhyay, Ashok Row Kavi, Betu Singh, Bindumadhav Khire, Dalip Daswani, Gauri Sawant, Geeta Kumana, Giti Thadani, Hoshang merchant, Jehangir Jani, Lachi, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Manvendra Singh Gohil, Nisha, Parmesh Shahani, R. Raj Rao, Ruth Vanita, Saleem Kidwai, Shivananda Khan, Sunil Gupta
DOP:Subhransu Das; Editor: Biren Mohanty; BGM: Suresh Iyer
Awards
Festivals
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68 PAGES
92 min / 2007 / India / Hindi
Producer: The Humsafar Trust
Co-Producer: Solaris Pictures
Rating: A (Restricted to adult audiences)
Coming from a country like India that is still in denial, where being HIV+ is still a curse, '68 Pages' rips open the underbelly of its society to reveal how it stigmatizes and shuns those who are HIV+ or even those who just want to be what they are. Through 68 Pages of a counselor’s diary, we see the stories of Paayal, a sex worker; Nishit, an ID user; Kiran, a gay man and Umrao, a transgender bar dancer - their stories of pain and fear, humiliation and rejection - not only by the society, but even by their loved ones. While these stories expose the shallowness of the system, it also offers hope and healing by trying to bring about a better understanding of their fight to live with dignity. The film is a tribute to the human spirit of optimism and survival.
Facebook: 68 Pages
Insta, X, Facebook: @TheHumsafarTrustOfficial @solarispictures
Credits
Director: Sridhar Rangayan
Producers:Vivek Raj Anand, Sridhar Rangayan, Saagar Gupta
Screenplay: Sridhar Rangayan; Dialogues: Vivek Raj Anand; Lyrics: Saagar Gupta
Cast: Moulli Ganguly, Jayati Bhatia, Joy Sengupta, Sherrin Verghese, Zafar Karachiwala, Dilnaz Irani, Uday Sonawane, Abhay Kulkarni, Rupal Patel
DOP:Subhransu Das; Editor: Pravin Angre; BGM: Aashish Rego Suresh Iyer
Song Composer: Band of Boys; Singers: Karan Oberoi, Sudanshu Pandey, Sherrin Verghese, Chintu Bhosle, Siddharth Haldipur, Narayani Shastri
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YOURS EMOTIONALLY
82 min / 2006 / India, UK / English
Producer: Wise Thoughts (UK)
Co-Producer: Solaris Pictures
Two Brits, Ravi and Paul travel to India where they meet Murthy and Anna an older gay couple that have managed to form a partnership and live together for over 20 years. When Ravi meets and falls for Mani an Indian national who is betrothed to be married. He turns to the older couple for advise and help but traditions die hard in India.
Facebook: WiseThoughts
Insta, X, Facebook: @solarispictures
Credits
Director: Sridhar Rangayan
Writers: Sridhar Rangayan, Niranjan Kamatkar
Producers:Vivek Raj Anand, Sridhar Rangayan, Saagar Gupta
Cast: Premjit, Jack Lamport, Pratik Gandhi, Iravati Karnik, Abhay Kulkarni, Ikhlaq Khan, Ajay Rohilla
DOP: Deepak Pandey; Editor: Nishant Radhakrishnan; Sound: Baylon Fonseca
BGM: Ameya Naik, William Longden; Production Design: Saagar Gupta
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GULABI AAINA (The Pink Mirror)
40 min / 2003 / India / Hindi
The Pink Mirror pits two Indian drag queens against a westernized gay teenager in a battle to woo a handsome hunk. It's a clash of the east and west. Who will win? The drag queens, who are expert in the art of seduction with their wit, innuendo and cunning or the young teenager who is saucy, slutty and sly? Underneath the campy humorous exterior, the film is an exploration of the Indian gay landscape and understanding of the deep, humanly tender bondings that exist between drag queens in India who form unique, non-patriarchal families. Using the Bollywood soap idiom of song, dance and drama and for the first time in the Indian drag queens' very own language, Hindi, the film also explores other veiled issues related to the Indian gay community: the lurking threat of HIV/AIDS
Facebook: 68 Pages
Insta, X, Facebook: @solarispictures
Credits
Director: Sridhar Rangayan
Writers:Sridhar Rangayan, Saagar Gupta
Producers: Sridhar Rangayan, Saagar Gupta
Cast: Edwin Fernandes, Ramesh Menon, Rishi Raj, Rufy Khan, Deepak Sonawane
DOP:Deepak Pandey; Editor: Ajay Paralkar; BGM: Aashish Rego
Production Design: Saagar Gupta
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