Stopping The Film On A Gay Soldier Is Wrong
The India Commentary view
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-02-15 16:35:55
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The India Commentary view
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It is surprising that in this age and time, when even the Supreme Court has decriminalized homosexual relationships, the Indian Army has refused to permit director Onir to make a film on a story about a gay soldier. The Army's decision is all the more unacceptable as the film is based on a true story of a gay Indian major falling in love with a Kashmiri man and is well-documented.
The Army says that if a film is made on the story, it will depict the armed forces in poor light. How could the natural sexual orientation of a soldier bring the Army and the country into disrepute? In fact, if the film is not allowed to be made, it will show the Army as being insensitive.
It is not as if Onir is making a fiction film on a gay soldier (although the rejection of the script would have been equally unacceptable if it was a fictionalized story). He has picked up a true story, one that has been told many times by the major. The facts are well known. If the story is there in print and on online platforms, why prevent a cinematic version from being made? A progressive state is known by its acceptance of people as they are and allowing the chronicling of a true story of homosexual love will win accolades.
The Army should reconsider its decision and give a no-objection certificate for the film. In the words of Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madras HC, the Army must unlearn to learn about the LGBTQIA+ community and junk its prejudices. The Supreme Court had, in its judgment decriminalizing homosexuality, said that history owed an apology to the community. If the Army stops the film from being made, another apology will become due.
