Comments and Feedback on YE site

May God bless those who have made this movie. - Name Withheld (India)

I liked the Film..and the stroryline. All in all it’s a great effort. - RM (San Francisco)

I was really impressed with your skills of film making. I thought the camera work and the colours used were so wonderful and at times intoxicating. I felt swept along by the sheer beauty of it all. It really captured India to me with all its diverse life styles and colours and I really felt how drab the old home town looked in comparison! It was daring, inventive, surprising, moving and exhilarating. - Russell

Please Bring such films forwards Specially with the topic that Gayism Exists in India from ancient times. so that hipocrits can understand and accept the fact. - Name Withheld (India)

I felt going through many emotional strands: I was touched, entertained, happy, confused, misplaced, and sincerely laughing about the vicissitudes of the characters and their lives and self-discoveries. it is the India that I know and you have captured her spirit. - Stephano

We think the film challenges many stereotypes both Indian Gay and British too. Some of the cinematography was very, very good with many of the dream type sequences innovative and captivating. It’s also very touching at the end... We enjoyed watching ‘Yours Emotionally!’ - Bryan & Brent (London)

Yours Emotionally is a hard hitting and dark representation of the present face of Indian homosexual community. It is commendable that Sridhar & Niranjan bring to fore a harsh face of the community that many of us may not be willing to accept. It is stylistic in narration with a mix of real and surreal scenes that are blend beautifully together. - - Vivek Anand, CEO Humsafar Trust (India)

The film has very well portrayed different gay identities and how they interact with each other. The fact that this film was shot in quite a few public place in Rajpipla with quite daring scenes goes to show that no eyebrows were raised during the shooting of the film. Homosexuality though considered as a social stigma in India, but in smaller towns gays don't feel shy in practicing it even after being forced into marriage to a girl. They will continue to lead a "double role" in their life. In quite a few marriages, the female partner knows that her husband is gay, but still she won't mind if her husband sleeps with another man, but will mind if he sleeps with another woman. This is has been found out in one of the studies undertaken by Lakshya specially in rural Gujarat. - Manvendra Singh, CEO Lakshya Trust (India)

it has so much passion and heart...and has some really sexy scenes with such an attractive cast. Sridhar: you're a very good director, getting great performances out of the actors, and putting the camera in very nice strategic positions. - Paul Lee (Toronto)

First I want to thank you for being a filmmaker and for having the passion to make films that address and deal with storylines/subject matter which are pertinent to an LGBT audience. - Name Withheld (USA)

its a gr8 concept u came up with... so glad somebody came up with the topic... I stay in FL, USA. am a student here. I\'d like 2 know how i could get 2 see the film... - Name Withheld

I would like to know how I can see this film in Bangalore - Praveen (Bangalore)

The story line and locales are great feels great when people outside india worry about indian gay issues. more are expected from the QueerNRI s - shoemakerlevi (hamburg)

Film is good and i appreciate the Director and its efforts and hope they will keep it up.... - SURAJ (CHANDIGARH)

Film is good and i appreciate the Director's efforts, hope they will keep it up.... - SURAJ (CHANDIGARH)

good - sri (kum)

how can we see the film in hyd . - aravind (hyd , india)

can we see more of the india gay and films - armaan (ajmer)

It's about time someone took this step. Let the Indian audience wake up to the truth... Bravo! Definitely one giant leap for India cinema. There will be plenty of opposition, doubtless, but this film must be out. Here's to a poineering movie. May it come out as eye-opener... - Prasanna

i never seen this movie.....but i think so this good movie evergoing to be for gays i think so.i love this movie.i want to see soon this movie. - niki (hongkong)

Can you arrange for the indian audience to see the picture?? i think this will revolutionize the way people think about peoples willingness to experiment with some thing new. - Jeet (Indian)

Nice to see movies like this keep comming up... Its a definite gud move to bring the darkness to light.. Hope movie is kewl and attract audiance and ideas... - Ashwin (CHennai)

I am very unlucky as I did not have a chance to act in your movie. Anyway great work to express about gay emotions and hardship we undergo in our strict cultural settings. - Jey (Canada)

I have a post up on my blog with my take of the film (http://queerindia.blogspot.com/2006/01/yours-emotionally-ii-my-take.html). It's also cross-posted on Desicritics.org at http://desicritics.org/2006/01/30/010510.php. - Nitin Karani (Mumbai (Bombay))

think its a good movie...lemme wait and see - abhishek joshi (bangalore)

nice - ram (trivandrum)

i like the story,its a nice thought & i want to see this movie. - mickey desai (gujarat)

I cvould not watch the trailer, but read the background literature provided on this website. I am very keen to watch this movie but do not know how! Can you please help. I would like to compliment the members of the moview crew who made such an important issue visible. Congratulations! - Ashish (Roorkee)

A very interesting film and great photography !! - Rich (USA)

hope to see the film .can any one tell me where the screening will be done - addi (orissa)

Wow!!! I can't wait to see the film but I already love the story and the trailer... Please PleasePlease let me know where I can find a DVD of this film ? - anita (NJ,USA)

Cool! Where can I see it? - Shakti (Auckland)

Cool :) Where can I see it? - Shakti (New Zealand)

Gr8 work again guys like always, cant wait to see this one. - haresh bharwani (Brighton UK)

could v do with less sex please... the concepts were wonderful, actors like premjit, anna were wonderful, but in the end i just came home and shagged...im sure thats not all that you wanted from the movie shridhar! hope u dont mind my frank critics... im from the same feild dear and could relate to your views and vision in ur capacity as the director... I hope u take this critisism in your stride... hopw u dont hold this against me... - rajiv (mumbai)

Hey that was a really cool film... ya a bit bold, but it was all so sensitively handled. I loved the elderly couple's love and bitching... so much like any other relationships. Keep up the good work folks and hope to see more interesting films from such pioneers :-) Salute' - Pranay

Wondering where I may purchase a DVD of this movie? - Dr. Shah (Boston)

i saw it @ nyc premier, LOVED the film, when is it coming out on DVD? i just chk'd NetFlex, they dont have u listing :(( - s.a.o (nyc)

i am very emotional in friendship i like friendship - ram kumar (india)

What a film! - x (Mumbai)

Hey just heard the film is screening at British Council, Mumbai on Nov 1. That's gr8. Can't wait to see it. Also wonder how conservative Indian audiences will react. - Nirmal (Mumbai)

I'm teaching a new course called "Asian Homosexualities in Film and Literature" at the University of Massachusetts Amherst next semester. I would very much like to see this film to determine if it might be good for my students. Can you help me? - Stephen Miller (South Deerfield, MA)

i like the film . also i like the characters in this film .the movie was so,nice. - sandip (kolkata)

this film shows different views of diffeerent people in this 21st century for certain part of our society. i appriciate the director for the film. - Monty (Gujrarat india)

i just watched trailer. its cool. thanks for featuring us. is there any chance it to be screened in india - sumith (kerala)

its nice to read about this film, but i dont have any idea how i can see this movie. - Ketan (Mumbai)

Comments on Yours Emotionally by Manavendra Gohil

Comments on Yours Emotionally by Manavendra Gohil, the first out gay prince, in whose palace the film was shot -

The location of the film shown as Shimoga is a rural town in India. The story revolves round a British Asian Gay, Ravi visiting this town and falling in love with one of its residents, Mani. The story also has a middle aged gay couple which interferes in this relationship. We assume that Shimoga being a small place the mentality of the townfolk is such that they are ignorant about gay relations. But, actually it is not so.

The film is actually shot in a place called Rajpipla in Gujarat which is a very happening place as regards homosexuality is considered and it also happens to be the headquarters of Gujarat State's first Gay Organisation (i.e. Lakshya Trust). The fact that this film was shot in quite a few public place with quite daring scenes goes to show that no eyebrows were raised during the shooting of the film.

Homosexuality though considered as a social stigma in India, but in smaller towns gays don't feel shy in practicing it even after being forced into marriage to a girl. They will continue to lead a "double role" in their life. Mani knows that he ultimately has to marry a girl but does not feel sorry about it. His other gay friends have also undergone the same process. In quite a few marriages, the female partner knows that her husband is gay, but still she won't mind if her husband sleeps with another man, but will mind if he sleeps with another woman. This has been found out in one of the studies undertaken by Lakshya specially in rural Gujarat.

But this kind of behaviour is found to be strange, especially for a person like Ravi. The film shows the local people of Shimoga talking about the gay couple, Murthi and Anna. They perhaps know about their relationship, but will not openly discuss it. The film has very well portrayed different gay identities and how they interact with each other. However, the racial discrimination shown in the dialogue between Ravi and Paul could have been avoided.

Yours Emotionally pulls no punches

All over the world DVD
Published 07/05/2007
by David Alexander Nahmod

If you want to stretch your Pride party into the summer, these DVDs might be a good start.

Yours, Emotionally (Water Bearer Films, 2005)

Sirdhar Rangayan's charming, daring film from India offers a fascinating look inside that country's emerging gay culture. Yours, Emotionally pulls no punches. It's the tale of gay best buds Ravi and Paul (single-named Premjit and Jack Lamport) traveling across the exotic land of the Taj Mahal. The film does not shy away from soft-core depictions of man-on-man sexuality. Because of this, it has yet to receive approval from India's rigid censor board. Fortunately for us, such restrictions do not exist in the USA.

Ravi, a second-generation Sikh, and Paul, an Englishman, live in London, where both are out and proud. In Ravi's ancestral homeland, they find a gay community far more open than they expected, as well as a community still held at bay by the country's antiquated views on sexuality.

Soon after their arrival, Ravi meets and falls in love with handsome, shy Mani (Prateek Ghandi). Their love is at first sight and mutual. But Mani is committed to an arranged marriage from which he cannot back out. Their love is doomed.

Paul, meanwhile, is a horny dude who discovers that same-sex encounters are easy to find in India. As Ravi's heart breaks, Paul is having the time of his life.

The pair spend some time at a B&B run by Murthy and Anna (Ikhlaq Khan, Ajay Rohilla), a middle-aged gay couple. As they get to know each other, all four men have life-altering epiphanies. The "boys" learn the true meaning of love from their older counterparts, who in turn learn the meaning of gay pride from the young ones. Lifelong friendships are formed.

Yours, Emotionally is beautifully shot, hypnotic in its use of light, shadow, and color to convey moods. Ravi and Paul come to India on a sexual journey, but their vacation becomes a spiritual awakening.

Water Bearer Films offer Yours Emotionally letterboxed. The film's trailer and cast/director interviews are included.

YE on New York Times

DVD sale sites

An intoxicating queer journey through India”

Two best friends, Ravi and Paul, go on vacation to India where they attend an all night, eye-opening gay sex party. Surprised by the openness of their hosts and the aggressiveness of the guests, the boys fall into the steadily growing Indian gay culture. Ravi is especially bitten hard as he falls for the good looking but deeply closeted Mani. Will caste, economics and customs allow these two love birds a happy ending or will the forces of tradition and homophobia keep them apart?

Fueled by flirting, erotic performances and open sex, “Yours Emotionally” is a revealing film about the growing Indian gay community. The camera lingers over the hot bodies of Indian men and never shirks from giving gay men a sexuality seldom seen from this part of the world. Sridhar Rangayan uses both traditional and experimental film techniques to build a story of love, compassion and truth in a society that is only now beginning to accept gay people for who they are.

Unrated/United Kingdom/2005/86 mins./color

DVD Special Features:
Theatrical Trailer
“Yellow and Blue” a making for documentary

Some of the online sites from where you could order DVDs of the film:
Amazon

TLA Videos

Amazon Canada

CD Universe

Facets Multimedia

Movies Unlimited

Trailer of the film

Trailer on Waterbearer Films site:

Murphy's Movie Reviews

The Indian film industry is just beginning to play catch up when it
comes to dealing with controversial issues. Last year, I saw
MY BROTHER NIKHIL, one of the first features to tackle AIDS.
Director Sridhar Rangayan created a stir with his short film about
drag queens GULABI AAINA (THE PINK MIRROR) in 2003. He has
now tackled homosexuality head on in his debut feature film,
YOURS, EMOTIONALLY!

The plot centers on a pair of chums from Leicester, England,
Paul (Jack Lamport) and Ravi (Premjit) who visit a small town in
India on the invitation of Ravi's Internet pal Jeh (Ashwin Shelar).
Arriving in Shimoga, the English lads attend a gay party where
Ravi meets Mani (Prateek Gandhi) and instantly falls in love.
Of course, complications ensue. Ravi and Paul decide to remain
in India for a few extra days and end up staying at a hotel run by
an older gay couple, Murthy (Ikhlaq Khan) and Anna (Ajay Rohilla).
After Paul has a brief encounter with Mani in a park frequented by
men cruising one another, the two friends have a falling out.
Ravi is determined to convince Mani to accompany him back to
Great Britain, but Mani remains hesitant.

YOURS EMOTIONALLY! is essentially a film that focuses on
love in the context of cultural differences. As much as Ravi is of
Indian descent, he doesn't fully understand the conditions in the
country. The movie does show that in spite of all the odds, same sex
relationships are possible (as exemplified by Murthy and Anna) but
it also demonstrates the prejudice and fears that are still present.
Rangayan uses some surreal touches and includes several dream
sequences that add a touch of the exotic to the project.

The film, which had its World Premier at NewFest, proved to be
an audience pleaser. It was preceded by the short BEING BAD, directed
by Laurence Coriat.

Trailer on YouTube

Check out trailers on YouTube

Yours Emotionally!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKyT57nXx2U





The Pink Mirror (Gulabi Aaina)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEWPwrAjgpY

Review on Amazon - A Queer Journey Through India

March 4, 2007

A Queer Journey Through India

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

Ravi and Paul are two best friends who go on vacation to India. They find themselves at an all night gay sex party which surprises them. They were not aware that India could be so open and that the natives could be so aggressive and they quickly find themselves in the midst of Indian gay culture. India has always been a place we have known little about in terms of homosexuality and it is surprising to see it here on film, uncensored and laid bare. This is an eye opening look into it as the movie goes deep into the subculture of a society that frowns upon gay life. Many of the things that we take for granted here in America pose a great challenge to the gay men of India. "Yours Emotionally" gives a clear and concise picture of gay Indian life with great emotion and honesty.

What the film does is "explore cultural differences and similarities" between an Asian from Britain and a guy from rural India. As it shows us the gay life, it does so vividly and with great passion. As the movie progresses it also crosses generations and we are shown the younger generation as well as what goes on in the lives of men in their fifties. It is interesting to see this as it is so missing in the canon of gay American cinema.

The cinematography is absolutely exquisite and it creates just the right mood for the film. The camera techniques use many of aspects of new wave cinema. The film is groundbreaking as it explores the naked truth of gay Indian life. What is lacking in the film is characterization. All we know about the characters is that they are "hot to trot". Everyone seemed to want to have sex with everyone else and the sex seemed to be added on for the purpose of titillate (not that it isn't fun to watch). We had no insight into the nature of relationships and the inter-relationships seem very shallow. Everyone is into everyone else without the slightest idea of why.

With that said, I must also say that the beauty of the movie so overshadows everything else that the above is minor; The editing is very interesting as people just seem to disappear. And the colors used give a surreal atmosphere to the film.

The fact that the plot is shallow is made up for by the fact that the men are hot and the film is beautiful to watch. Additionally you get a look at a gay subculture that we know very little about.

Screening and Fundraising in Los Angeles

YOURS EMOTIONALLY! SCREENING and FUNDRAISING EVENT

DIVA, Satrang and API-Equality LA cordially invites you for a Special Screening and Fundraising event for our friends at Satrang.

YOURS EMOTIONALLY! An unusual drama of love and spicy passion and a tribute to gay men who negotiate their same-sex love identities amidst social, religious and cultural boundaries.

Q&A to follow after the screening.WEDNESDAY JANUARY 24, 20078 to 10 pm RENBERG THEATER Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center- The VillageTickets: $10RSVP: 323.860.7311

The Telegraph - Kolkata

Jack Lamport's Column in The Telegraph, Kolkata

(pls click on image to read an enlarged version)

Stardust, India

YE British Counil screening News - Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times, Mumbai

(please click on image to see full-size view)

British Council screening report and press

The British Council screening event went off fabulously. The film was screened to a jam-packed house (around 180). People were sitting on the steps of the auditorium. And more people kept coming even afterwards who were turned away by British Council organizers (more than 50 people + TV crews were turned away!)

Noted media personalities like Sai Paranjpye, Dolly Thakore, Mona Ambegoankar, Bakul Thacker and many others were there to view the film and join the team for wine and snacks.

The film was well received and appreciated unanimously. Followed by an intensive discussion.
Many complimented the cast and crew for being courageous to work on such a bold subject. There were some apprehensions about the overload of sex and erotica. The director maintained that sex was very much part of sexuality for gay men and cannot be overlooked. Many in the audiece also felt that there was nothing to shy away from ad it was uncomfortable ony because there have been so few images of Indian gay men or any positive realistic representations of them.

Noted filmmaker Sai Paranjpye said she was very happy that Sridhar, who assisted her for couple of years, had made such an interesting film and she said, "I am proud to be his mentor".

Screening at British Council

Hauntingly beautiful Indian gay film

Internationally acclaimed director Sridhar Rangayan screens his new feature 'Yours Emotionally!' at British Council

While gay rights and partnesrship issues are increasingly politicised both in UK and India - the Civil Partnership issue still being debated and discussed in UK and the repeal of Section 377 gathering momentum in India - gay men in both these countries are yet searching for social acceptance and the often elusive factor : LOVE.

Director Rangayan says of his new film, "This is our own Indian Brokeback Mountain; but what was the reality in the US in the 60s is the reality in small town India even now. Gay men are still expected to marry a woman and live a closeted life, hiding their real feelings and passions. It is indeed very tragic. The film is real and naked and may shock quite a few audiences".

'Yours Emotionally!' - an Indo-UK co-prodution raises some of these issues, challenging stereotypes and cultural differences in a sweeping tale of love, passion and emotional catharsis. Ravi, a young British Asian from Leicester comes to small town India and is captivated by a local youth Mani's passion. But he soon discovers that there are unsurmountable barricades to relationships in the form of age-old traditions and social values that are tough to break out of.
Premiered to sold out shows at NewFest (NewYork) and Frameline (San Fransisco) in June, this 'intoxicating queer journey through India' is garnering some very positive reviews : 'A beautiful feverish dream' (Corey Eubanks); 'Reminiscent of early Merchant Ivory films' (Kelly Vance), 'combines avant-garde cinema with Bollywood tropes', 'cross cultural with a modern English tilt'. It will soon be screened at the Sixth Annual IAAC Film Festival in New York.alongwith Bollywood/Hollywood biggies like Umrao Jaan, Namesake and Back Waters ! It further travels to the 'Prague Bollywood Festival' and 'A Million Different Loves?' festivals in Poland and also screens at the Rialto Filmtheater in Amsterdam.

"I am thrilled by the response to the film in the west. Now it remain to be seen how it will be received here in India", says Rangayan, "I am extremely thankful to the British Council for providing a platform to screen our film. British Council understands and upholds Diversity which is also the main theme of our film."

Sridhar Rangayan's earlier short film 'Gulabi Aaina (The Pink Mirror)' on Indian transvestites, which created a stir at the international festival circuit, screening at more than 60 film festivals around the world and winning Jury Award for best Film in New York and France, still remains banned in India by the censor board.

Date: November 1, 2006
Time: 6 pm
Venue: British Council, Nariman Point, Mumbai
Details : www.solarispictures.com/yeinvite.htm