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.