My Brother Nikhil

By Taran Adarsh, March 25th, 2005 - 1500 hrs IST
source: www.indiafm.com

The Indian cinegoer is gradually getting used to path-breaking
concepts in Hindi films. In this fast-changing scenario, the new-age
writers and directors are picking up stories that are realistic,
identifiable, straight out of life...

Defy the diktats of worn-out commercial cinema and swim against the
tide - that's the new mantra of new-age film-makers!

MY BROTHER NIKHIL is an effort in that direction. The film looks at
the HIV/AIDS issue in Goa in the '80s, when not much was known about
the pandemic/virulent disease. The misconceptions about the ailment
and how it affected not just an individual, but his entire family,
has been narrated in the most profoundly moving manner.

MY BROTHER NIKHIL is perhaps the first Indian film that throws light
on the gay relationship without making a mockery of one's sexual
preferences. The issue is handled with utmost sensitivity and looks
at relationships from a broader perspective. Clearly, Hindi cinema is
coming of age and issues such as HIV/AIDS and gay relationships are
being discussed with the same freedom and openness as any other issue.

MY BROTHER NIKHIL works for the aforesaid reasons, but most
importantly for the emotional quotient it has to offer. It's a
touching tale of a person who wants to live. Powerful and poignant,
this is a lump-in-your-throat film!

Nikhil [Sanjay Suri] is the state-level swimming champion of Goa. He
trained in the river, tamed the waves and ruled the pool. His father-
cum-coach, Navin [Victor Bannerjee], has brought him up to be a
sportsman and is proud of his son who has won a scholarship from the
sports ministry.
His mother, Anita [Lillete Dubey], dotes on him and his elder sister,
Anamika [Juhi Chawla], whom he calls Anu, is more of a friend to
him.Everything is perfect for the handsome, jovial and charming
Nikhil. He is the idol of his peers and his friends love him. But all
this changes one fine morning. On August 8, 1989, Nikhil is arrested.

MY BROTHER NIKHIL tells you the story of a man who suddenly falls
from grace and is socially ostracized. His parents, friends and
colleagues turn their backs on him. Suddenly, his whole world
collapses. Nikhil is sent to a secluded hospital ward and kept in
solitary confinement. Reason: He has tested HIV Positive.

Nikhil's father, who is unable to face social humiliation, abandons
him. But Anu defies her parents and stands by her brother. Another
person who stands by Nikhil during this difficult phase is his friend
Nigel [Purab Kohli], his lover.

MY BROTHER NIKHIL is about a man's quest to achieve something in
life… to be happy and to be loved. The story unfolds in Goa between
the years 1987 and 1994.

An uncommon story ought to be narrated in the most distinct fashion
and debutante director Onir does exactly that. In MY BROTHER NIKHIL,
the characters introduce themselves to the viewer [as if they were
being interviewed] and narrate the story of Nikhil, the protagonist,
who is now dead.

Loosely based on Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's documentary
COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT [1989], MY BROTHER NIKHIL
confronts us with the reality of HIV/AIDS with simplicity and
straightforwardness. The beauty of the film lies in the fact that the
emotion builds up gradually and the layers slowly envelope and grip
you.

For a film of this genre to strike a note, it ought to be embellished
with compelling performances and a strong emotional quotient. And MY
BROTHER NIKHIL is rich in both the departments.

NIGAH: a festival of south asian queer film
Source: http://home.uchicago.edu/~gbhan/summaries.htm
Tedhi Lakeer (The Crooked Line)
Dir: Amrit Sharma, Aparna Sanyal, Arunima Shankar/India/2002/20:40
mins/Hindi & English with English subtitles
Tedhi Lakeer is a film about two men. Men one would catch a glimpse
of, on buses, in marketplaces, or at the dhaba next to your house.
Two very ordinary men. Two extraordinary tales. During the film
making, the filmmakers were troubled a great deal at the seeming
inability of many within the MSM community, to appreciate the fact
that giving in to familial demands for marriage also compromised the
rights of the wife. The directors completed their Masters in Mass
Communication from MCRC, Jamia Milia Islamia in 2003 This film was
made as part of their final media project. It is their first foray
into filmmaking

Beauty Parlour
Dir: Mehreen Jabbar/Pakistan/2000/18 mins/Urdu with English subtitles
4 faces, 4 masks: 4 short sketches of the lives and loves of 3 women
and a eunuch as they talk about their desires traced through their
visits to the beauty parlour and other everyday events

BOMgAy
Dir: Riyad Wadia/India/1996/12min/Hindi and English with Subtitles
A collection of short films set to the poetry of openly-gay wirter R
Raj Rao, directed by one of the first out directors in India. The
shorts presents vignettes of queer life, tracing the pleasures and
the pain of being gay in the urban spaces of Mumbai city.

Many People, Many Desires
Dir: T. Jayashree/India/46min/Tamil-Kannada-English-Hindi with
subtitles
"Many People, Many Desires" explores the status (legal, social,
political, cultural etc.) of sexual minorities (hijras, kothis,
double-deckers, gays, lesbians, transgender and other people
oppressed due to their sexual orientation and/or gender expression)
in India. It is only since the early 1980s that homosexuality and
transgender expressions have become visible "identity issues" in
India. Cutting across class, gender, language and caste, the film
tells the stories of such persons living in the city of Bangalore.

The Goddess Method
Dir: Punam Sawhney/Canada/2000/6 mins/English
The Goddess Method opens with a young queen assailed by parental
bitching "Where did we go wrong!" but offers an unexpected
solution. The beleaguered boy becomes a drag queen, a cool dancing
tranny who taps the inner goddess to fight the evil forces of parent
and society. In a dazzling swirl, the queen's wild dance collapses
the voices of disapproval into a mélange of harmless chatter.

Gulabi Aaina (The Pink Mirror)
Dir: Sridhar Rangayan/India/2002/40 mins/Hindi with English subtitles
Two fading queens: Bibbo & Shabbo in their late thirties are
passionate, desperate and devastating. A young teenager Mandy, just
about peeping out of his closet...and Samir a handsome hunk.
Conquests are a queen's staple diet and she uses every weapon to win
a man-wit, humour and seduction! Who will finally win Samir- Bibbo,
Shabbo or Mandy? The evening that starts off with good-humoured
bitching collapses into a tearful fight and ends in soulful reunion.
Gulabi Aaina is a slice-of-life story about two Indian drag queens
their laughter, tears, passion and pathos. A riotous spicy mix of
dance, drama and desire

Summer In My Veins
Dir: Nish Saran/ USA & India/1999/41 mins/Hindi & English with
English subtitles
A gay Indian film maker travels across America with his family
visiting from India as he struggles to come out to them. He was
tested for HIV before he left for the trip and will find out his
results at the end. Under the threat of terminal illness - made very
real by an unsafe encounter with an HIV positive man - the film maker
explores the unusual dynamics of love and cruelty, secrecy and
revelation, that mark this very close family. Every achingly personal
moment - including coming out to his mother and getting his test
results - is caught on tape. What results is a film that pushes
personal documentary to its limits - where the very life of the film
maker depends on the outcome of the film.