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I Am (Sonali Gulati)

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Synopsis

An Indian filmmaker throws a spotlight on her beautiful and powerful journey as she comes to terms with her familial roots while capturing the inspiring movement of the LGBT community in New Dehli.

Review

I Am is not your typical coming out story; rather it's an impressive documentary that juxtaposes filmmaker Sonali Gulati's personal experience with the current crusaders fighting oppression of LGBT people in India.

This soft-spoken filmmaker has been haunted for the past 11 years: she did not tell her mother that she is a lesbian before her mother died, so she packed up her camera and headed back to her homeland to come to terms with it. Along the way she meets many gays, lesbians and transpeople of various ages who are fighting against outdated traditions and current laws regarding homosexuality. Many are on the front lines, like the outspoken butch lesbian Lesley, who leads many protests throughout New Dehli. Then there is Balli, a transman who was imprisoned for marrying his girlfriend. Demure Manvendra is the son of a royal family who chose to come out publicly in the newspapers. All of these stories are sincere, profound and important; and Guilati skillfully weaves them into the beautiful tapestry titled I Am. (English and Hindi with English subtitles)

-- Kelly Burkhardt

Keywords

Coming Out, Documentary/Documentaries, Family Life, Gay Male, Gay/Lesbian, GLBT Creator / Performer / Writer, International, Lesbian, Queer Politics & Theory

Genres

Documentary, International

Customer Reviews

LGBT in India

Amos Lassen wrote on 08/25/2011:

Here is a new film about gay and lesbian families in India. It is composed of four stories about identity in India.

“I am Afia” is about a woman, Afia, who is eager to become a mother but she does not trust men. Her doctor looks for a sperm donor for her and tells that she cannot meet him but the doctor gives her the donor’s details and he sees them together in the clinic. The donor was not too happy to speak to her suddenly becomes compassionate.

“I am Megha” is the story of a woman who returns to her native Kashmir to discover that she is even more hostile than where she lives. Her family led Kashmir when she was a child. She is angry when she returns and no one can understand why.

“I am Abhimanyu” is about a filmmaker addicted to drugs who is trying to close his life with his stepfather who I sexually abusive. As a child he was given gifts in return for sex and he learned to become selfish. He dreams of himself as a young girl but there are many other issues as well.

“I am Omar” is about a gay man who has sex with a male hustler and then harassed by a cop. Jai is a successful gay male who meets up hustler Omar on the streets of Mumbai but they are caught in the middle of having sex in a car by a cop who beats Jai and takes money because he was involved in “criminal” activity and the film is a reflection of the Indian penal code.

We do not hear much about gay life in India so this is a welcome film especially since in deals with four different aspects of LGBT life there. The stories all share the idea that honesty is powerful and good intentions are evident. The film as a whole is a comment on the society of India and while not entirely successful, it is an interesting view that we do not usually get.