Journey, The

Our Rating: L Factor: Lesbian Film Short Take: Teenage friends fall in love in a small southern Indian village. Alternate Titles: Sancharram
Year: 2004 Duration: 108 min Language: India/Malayalam MPAA: Not Rated	Director: Ligy J. Pullappally Writer: Ligy J. Pullappally Starring: Suhasini V. Nair, Shrruiti Menon, K.P.A.C. Lalitha, Valsala Menon, Syam Seethal, Sruthi

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Director Ligy Pullappally received an email a few years ago about a student in the southern Indian state of Kerala. She and her girlfriend were ‘found out’ and sent home to their parents, and the next day the body of one of them was found floating in a dam reservoir.

‘I wanted to do something to draw attention to the alarmingly frequent incidents of gay suicide—to try to stem that tide; I knew that isolation was a factor in these incidents, so I considered creating a positive media representation of young gay people. I began writing the story of two young Indian women in love, this time as a feature length film.’

In a very delicate film, Kiran (Suhasini V. Nair) and Delilah (Shrruiti Menon) are friends in a small southern Indian village. Kiran’s parents are intellectuals who returned to their family home from the city, and Kiran is a quiet poet in contrast to the beautiful and outgoing Delilah.

Kiran begins to wrestle with romantic and sexual feelings for Delilah. When their mutual friend Rajan (Yam Seethal) asks her to help him write love letters to let Delilah know how he feels about her, Kiran agrees. When Delilah finds that it’s really Kiran behind the love poems, the two begin a sweet romance.

When their relationship is discovered, Delilah is rushed into an arranged marriage, and Kiran questions her desire to live without her love, but what is notable is that neither cowers or pretends. They stand up and tell the truth. The ending is tragic and painful, but also triumphant as Kiran embarks on the journey that is the rest of her life. (AB)