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 suicideto 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. |