Embrace or Embarrass?

The other day one of my school friends came out the closet on Facebook. Well, to be more precise, this person expressed that they were relieved and happy to come out of the closet. I am not really that convinced by the confession/Facebook status; not that this person’s sexuality matters to me one way or the other. Anyway, I left it at that considering the sensitive nature of the topic.

   

**Spoiler Alert!** 

   

Now, my friend is not the topic of discussion here. A couple of weeks back, I watched a pretty good Malayalam movie that briefly touches this topic. I was impressed to see Malayalam cinema come of age. The casting director made a smart choice by selecting an actor who is perhaps considered the epitome of masculinity to play the gay character. Brave too, some might add.

    

Having said that, I was quite shocked, as was the protagonist in the movie, by the reaction of  the hero when he discovered the main character’s sexuality. I mean, why would someone be shocked and disappointed if a person is not straight? Why the self-loathing? To quote R, another friend of mine, “A brilliantly shot film with a masterful pace of suspense, however [sic] encapsulated with such blatant homophobia. Is this what bravery means nowadays in mallu Tinseltown?” My thoughts exactly.

    

To the entire Mumbai Police team, bravo for introducing the theme to mainstream Malayalam movies, sincerely. But shame on you for shaming gays and lesbians, that too in front of a narrow-minded set of people. Apologies Mallus, but we are a narrow-minded lot, for the most of it.