The Pink Mirror
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Gulabi Aaina
The Pink Mirror
| image = The Pink Mirror.jpg
| caption =
| director = Sridhar Rangayan
| writer = Sridhar Rangayan
| starring = Edwin Fernandes
Ramesh Menon
Deepak Sonavane
Rufy Baqal
Rishi Raj
| producer = Saagar Gupta
| distributor = Solaris Pictures
| released = {{Film date|2006|01|14|df=y}}
| runtime = 40 minutes
| language = Hindi
| country = India
}}
The Pink Mirror, titled Gulabi Aaina in India, is an Indian film drama produced and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. It is said to be the first Indian film to comprehensively focus on Indian transsexuals with the entire story revolving around two transsexuals and a gay teenager's attempts to seduce a man, Samir (Rufy Baqal). The film explores the taboo subject of transsexuals in India which is still much misunderstood and ridiculed.
In 2003, the Central Board of Film Certification banned this film. The censor board cited that the film was 'vulgar and offensive'. The filmmaker appealed twice again unsuccessfully. The film still remains banned in India, but was screened at numerous festivals all over the world and won awards. The critics have applauded it for its sensitive and touching portrayal of marginalized communities.{{cite web|url=http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/entertainment/3689509.stm|title=BBC Review|publisher=|access-date=2 January 2008|archive-date=23 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723151657/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/entertainment/3689509.stm|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.yidff.jp/docbox/22/box22-2-e.html|title=YIDFF: Publications: DocBox: #22|website=www.yidff.jp}}{{cite web|url=http://queerindia.blogspot.com/2006/05/banned-banned-and-banned-again.html|title=Queer India: Banned, banned and banned again!|date=19 May 2006|publisher=}}
India's foremost gay activist Ashok Row Kavi says in his review, "The wonder is that it was not made before. The reality is that it is here now." India's leading newspaper, The Indian Express, wrote, "This is more than just the 'peeping into the closet' that Rangayan intended. It's almost throwing the doors wide open for the world to look in!"
The film has received tremendous support and critical acclaim from reviewers, festival directors and global audiences. It was screened at more than 70 international film festivals and won a couple of awards. The film is also used as part of university archives and libraries as resource material in academic courses.
Plot
The film centers around two drag performers: Bibbo, a Bollywood fashion designer, and Shabbo, a dancer, who have a strenuous and often volatile relationship with each other. Though they are known to quarrel often, they are always able to reconcile soon after an argument and prove to the other that they care about them.
They both have an attraction to Samir, an aspiring actor whom Bibbo claims is her driver, despite Bibbo not owning a car. The situation is further complicated by Mandy, Shabbo's young Western apprentice, who reveals he is gay and admits to being attracted to Samir. Throughout the escapades and comedic antics that occur during the scuffle to win Samir's heart, Bibbo learns Shabbo's secret that he is HIV-positive, and is not above revealing his secret to Samir or possibly even the entire city.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386499/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt|title=The Pink Mirror (2003)|website=IMDb|publisher=}}
Cast
| class="wikitable"
! Actor !! Character !! Role | ||
| Ramesh Menon | Bibbo | A Bollywood fashion designer: loud, raucous and vitriolic. She loves campy drag humor and thinks she is a master at seducing men. When she sees Shabbo and Mandy stealing her current boyfriend Samir, she gets very upset and nasty. |
| Edwin Fernandes | Shabbo | A dancer: soft, sensuous, and equally malicious. When she comes to Bibbo's house, she falls for Samir and makes attempts to seduce him. During a fight, Bibbo learns that Shabbo is HIV positive. |
| Rishi Raj | Mandy | A young pesky teenager just about peeping out of his closet... a western closet – a westernized teenager who says he is 'gay', much to the ire of Bibbo who calls herself 'kothi' (transgender). Mandy falls for Samir, creating a triangle. |
| Rufy Baqal | Samir | The handsome aspiring actor whom Bibbo claims to be her driver. Upon meeting Samir, Shabbo begins her attempts to seduce Samir, even if it means doing so before Bibbo's eyes. |
Festivals
The movie has been shown at many film festivals[https://www.imoovie.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=2888&category_id=85&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 imoovie.com page about the festivals]
- Fire Island Film Festival
- 12th Le Festival Question de Genre – Gay Kitschcamp
- Fire Island Film and Video Festival
- 18th Turin International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
- Digital Talkies Film Festival
- 6th Pink Apple Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
- San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
- Queer Filmstan
- Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival
- Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival
- Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
- Hamburg International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
- Cork Film Festival
- Lehigh Valley Queer Film Festival
- Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival
- Out Takes Dallas Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
- Rhode Island International Film Festival
- Translations – Seattle Transgender Film Festival, USA (May 2009){{cite web|url=http://threedollarbillcinema.org/08/translations|title=Three Dollar Bill Cinema: translations|website=threedollarbillcinema.org|access-date=12 June 2009|archive-date=10 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510083228/http://threedollarbillcinema.org/08/translations|url-status=dead}}
Awards
- Jury Award for Best Feature, Fire Island, New York, USA
- Best Film of the Festival, Question de Genre, Lille, France
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386499 The Pink Mirror IMDb page]
- [http://www.solarispictures.com/ga.htm The Pink Mirror Official Site]
- [https://thepinkmirror.blogspot.com/ The Pink Mirror Blog]
{{LGBT in India}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pink Mirror, The}}
Category:HIV/AIDS in Indian films
Category:2006 LGBTQ-related films
Category:Indian LGBTQ-related films
Category:Transgender-related films
Category:Film censorship in India
Category:Obscenity controversies in film