Gujarati film on gay love to be shown at US film festival

VADODARA: A Gujarati film based on a gay relationship has got one step closer to being nominated for the Oscar awards. Directed by a Vadodara-based filmmaker, ‘Katla Curry' is set to be shown at the prestigious Tasveer Film Festival – a South Asian Film Festival – in the US next month.
"If the film wins an award in the festival, it will be nominated for the Oscars.I am hopeful that Katla Curry will make it to the Oscars," said Rohit Prajapati, producer and director of the film that is based on love between two young men shot in a tribal district of central Gujarat.
It is only the second Gujarati film based on homosexual relationships. The first Gujarati film based on a gay relationship, ‘Meghdhanushya,' was made in 2013. In Katla Curry, one of the key characters, Rimal, is a fisherman. The other boy, Ratan, gets caught in his net while fishing in the river. Rimal saves Ratan's life, and the former helps him build a small makeshift house near the river. They both meet regularly and fall in love.
Ratan is a vegetarian, but he learns to make Katla Curry (a fish cuisine) for Rimal, who savours the dish. Under social pressure, Rimal gets married to a girl, and the film takes an interesting turn. "The entire film was shot with just 10 crew members," Prajapati, 31, told TOI. The 110-minute long film was shown at a film festival in Mumbai some months ago.
"I am looking forward to releasing this film in theatres and on the OTT platform, for which I need some support from the production houses and the govt," Prajapati, who runs a theatre group ‘Geet Theatre' in Vadodara, added.