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‘As an artiste, I’m afraid of what is happening in India right now

By - 01 Feb 2024 09:23 PM

It is a worrying trend that films in India today go through many forms of censorship, said Jeo Baby, whose recent film Kaathal – The Core shows Malayalam superstar Mammootty as a homosexual man, resetting the narrative of the gay community in popular cinema. The sensitive portrayal devoid of gay tropes – for long, the community has only been a fodder for humour – won many hearts.“But I’m afraid about what is happening in India right now. We are facing religious and political censoring. It is worrying not only for filmmakers, but all artistes,” Baby told PTI in an interview.

Censorship is not something new to Jeo Baby, a self-proclaimed problem-maker. In January 2021, when he was all set to release his other critically acclaimed film, The Great Indian Kitchen, starring Nimisha Sajayan – which succinctly brought out how society stifles women and their freedom – Covid-19 restrictions made theatrical release impossible. But popular OTT platforms were not ready to touch the film, as the film also tackled a socio-political issue that was playing out at that time – menstruating women’s entry into Sabarimala temple. He finally had to release the film on a Malayalam streaming platform, Neestram.

Luckily for Baby, just like Kaathal, The Great Indian Kitchen too captured people’s hearts despite the heaviness of the subject. And all those trending hashtags forced the mainstream OTT platforms to review their decision. Finally, three months after its release, Amazon Prime Video got the rights for the film.Jeo Baby said artistes must stand firm for their creative freedom.

Overcoming challenges is part of the deal when one takes on the institution, said Baby.Ironically, 17 years later, a full-length feature film on the same subject brought him fans from across India, standing testimony to the fact that things change with time, something that artistes can derive hope from, he added.“There is no connection between the short film and Kaathal. Decriminalisation changed the status quo of the community in 2018. Kaathal is more about that. But since 2005, I have been studying a lot about this community. I read a lot about sexuality, about homosexual people, about LGBTQ+… I know they are normal people,” said Baby.