Aarekti Premer Golpo

“…Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding, such persons can be assured of a life of dignity and non-discrimination. This was the 'spirit behind the Resolution' of which Nehru spoke so passionately. In our view, Indian Constitutional law does not permit the statutory criminal law to be held captive by the popular misconceptions of who the LGBTs are. It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster the dignity of every individual.”
- Supreme Court Of India, On legal decriminalisation of same-sex behaviour among consenting adults.

Amazing!!!
We never needed legal verdicts like, “You shall no longer be sent to prison for being left handed….” or “You shall no longer be sent to prison for having six fingers….” or “You shall no longer be sent to prison for being taller than 6’9”…..” “….because we, who are right handed, have five fingers on either hand and might have a dislodged shoulder to look at your chin – declare that from now on, you are being granted the privilege for being considered normal.”

It is astounding, really. I mean, any marginalization in the society is primarily psychological, period. And the leading stimulant is generally fear in such cases, with hatred coming a close second. We used to throw stones at the ‘witches’ 5000 years ago, and now we pass laws.
Now, I find a 6’11” man, any day a lot more intimidating than a man who acts ‘feminine’. (I harp on this aspect because that is how we generally feel we can identify a homosexual man)
Hence, I find it weird that there can be no conception of a law against a certain height, whereas there can be one against sexual preferences.
Why is it so?

Actually, it seems to be the same kind of doggedness that drives us to cause a mayhem when our sister/daughter/wife spends the night outside home. Somehow, we tend to associate that to some kind of an erotic escapade, whereas that can happen very easily in an empty flat or a rented hotel room during midday. It is probably the tendency to tag sex with this dark, hushed up blindfold that makes specifically ‘sexual marginalization’ so unendurable to us - the ‘normal’, in our cocoon of self-proclaimed status quo with nature.

On this note, let me mention one of the curious arguments I heard defending the prohibition of homosexuality. (Which in the first place, I doubt if is possible, since sexuality is, again, primarily psychological) It was “… if you allow men to sleep with men, and women to sleep with women, how are we going to have any reproduction? Human race might come to an end…”
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Ignoring artificial insemination for the time being, even the ‘normal’ feels that but for the ‘allowance’, nearly all the men would run to sleep with men and women would be looking out for a female date? If it is so widespread to be an alarm, how can it be called so rare, let alone ‘abnormal’?
For reasons like these, I find it futile to argue with anyone about my views on sexual marginalization. I believe most of them already realize the above arguments to be valid. In fact, the whole point of their firm stand against it is to ensure that others like them don’t realize that they do.

That’s one of the primary reasons I loved “Aarekti Premer Golpo” by Kaushik Ganguly so much.

This film never attempts to defend or sympathize with the homosexuals, because it makes it evident from the very beginning that there is nothing to defend or sympathize about. I guess the least it deserves is that we review it in a same way.

For me, the greatest treasures of the film are not moments from the main love stories. It is rather the moments between the other characters and the main characters. The most priceless are definitely the ones between Abhiroop Sen and Chapal Bhaduri. The subtlety with which Kaushik Ganguly has dealt these moments, is in a word, breathtaking. Throughout the film, we constantly feel an emotional undercurrent due to the difference in mindset of Abhiroop Sen and young “Chapal-rani” about who they really are. (Both played by Rituparno Ghosh) Yet, the director very subtly makes us realize that its too unnecessary, right at the moments it should have been most prominent. The interaction between Abhiroop Sen and Chapal Bhaduri is always in a melancholy visual undertone. Great use of close-ups, light and shadow effects and the fantastic use of a particular Bengali folk song lend these scenes a terribly sensuous, almost eerie sensitivity.

Next in line, would be the moments between Abhiroop Sen and young Chapal Bhaduri with the female characters of the film. Among them, the moments between Rituparno and Churni Ganguly (Both as Abhiroop and young Chapal) leave the deepest impressions. But, even with a lot less screen time, equally poignant are the moments between Abhiroop with his mother and Chapal with his sister. Especially, the moments created to show the bonding between Chapal and his sister at the time of young Chapal getting bald, have two of the most beautiful cinematic moments I have ever seen.

The third greatest gift of the film is, of course, actor Rituparno Ghosh. And we should really thank the director for using him as both Abhiroop Sen and young Chapal. It gives the actor a vast range for exploring his skill and I must say, Rituparno has done justice to every inch of it. It is pointless trying to explain the grandeur of such a performance to one who hasn’t seen it. All I can say is, the detail with which he has studied and portrayed the movements, the dialect, the voice and the whole getup of the two completely different, yet contextually somewhat identical characters, - cannot be called anything short of sheer brilliance.

In a word, the most touching aspect of this movie, or the reason I felt I it so much my own, is that contrary to all popular expectations/apprehensions, it is not a film about homosexuality.

It is about the crest and trough in the life of a once legendary artist of Bengal. An artist, who, for his whole life was forced to feel uncomfortable about the body he is in. A human being who could never enjoy the virtue of his existence, because everyone else convinced him it was a mistake.

It is about a love triangle, where two of the people involved are torn because they are in a relationship with the same man, and neither can really bring himself/herself to believe they are not the whole world around him.

It is about a bonding between two persons because of what they can never have.

But, most of all, It is about relationships. Relationships with subtle nuances, lonely evenings and silent tears that made us human long before we decided the regulations on whom who should go to bed with.