Debalina Majumder

February, 2011. In a small village of West Bengal, two young women in love with each other―Swapna and Sucheta―took their own lives, leaving a letter claiming love, life, recognition… a letter challenging violence, hate, invisibilization.

LittleLambFilms presents "Kiske Liye"- a short docu by Monalisa Mukherji. Produced by Bauddhayan Mukherji, the film's written, directed & narrated by Mona.

Filmed over four years, Holy Rights relates the struggles of Safia—a deeply religious Muslim woman from Bhopal—against the patriarchal mindset of the interpreters of Sharia law, which she believes denies women within her community equality and justice. Safia joins a programme that trains women as Qazis—Muslim clerics, traditionally male, who administer the law. As she passes through uncharted territory, Safia faces the tensions that accompany the act of owning her own narrative. After several other women join the programme, the film examines the arbitrary nature of triple talaq (instant divorce by saying “talaq” thrice). It also documents the fight to break free from both patronising voices within Muslim women’s communities, and outside forces that seek to appropriate their movement for political gain.

…and the unclaimed delves into the aftermath of Swapna and Shucheta’s deaths, as well as the social conditions that led to their choice. “The unclaimed” refers both to the fact that neither of their families came forward to claim their bodies, but also to the tenuous state of existence of queer and trans folks in India. Interviews with Swapna and Shucheta’s families and neighbours are interspersed with the stories of ordinary Indian queer and trans people, as well as activists and advocates, all of whom are dealing with their own experiences of the label “unclaimed”, while fiercely fighting for their rights to live and love.

Offers us glimpses of lives that are lived on their own terms and in such living mark their resistance against stifling social norms that threaten to homogenise diversity. A celebration of love and togetherness with a difference; it is a celebration of the struggles to live those differences.

A film that revolves around three characters who are out exploring their marriage prospects with one of them documenting their travails. While Sayan and Gourab are assigned male at birth, Debalina, director of the film, is assigned female at birth. All three of them are looking for a same-gender partner, and the very suggestion of wanting to marry a same-gender partner drives people around them a into complete frenzy.

What does it mean to not just break binaries, but to queer them too? When Neel decides to transition from his assigned gender at birth he is rendered homeless having to leave his parental home. But does he find the expected/promised shelter in his affirmed gender? Does he find familiarity in his chosen-lived life? Beyond the blues is a journey of breaking and unmaking binaries, never quite settling down in the comfort of borders and categorizations. It is the story of finding love and resilience in quiet corners, feline kinships, and vibrant colors of the rainbow. It is a promise to hold hands, walk in strength and solidarity, to facilitate newer journeys.