The making of a silent revolution

How do you tell people across generations, that falling in love with individuals from the same gender does not make anyone a criminal? Faraz Arif Ansari’s Sisak — touted to be India’s first silent LGBTQ film — has been receiving some rave reviews at film festivals across the globe and was screened at city’s Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival this week.

Incidentally, Faraz was writing a romcom and had no plans of making this film. The Supreme Court’s decision of reversing its judgment on section 377 is what provoked him to make the film, “I don’t remember feeling as helpless as I felt that day. I wanted to write a post on Facebook, I wanted to tweet, I wanted to do so much but I couldn’t do anything. Instead, I sat down and I wrote this film.” Ask him why the film had to be a silent film and Faraz says, “I completed the script and realised it has no dialogues. Because, what will you say? You can’t put emotions of this magnitude into words. How will you fight that mindset that says that love is illegal? LGBTQ cinema in India has mostly been about coming out stories, and struggles faced by the community. There is so much being said, but are people even listening?” he asks.

The story revolves around two men who meet in a local train compartment in Mumbai. “The Mumbai local is an important premise of the film. While travelling in the locals I realised that it has so many stories to share, so many lonely men. From a businessman to a hawker, everyone uses it, it conjunctures to a boiling pot of various cultures and sexual orientations,” Faraz says.

The film was shot in local trains over two nights, with no prior permissions in place the team had to constantly be on the vigil, “It takes about '6 lakh to shoot on a Mumbai local for six hours. We did not have that many resources to spare. I wouldn’t find producers and investors for the film and had to invest more than half of my life’s savings to make it. I had to sell my car and quit the luxurious life so that the film sees the light of the day,” Faraz reveals.

The film, which is currently on a festival run, has been received well at all the major festivals across the globe, “We will be closing the pride week in Sweden. Once that is over, I plan to release the film on various websites. It is important that Indian cinema is represented in the right way, that it is not all song and dance but also about the soul,” he signs off.