Sridhar Rangyan is
known for his championing of LGBT+ rights and his movies depicting
the challenges faced by the community in India where, till recently,
homosexuality was a crime. His latest offering, Evening Shadows is a
coming out story. But more than that, it is the story of a bond
between a mother and her son and how she struggles to come to terms
with the revelation that her only son is gay.
The film is set in a
conservative small town family in South India with Damodar (Ananth
Mahadevan), a tyrannical father who believes that homosexuality is
against Indian culture, values and ethics,;Vasudha (Mona
Ambegaonkar), the mother who is the typical Indian housewife, one who
obeys her husband, and whose life revolves around taking care of her
family and their gay son Kartik (Devansh Doshi) who is a photographer
in Mumbai and is in a committed relationship with another man, but
hasn’t told his parents yet. They think Aman is his roommate.
In the backdrop is
the aunt, Sarita (Yamini Singh) who has left her abusive husband and
is crticised by Kartik’s father for her inability to manage her own
life and marriage when she attempts to advise him not to force Kartik
into marriage; the uncle Ramesh (Abhay Kulkarni), a closeted
homosexual who has married to satisfy his family, and who had
sexually abused Kartik in childhood, and who still seems to have a
thing for his handsome nephew; Aman (Arpit Chaudhary) whose mother
has not talked to him since the day he came out to her; and there is
the 2013 SC judgement which reinstated section 377 overturning the
Delhi HC verdict. In view of the recent SC judgement declaring
section 377 as unconstitutional, the 2013 verdict is now moot, but
the reactions of Kartik and Aman to the judgement and Kartk’s fears
on how it will make it even more difficult for his mother to accept
his reality are all brought out well.
The film does seem
to border on propaganda at times, but considering its theme, that’s
only natural. The propaganda part is not “the-in-your-face” kind,
but subtle and is incorporated naturally into the dialogues. The bond
between Kartik and his mother is natural and easy and both actors
have done an amazing job in their roles. Though some of the changes
in Vasudha does seem based on the ideal rather than the real, her
acceptance and support of Kartik in the end leaves no one
unsurprised. As she tells her husband, whatever or whoever Kartik is,
he is hers. If only more mothers had as much strength to stand up for
their children!
Kartik’s relation
with Aman is mostly phone calls to and from, but the audience is left
in no doubt about the depth of their feelings for each other or of
how committed they are to each other. They support each other, and
have plans to grow old together. They are a cute couple in the only
scene we get to see them together. Both Devansh Doshi and Arpit
Chaudhary are excellent in their roles.
Ananth Mahadevan as
the ultra conservative Damodar who kicks out Kartik and performs his
funeral rites has also rendered a noteworthy performance and the
supporting cast are also good, but the star of the movie is
undoubtedly Mona Ambegaonkar who is simply stellar as Vasudha.
Evening Shadows is
heartwarming and beautiful. It is more than a film about
homosexuality – it is about the bond between a mother and a child,
and how that bond is capable of withstanding even things beyond the
mother’s comprehension. As Vasudha tells Kartik towards the end,
she may never comprehend homosexuality, but she will always accept
and support him. And ultimately, what more can anyone ask for? This
is a movie that’s definitely worth watching whether you are gay or
not, whether you support LGBT+ rights or not, because the themes
depicted are universal, the struggle for acceptance in a world that’s
too eager to tell people who they should be and is too quick to judge
them for being different.
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