When Preeti Gupta signed Raj Amit Kumar's film, Unfreedom, that addresses homosexuality, and corrective rape and violence within the LGBTQ community, the New York-based actress knew that she will be courting controversy.

The film was banned in India in January. But last week, she addressed a group of over 500 students who'd just watched the film at IIT Powai. "It was overwhelming to see an audience mature enough to understand that lovemaking is poetic," says the actress who plays Leela Singh. "The film was well-accepted at the Queer Film Festival in Mumbai last year and the makers are hoping we can re-apply for a release this year."

Meanwhile, after a screening at a suburban theatre for the LGBTQ community, Preeti was asked if she is gay. "I'm a 100 per cent practicing heterosexual," she smiles.

The film stars Adil Hussain as a strict, middle-class patriarch and Bhavani Lee as Leela's lesbian lover. It released in the US in May and the producers are hoping to open in Australia and the UK next.