Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 4, 2019)

Director Tanuja Chandra, writer Gazal Dhaliwal and Konkona Sen Sharma are set to host a special screening of their original short, A Monsoon Date, for influencers of the LGBT community, today. The development comes after several activists urged the makers for a screening of the film, which deals with homosexuality.

Gazal tells mid-day, “Stories emerging from the community are important because we hardly have enough in cinema. It is believed that about eight per cent of the human population belongs to this category. So, we must make as much noise about such stories as we do for other films.”

Even though the Hindi film industry has so far dealt with homosexuality under the garb of comedy, or only sporadically, their representation in films is steadily increasing. “It is the need of the hour to shed light on issues of transgender people.”

Revolving around love, friendship and acceptance, the film follows a woman who is set to reveal a personal secret to her male lover. Given that this month marks the month of pride for the community, the makers were eyeing a release in June. The screening is set to take place at an Andheri theatre today. Social media influencers Harish Iyer, Koninika Roy, Shristi Mane and Ria Sharma are expected to attend the do.