Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma was disappointed when many theatres refused to screen his lesbian film, Khatra. He wonders why the subject of homosexuality continues to face stigma. “Anything related to sex still remains a taboo, especially something like this (homosexuality) or a subject that is looked down upon by people,” Varma tells us.

He continues, “Despite the Supreme Court repealing Section 377 nearly four-and-a-half years ago, I don’t think people are willing to talk about it (the subject of homosexuality) even today.”

The filmmaker adds that he and the team of Khatra had to plan the marketing of the film strategically: “We had to find a middle path of not having the theme imposed on the posters. We wanted to ensure that the audience doesn’t discover anything about it before stepping into the theatre.”

Meanwhile, Varma, who marked his OTT debut recently with a Telugu web series, Dhahanam, feels great that regional content is getting accepted across all regions. “The first-ever demonstration of this was Narcos. The story was based in Mexico (USA), but was shot in Spanish. Now, it is watched in almost every country. Today, it is more about characters and their conflicts. Every language can reach everywhere, which is evident from the popularity of Korean content,” ends the filmmaker.