3rd I

Film

LOVE IN INDIA

Love in India

9:00pm
Friday, November 6
Roxie Theater, San Francisco

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Director: Kaushik Mukherjee (aka Q)
Country/Year: India/Germany, 2009
Running Time: 91 mins
Language: English and Bengali/Hindi/Tamil with English subtitles

Director Q in person

Kolkata filmmaker Q unabashedly takes on the huge contradictions surrounding sexuality in the Indian subcontinent where couples can be arrested for kissing in public, yet the erotic play of Lord Krishna and his lover Radha are widely celebrated.

Starting with his own fiery relationship with his live-in dancer girlfriend Rii, the director discusses topics of love, relationships, sexuality and spirituality with his family, friends, acquaintances and various experts across India’s urban and rural landscapes. Q gives us a generous mix of young people – ranging from a happily married couple who met on Shaadi.com (a popular marriage website) to an independent young woman who was married for only six weeks before she got bored, to a couple studying the arts of Tantric sexuality.

As much an homage to love as a love letter to India, Q ties the film together with stunning cinematography – including montages of sexual or romantic graffiti. Yet, he doesn’t shy away from looking at the underbelly of the repressive atmosphere, specifically the poor treatment of women.

A deeply personal and sexy documentary, Love in India explores both ancient practices and shines a light on the young generation of musicians, artists, dancers and lovers who are all trying to figure out what modern love is all about. - Neela Banerjee