Restored India's first queer film 'Badnaam Basti' to be honoured at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne

The 16th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will screen the restored version of India's first LGBTQ film Badnaam Basti (1971) as part of its celebratory Pride Night scheduled to be held on August 22. The section was set up to give a space for and honour queer cinema and Queer South Asian identity in Australia.

 

The festival will also host the premiere of filmmaker Onir's queer romance drama We Are Faheem and Karun. On the festival's commitment to representation, IFFM Director Mitu Bhowmik said, "At IFFM, we believe cinema has the power to connect and create conversations. It is our responsibility to reflect on the world we live in, with all its beautiful diversity. This Pride Night is not just about celebrating queer identity but also reclaiming the space that has long been denied to LGBTQIA+ narratives in Indian cinema. Through films like Badnaam Basti and We Are Faheem and Karun, we honour the past and embrace a future of inclusive storytelling."

 

Directed and produced by Prem Kapoor, Badnaam Basti, which translates to 'Infamous Neighbourhood', is based on the novel of the same name by Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena, and features lead performances by Nitin Sethi, Amar Kakkad, and Nandita Thakur. At the time of release, Prem Kapoor had to keep certain scenes implicit to gain clearance from the censor board, which gave the film an 'A' certificate.

 

Long thought lost, a print of the film was discovered in 2019 in the archives of Berlin's Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Art. Later, it was remastered and screened by the Block Museum of Art in May 2020 and at the Kashish film festival, Mumbai.

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