#aligarh

Apurva Asrani Is an award winning filmmaker living in Goa, India. Among his best known works are the human rights drama Aligarh (2016), and the courtroom drama Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (2020),

Asrani came out via Twitter. He described his struggles being gay in a homophobic society. He and his partner Siddhant had to pretend they were cousins for years to live in the same apartment, otherwise if the truth were known they could have been evicted. They were asked to not let their neighbours know that they were a gay couple.

In 2018, when the five-judge Constitutional bench (equivalent to the US Supreme Court) struct down anti-homosexual laws and made same-sex relations between consenting adults legal, Asrani described the impact.

“I feel vindicated today. I have lived openly as a gay man for the last few years, and while I have found much support, I have also been questioned, ridiculed and threatened for being myself. Today’s judgment makes me proud.”

He said he cried when he read Justice Indu Malhotra statement:

“History owes and apology to LGBT persons for ostracisation and discrimination.”

Unfortunately, Asrani’s relationship with Siddhant was a victim of Covid19. Due to the pressures of self-isolation and social distancing, in April 2021, Asrani announced that he and Siddhant had separated. He explain that their relationship had been “important and valuable”. He also apologized to his fans for the “disappointment” the news might cause.