The Casteless Collective, which was launched by director Pa Ranjith, has released two 'lesbian' gaana songs that speak of same-sex love and standing up against social norms.
Pa Ranjith is also the producer of the documentary film Ladies and Gentlewomen, directed by Malini Jeevarathnam. The film was screened at Prasad Labs, Chennai, on Sunday and members of the Casteless Collective also performed at the event.
The songs, laced with humour, deliver some hard truths. Sample this: "You have an iPhone in your hands, but the script in your brain is old" or "You put up a Facebook status about how women are precious but think your sister is a slave". They question the practice of killing women and deeming it as "culture".
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The lyrics take a dig at the hypocrisy of society, so entrenched in caste and religious violence, that it cannot accept love between two women. The songs also speak of lesbian suicides.
Speaking to The News Minute in an earlier interview, Malini had said that she had made the film for parents of lesbian women rather than lesbian women themselves – so there could be an understanding about same-sex relationships among them. She also spoke about how same-sex relationships have been denigrated in popular culture, especially cinema.
The young filmmaker, who came out eight years ago, worked as Pa Ranjith's assistant director and was struggling to get the film funded when the Kabali director offered to produce it himself.
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