Evening Shadows is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Sridhar Rangayan. The film depicts the story of LGBTI. The film that explored conflicting viewpoints of two generations and won 17 international awards and has become a success in international film festival circuit with selection in 67 international film festivals. The film had a limited theatrical release in India beginning 11 January 2019. Evening Shadows will also feature in the prestigious exhibition celebrating 100 years of LGBTI cinema titled ‘Champs d’Amours’ in Paris. The film released in PVR Cinemas in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Nagpur. The first LGBTI movie to get a child-friendly rating in India and is making history and screen on Emirates Airlines.
Evening Shadows depicts the story of a young gay man (Kartik) who lives in a small town in Southern India that lives within a cocoon of traditions and morality. Kartik comes out of his mother (Vasudha), and her entire world comes crashing down. She has no one to turn to dispel her fears and doubts, to understand her loving son’s truth. As a woman, trapped within a patriarchal conservative society, her biggest challenge is to deal with her dogmatic husband Damodar, and the conservative society around her. ‘Evening Shadows’ is a universal story about a mother-son bonding and its emotional strength to withstand the ravages of time and harsh realities. Kartik, the protagonist of the movie, says ” I came of the closet, but I feel like I locked my mother in one.”
In early 2018 the classification board in India gave it a child-friendly rating, and this happened while India still criminalised homosexuality. Evening Shadows is making yet another record by becoming the first LGBTI themed independent film to hit in the Emirates Airline in-flight entertainment circuit. And we must say it is a bold move for a country like UAE that criminalises same-sex relations.
Director Sridhar Rangayan shared his feelings and spoke to an online media portal. He said ” It is exhilarating to have a gay-themed film on an airline in-flight entertainment, and it is perhaps the first for an Indian LGBTQ film. It helps reach our film across the skies. Emirates Airline is a progressive airline, and we are happy to have our film screened as part of the New Bollywood releases. It shows that our film is a true family film.” The film received impressive critical reviews with an average rating of 2.5 out of 5. As of April 2019, the movie is streaming on Netflix.
