Kiss & tell

The hoopla surrounding the still reflects Indian media’s homophobic nature,feels the director. “The need to sensationalise anything that even suggests affection between two men is actually quite homophobic. My film deals gender and identity in a very sensitive manner,it’s not a gay film. It’s very frustrating when it’s being projected as one,” he says.

Does Chattopadhyaya feel that the “gay” tag will affect the film’s prospects? “Please don’t get me wrong. If Pankh was actually about two men falling in love then I would have had no problems discussing it. But these irresponsible reports can be quite misleading and I don’t want to generate publicity through them,” he says. 

Meanwhile,his next project,a film based on Kolkata’s notorious red light district,is ready to roll. The cast comprises actors from Tollywood and Mumbai. “Indrani Haldar and Rupa Ganguly have been cast. Manoj Bajpai and Amit Purohit are the Mumbai actors in the film,” he says.  Chattopadhyaya will also launch another project within a month’s time. “There has been much conjectures about that film too. Some papers have claimed that it will star Tabu,but I want to clarify that she was not even considered for the project. This is another case of irresponsible journalism,” he sums up.