Out, Into The Spotlight

Top honours from Harvard, the John Harvard Scholarship, The Detur Book Prize for academic promise, and election to the University's Phi B...

Top honours from Harvard, the John Harvard Scholarship, The Detur Book Prize for academic promise, and election to the University8217;s Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in his field, filmmaking. No wonder, 23-year-old Nishit Saran8217;s mother, who8217;d flown out with her two sisters for the graduation ceremony last June, was so jubilant.

However, Saran8217;s concerns were more pressing. He would have to come out to his family, an issue complicated by his unprotected sexual encounter with an HIV positive man he8217;d met at a club. So while travelling across the US of A with his family, the burden of the awaited HIV test results weighing on his mind, Saran decided to document his dilemmas in Summer in My Veins, a powerful, 41-minute film.

Saran captures every achingly personal moment: from the stark, compelling honesty of the son8217;s revelation, to the mother8217;s reaction 8212; emotional yet dignified. Completed in February this year, Summer in My Veins, premiered on the first night at the Athens International Film Festival and wowed audiences in Boston, LA, Toronto and Hawaii. Delhiites can look forward to seeing the film in the next couple of months.

Though the documentary touches upon an intensely private topic, Saran says this is his driving force. 8220;Everyone has a story to tell, it8217;s not only the grand epics, or the politicians or the heroes. These personal sagas count just as much.8221; Saran believes that a video camera provides a democratic medium to bring the private to the public world. 8220;It8217;s a one-man project, so perhaps you sacrifice on technical quality. But a personal documentary has reality written all over it. The gritty feel of it is so appealing.8221; It was tough for his parents, he agrees, but they8217;ve dealt with it very well. 8220;I have been filming my mother for the last three-four years. She knows it8217;s a wonderful demonstration of how much I love her. We are very close and my family and friends are supportive and accepting.8221;

For someone trying to raise a voice for the gay movement, was it a good idea to link the issue with HIV? Saran explains, 8220;My film is not representative of the gay experience. It8217;s my personal perception rather than a political agenda.8221; Do gay people have a better deal in liberal8217; countries like the USA? Surprisingly, no. 8220;Since gay activity in all sections of society is mostly hidden here, people are not homophobic. Those who8217;ve come out openly are from creative fields. They8217;re largely self-employed and aren8217;t seen as a threat to the mainstream society.quot;

But Saran feels that the timing is right for a movement in the Indian context, where it8217;s a policy of negotiation rather than revolt. 8220;It8217;s not like homosexuals are a Western export. We8217;re as indigenous, as authentic as anyone else,8221; he emphasises. He understands the implications of bringing up a potentially volatile issue.8220;At least people who don8217;t know what gay means, or wouldn8217;t dare to talk about it, are forced to discuss it and deal with it. 8221;

And what8217;s he currently working on? 8220;It8217;s an NGO-funded documentary on HIV prevention,8221; informs, the filmmaker who had a close shave with the dreaded virus himself, 8220;It is shot in Delhi. Ideally, I want to operate from here. There is so much here to work on, but funding is a big problem, so let8217;s see.8221;