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Journalism of Courage
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.
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;
