Screening of Sheer Qorma at London LGBT film festival cancelled

Swara Bhasker and Divya Dutta

Faraz Arif Ansari's Sheer Qorma, starring Shabana Azmi, Divya Dutta and Swara Bhasker, was to be screened at the 2020 British Film Institute Flare: London LGBT film festival. The event, which was to begin today, was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. "Independent filmmakers like me have no major corporate backing. I am heartbroken. I don't know how to process it. It took me two years to put the film together," says Ansari.

He was to be accompanied by producer Marijke DeSouza and Bhasker. Sonam K Ahuja was to join them to support buddy Bhasker. The film was to be screened at the Boston LGBTQ Film Festival in April, which has also been put off.

The idea behind the film was to normalise the conversation around the subject. In a chat with mid-day recently, Swara Bhasker said, "That is what cinema [should do], given that it's such a powerful medium. The visual medium reaches the heart directly. So, the soft-power that cinema enjoys is immense. It will be among the films that transform a dominant mindset. Our story gets to the core of the issue without making any bones about it. It tackles the discomfort felt by a generation [with traditional mindsets]."

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