Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier

Breaking Free wins big
Filmmaker and activist Sridhar Rangayan's Breaking Free has just won the Barbara Gittings International Human Rights Award at the qFLIX Philadelphia 2016. The 82-minute film chronicles human rights violations faced by the Indian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community due to the archaic Section 377 that has been often misused to exploit the LGBT community for decades.

A still from Breaking Free; (left) Sridhar Rangayan

With real-life testimonies of LGBT people who were victimised, along with voices of lawyers and activists who've challenged the law, the film also traces the community's journey from invisibility to empowerment. "I might share the film with the lawyers who are fighting the case against Sec 377 to present case studies and strengthen the fight.

Films don't change society, but they help bring issues to light," said Sridhar Rangayan, who will be one of the Grand Marshals at Montreal Pride next month. This is the second award after the National Award for Best Editing (non-fiction). Since its premiere at KASHISH in May 2015, the film has toured over 30 film festivals and community screenings globally. It will now head to the Reel Desires Chennai International Queer Film Festival on July 29.

"It is gratifying to see that our labour of love is being recognised," said Saagar Gupta, the film's producer. Breaking Free was shot over seven years and edited from 400 hours of footage. Bravo.

Selfie in the time of protest

Pic/Prabhanjan Dhanu

It was just another day of work for these NCP members who took a breather, and managed a few smiles for this selfie, mid-way during their protest on a wet Tuesday.

MTDC wants you to get creative
It seems as if babus of our tourism department are getting serious about plans to woo the tourist. They have announced a competition encouraging state residents to design logos and create taglines for the Visit Maharashtra 2017 campaign. The winning logo will be used by the state for a year while the winners will be rewarded handsomely, they claim.

Satish Soni, joint managing director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation said, "Through this competition, MTDC is putting bright design talent at the heart of its plan and is inviting the unexplored creative minds in India. This competition will also give us an opportunity to discover a plethora of ideas coming from these minds." All this while, neighbouring MP hires firebrand agencies to come up with social media capturing campaigns.

Falguni Pathak's back!
Dandiya Queen Falguni Pathak might have something important to tell us. Known for her high-voltage shows during Navratri, she is to helm a press conference at a SoBo hotel tomorrow, where the popular singer to make an important' announcement.

When this diarist connected with her publicity manager to learn a few more details, it didn't meet with much success, "…since she is the ‘Dandiya Queen', the announcement will be Dandiya-related, and so you will have to wait to find out what the big news is." We are hoping this one isn't an anti-climax.

Guess appearance

Pic/Satej Shinde

Our lensman captured a radiant-looking Kareena Kapoor Khan as she emerged from her vanity van for a shoot at a Bandra studio last evening.

Vidya Balan loves Bengali khana
In between a hectic shoot schedule for her next, Begum Jaan, we hear Vidya Balan de-stressed over some authentic Bengali fare in Jharkhand. The film's director Srijit Mukherjee treated the cast to lunch at a Bengali restaurant in the eastern state.

Vidya Balan with Ila Arun and Mishti

Balan enjoyed the vegetarian delicacies, especially Dhokar Dalna (lentil cakes in Bengali-style curry a la kadi pakoda) and couldn't resist desserts too. The meal was followed by a selfie session with co-stars Ila Arun, Gauahar Khan, Pallavi Sharda, Mishti and Rajit Kapoor.