Cisgender actors play transgender persons as if it is an acting challenge: Neeraj Churi

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By Shashiprasad S M

18/07/2023

On average, around 2,000-plus films and TV content, are made in India. However, there are barely about 100 projects that feature characters or stories of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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In an exclusive interview with South First, queer producer and Lotus Visual Productions founder Neeraj Churi talks all about the challenges in getting funds for queer films and more.

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“I come from a background in software development and banking. I’m interested in video editing, which connected me to some of my LGBTQIA+ friends in India.”

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“Initially, I was helping the filmmakers financially, and that later progressed to undertaking full-blown productions in India and the UK.”

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In terms of production, “The film production techniques remain the same, due to the topic’s sensitivity, we need to ensure there is no misinformation about the LGBTQIA+ community.”

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“The key part is finding the right story and filmmaker. Funding such stories is often challenging. The actors that portray the stories also matter.” he remarked about challenges.

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“Sheer Qorma, a short based on the LGBTQIA+ theme, created history by bringing together a stellar star cast of amazingly talented actors. We were excited to support filmmaker Faraz Ansari”

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Our strategy is to educate more financiers within and outside the LGBTQIA+ community by convincing them that queer stories can make for commercially viable cinema.

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Besides films, we also run our YouTube Channel (YouTube/@LotusVisualPro) for emerging LGBTQIA+ writers/ directors to get experience and exposure.

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