Nifty shades of gay

Closets are for hangers not for people the gay community telling people to come out has been saying for a while now These voices have found endorsement from the advertising world In a path breaker or what one would commonly call game changer Fastrack a youthcentric brand of watches and eyewear may have just started to redefine the advertising paradigm with its lesbian themed advertisement running on TV since the beginning of April The closet is pink Though pink is associated with gay Iyer claimed the colour was chosen because they wanted a hifashion portrayal This ad film often seen in the midst of the ongoing Indian Premier League IPL matches begins with a shot of a pink closet The closet opens and a girl emerges from the it checking time on her Fastrack watch Another girl follows her They give each other the eye adjust their attire are you thinking what everybody is thinking and then walk off in opposite directions Then comes the tag line lsquoCome Out of the Closetrsquo Move On Girls coming out of the closet literally adjusting their attire If there are still any doubts that the ad revolves around the gay theme the lsquoCome Out of the Closetrsquo should banish those because coming out of the closet in gay lexicon simply means come out as gay Do not hide or couch your sexuality The advertisement is buzzing on social media sites and has created a flutter because of the fresh bold and direct message It is also very upfront about this demographic in society Has the ad world woken up to the power of what is called the pink rupee The pink rupee is the spending power of the gay community Walking in two different directions but giving the viewer and the industry something to think about Progressive Arun Iyer National Creative Director LoweLintas creative agency for this advertisement said ldquoIt is not aimed specifically at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender LGBT community what we were doing is looking at sending a lsquoprogressiversquo message since this is a youth brand We did make a conscious decision to get this message acrossrdquo Iyer admits that the advertisement is creating a flutter on social media ldquoWe have had a terrific response but of course there have been a few brickbats too saying that with this ad you have gone too far yes so some polarized views too there toordquo Sonam Modi opines it is important to see how society reacts For Iyer the ad spoke to simply everybody ldquoWe were talking to everybody in fact and when you have a product with the philosophy 39move on39 you have to encourage people to move on from the static even in their minds What we are telling society whatever your preferences so be itrdquo Iyer said that the pink colour of the closet was not deliberate pink is a colour associated with the gay community all we wanted is a stylized look as it is a fashion brand Rupal Gaggar the merchandiser says letrsquos keep clothes in the closet not people rdquo When asked whether this lsquopridevertisementrsquo would in fact be a trailblazer for Indian advertising and whether the time has come for gaythemed advertising Iyer simply said ldquoIt should be part of the businessindustry It does influence peoplersquos thoughts and they can only get more progressiverdquo Sridhar Rangayan Reactions There are plenty of comments on the Internet proving that the ad has caused raised eyebrows to disappear into hairlines altogether in surprise Yet it is astonishment with a dash of elation One comment by a M Scindia read ldquoFinally a queer ad in INDIA comment makers capitals not ours Am so happy I could cryrsquo Those weeping copious tears of joy are certainly not hiding behind glares Fastrack or otherwise another comment reads lsquoThis ad is too good not offensive for firsttimers yet passes the message on completely for all those who shun the queer comm in this countryrsquo Art director Gita Simoes l with fashion designer Wendell Rodricks at a book launch event held earlier in the city Says Sridhar Rangayan filmmaker and festival director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender LGBT film fest Kashish ldquoThe ad is slick stylish and immediately catches viewers attention It is also deliciously inyourface and makes a very bold statement Such queerfriendly advertisements are surely welcome as it is an interesting way to normalise queer desires I hope that such ads are not merely a marketing device to sensationalise and grab eyeballs but also are followed up with longterm close engagement with the LGBT community Arun Iyer roots for progressive as the way to go LGBT initiatives and events like KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival in its fourth year now and to be held in May 22 to 26 offer a close connect with the community so that the brands also understand the aspirations of the gay and lesbian community Only then can their ads really work and build brand loyalty There is a lot of potential in the lsquopink rupeersquo that is yet to be exploited by brands and marketing agencies and for that they have to come to where we arerdquo Pinky Saraf stresses individual choices For some time now Indian films have started including gay characters and with that acknowledging that our films are ready to come out of the closet and unafraid to touch taboo issues While lsquoDostanarsquo and lsquoStudent of the Yearrsquo were homophobic in several ways there were other movies like lsquoFirersquo which ran into trouble with right wing groups and lsquoMy Brother Nikhilrsquo that proved that gay themes have become part of the celluloid landscape The huge industry which is breaking ground regularly with contemporary themes had awakened to the fact that viewership was ready for its wakeup andsmellthequeercoffee moment which had come to Indian cinema Now while it may be premature to term just lsquoonersquo advertisement as a breakthrough kind of commercial not to assess the importance would also amount to the fact that it is small steps that pave the way for bigger inroads Soon there may be a great rattling in corporate closets as companies come of out of the closet though their commercials though of course one realises that this would happen slowly Times Art director Gita Simoes said reacting to the ad ldquoIt was fresh and suggestive Not at all obvious and in keeping with the timesrdquo Gay rights activist Vikram Doctor stated ldquoIt is great to have such an open advertisement I first thought it was a scam ad because many scam ads have used LGBT themes but it does not count So it was great to learn it was a real ad Whatrsquos interesting is that it does not mind dealing with the implication that the women have had sex and that is okay Most depictions in Indian ads and films stay way from the idea that they might have sex or show it as wrong in some wayrdquo Doctor also thought it was utterly butterly creditable that ldquoAfter the Section 377 see box What is Section 377 verdict Amul did an outdoor ad showing two attractive young women and that also went in print and even to small towns but that was just one still ad and linked to a special occasionrdquo It is not just the LGBT community that has noticed the ad though the glamour world has a yeah gay sentiment too Rupal Gaggar merchandiserbuyer for Creo Lifestyle Pvt Ltd brand said she loved the fact that queers are not caricatured here ldquoI love that for once the gay community is not projected as buffoons or entertainers for the front row seaters Very well conceptualised It is to the pointrdquo Accessory designer and member of the Fashion Design Council of India Pinky Saraf went beyond this is just an advertisement calling it a ldquoGreat initiative It is time we as a society accept homosexuality and not treat is as a social stigma Who you pick to be with is a very individual choice and no one has a right to judge you for itrdquo Fashion designer and celebrity stylist Sonam Modirsquos voice was tempered with caution She explained ldquoHomosexuality has always been treated as a taboo in India Although I think this advertisement is a great step towards progress I am still apprehensive of how society is going to receive itrdquo Now showing between IPL matches where sizzling shots earn thunderous applause this ad proves that more than ever people are applauding too for those who are brave enough to say they bat for the other team What is Section 377 Chapter XVI Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a piece of legislation in India introduced during British rule of India that criminalises sexual activity ldquoagainst the order of naturerdquo The section was read down to decriminalise samesex behaviour among consenting adults in a historic judgement by the High Court of Delhi on July 2 2009 Section 377 continues to apply in the case of sex involving minors and coercive sex Kashish crowd funding Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2013 Indiarsquos Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender LGBT film fest is turning to the social media phenomenon of crowd funding to raise finances Aimed at keeping the festival free and accessible to audiences organisers say crowd funding also gives audience a feeling of ownership Crowd funding is where an individual or an organization pitches an ideaventure that requires funding and sources the funds by reaching out through social media ldquoCrowd funding is not just a means to raise money but also to connect to a diverse range of people and seek their engagement with the festivalrdquo says Sridhar Rangayan festival director This effort has been buoyed by a similar one last year when people came from all across India and overseas to contribute Kashish has signed up with Internet portal Wishberryin for the crowdfunding venture The link to contribute is httpwwwwishberryinKashish201316046 Kashish 2013 will be held from May 2226 2013 at Cinemax Versova Andheri W and from May 2325 2013 at Alliance Franccedilaise de Bombay Marine Lines