The LGBT community is protesting the ban of the film Love, Simon by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC.) The gay community in India is furious over the CBFC banning a gay romance drama film.
Love, Simon is a story of a 17 year old boy struggling to reveal his sexual orientation. The film stars Nick Robinson and Katherine Langford from the famous Netflix show 13 Reasons Why. The Hollywood film released in March in the U.S., and received positive reviews. However, the film has been banned from releasing in India.
A gay rights activist from Hyderabad Viswa questioned, “We would like to know on what grounds they have banned the movie. There is no sexual or violent content whatsoever in it, and, in fact, qualifies as an educative movie, which has the potential to influence society about accepting homosexuality as something natural and normal.”
Viswa further added, “The authorities can instead promote the movie to prove that they are indeed inclusive. This simply shows that India is, even in 2018, officially homophobic.”
India still has the IPC Section 377 in the Constitution which states, “Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
This officially makes gay relations in particular illegal in India which has raised a lot of unrest among the newly emerged gay community. A total of 26 countries in the world allow same sex marriage while 76 countries still criminalise the gay community.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Queer (LGBQ) community in Hyderabad signed a Change.org petition to demand the release of the film. Last year, the Supreme Court confirmed Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right. This led to the Court deciding to reconsider the IPC Section 377. However, there has been no progress since January this year.
Those who would like to see the release of the film Love, Simon can sign the petition. https://www.change.org/p/release-love-simon-in-india
Also Read: The Supreme Court Will Reconsider IPC Section 377
