22
Aug
Audacious and seldom screened, Badnam Basti is the first Indian queer film, portraying a bisexual love triangle in a wildly associative, musical melodrama style.
Badnam Basti
Audacious, radically experimental and seldom screened: Badnam Basti, the first Indian queer film, was rediscovered in a film archive in Berlin in 2019. Director Prem Kapoor portrays a bisexual love triangle in Uttar Pradesh. A musical melodrama shot in a wildly associative style.
Sarnam, a former petty thief, works as a truck driver in Uttar Pradesh. He is in love with Bansuri, a beautiful young woman he saved from men with ill intent. At the same time, he is attracted to his assistant, the young Shivraj. Slowly, an intensely passionate love triangle develops.
Part of the 'Queer Power' Programme
Celebrate freedom, diversity, and inclusion at Eye, where Queer Power puts queer films from a wide range of countries and cultures in the spotlight.
Film Details
- Director: Prem Kapoor
- Year: 1971
- Country: India
- Original title: Badnam Basti
- Length: 109 min.
- Language: Hindi
- Subtitles: English
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