Mumbai, 25th August 2019. Filmmakers Tushar
Tyagi and Ritika Jaiswal are all set to make waves again with their
upcoming short film ‘Saving Chintu’. The film journeys through the lives of an Indian
American gay couple who visit India to adopt a child, throwing light on
problems that loom large over the LGBTQ community in the country as well as
other social issues like child adoption and HIV.
Saving Chintu comes at a time when changes to LGBTQ
laws are happening across Asia, noteworthy among them being the 2018 ruling by
the Supreme Court of India – decriminalising homosexuality by declaring Section
377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional, and Taiwan legalizing
same-sex marriage in May 2019 being the historic first for Asia. The film, as
it explores the challenges faced by the protagonists and the emotional
complexities within their relationship, also brings more complex issues to
perspective.
Producer Ritika Jaiswal, an entrepreneur whose love for
films led her down the path of production, comments, “India has a long way to
go since the landmark judgement – same-sex couples are not recognized legally,
making it difficult for them to build a family or adopt a child. Apart from
legal acceptance, cultural acceptance is a far bigger challenge to overcome.”
The lead cast of the movie includes Indian actor Adil
Hussain of Life of Pi and English Vinglish fame, Bollywood based American actor
Edward Sonnenblick, Los Angeles based actor Sachin Bhatt and Indian actor
Dipannita Sharma and Priyanka Setia.
Who is Tushar Tyagi?
Tushar Tyagi is an Indian born and raised, LA-based
filmmaker with multiple award-winning films to his kitty. His previous film
Kaashi, promoting the Indian government’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Swachh
Bharat programs, had contested at the prestigious Florida Film Festival.
Gulabee, another of his works, had bagged accolades at the Canada International
Film Festival. He shares, “Our film deals with numerous social issues. Making
this film is so important to me, it’s like my calling to start a conversation
in my small capacity and to start a wave of change in the evolving
circumstances in Asia & the world. It’s high time to create awareness on a
bigger level through the medium of films & art for these social issues.”.
Tushar and Ritika have previously worked together and
are reuniting for this project that revolves around some less-talked about
topics in films like LGBTQ and HIV/Aids. The screenplay has been written by
Corey Wright and Sanyam Kumar.
Saving Chintu is all set for participation in Sundance, Cleveland International, Ann Arbor and Riverrun Film Festivals this year.
