The 17th edition of KASHISH Pride Film Festival opened on Tuesday evening with a powerful reaffirmation of queer visibility, at the iconic Liberty Cinema. The star-studded opening night brought together members of the board, including Dolly Thakore, Arunaraje Patil and Viveck Vaswani, alongside actors Konkona Sensharma, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Onir, Rajshri Deshpande, Sai Deodhar, Lillete Dubey, Saagar Gupta, Hairsh Iyer, as well as filmmaker-archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, among others. The festivities began on a lively note with witty queer banter from hosts, drag queen SeduQtress SoniQa, and singer-performer Anuj Talpade. The duo paid tribute to Asha Bhosle, setting the tone for an evening that celebrated both art and identity. Unveiling the festival trailer, founder and festival director Sridhar Rangayan reflected on the significance of sustaining queer spaces amid challenging times. “It is with great love and passion that we bring this festival to Mumbai audiences. It has been a struggle in these challenging times where LGBTQ+ rights are once again being pushed to the margins. But Kashish will stand as a beacon of hope in creating not only a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community to rejoice, but also lead the way in advocating for their rights through participation of mainstream media,” he said. A major highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Rainbow Voices Award to Konkona Sensharma, recognising her nuanced portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters Geeli Puchi, Monsoon Date and Accused. The award was presented by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. In her speech, Konkona spoke candidly about the responsibility of portraying queer characters on screen. “Some roles are more challenging than others. As someone who is naturally quite nervous, I have often wondered whether I was doing justice to the community and whether the representation was authentic. The journey to understanding and embracing Pride can be a complicated one for many of us. Receiving this honour from Kashish makes me immensely proud,” she said. Praising the festival’s enduring legacy, she added, “This place is so infectious, so amazing. To see it thriving in its 17th year is remarkable. Hats off to Sridhar and the entire team for showing us how a community can be built and sustained. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this journey. It truly means a lot.” Actor Parvathy Thiruvothu presented the Rainbow Champion Award to the Aravani Art Project, the trans-led collective known for reclaiming public spaces through murals and community art initiatives that amplify transgender visibility across India. Speaking about the collective’s impact, she said, “It is so heartening to see their amazing creations not only across Mumbai, but also different parts of India. I’m a huge fan of their work and it gives me great pleasure to felicitate their art and creativity.” The evening also featured two captivating cultural performances, a powerful Kathak Tandav by Avenev and team, followed by an energetic Lavani presentation by Aditi Bhagwat and her troupe, drawing enthusiastic applause from the audience. The festival will continue until June 7 across Liberty Cinema, Alliance Française de Bombay and the National Gallery of Modern Art. This year’s edition will showcase 153 films from 43 countries, alongside panel discussions, masterclasses and a range of allied events celebrating queer stories, voices and experiences from around the world.
