Saturday, June 20, 2009

I Cant Think Straight.....or can I?

Leyla and Tala are your regular teenagers with eyes full of dreams, each going out with a 'nice' guy, each trying to break free of the rules and customs set forth by their respective families, each wanting to be independent, each trying to feel happy with their respective choices..... and then they discover each other. Even though it doesnt look like it, you can feel the sparks between them. The friendship that follows is deep, sensitive and unsure. Each tries to pass off her feelings for the other under the guise of friendship. Until one night when the dam of repressed feelings they have built around themselves breaks and love is all there is. If this were any other movie, the story would end here, if this involved any other characters, the story would end here, if the world were perfect , the story would end here, but since its none of these things, the story does not end here. Tala does not have the courage to come out to her parents and embrace the love that has walked into her life. Leyla does. Ofcourse its not easy. And I wonder why?
Why is the world so unforgiving to homosexuals? Why is there so much stigma attached to living like who you really are? Why is it a sin for a woman to love another woman or for a man to feel for another man? What is it we fear about these relationships? How is it that love between a man and a woman is pure while that between two people of the same sex is not? How is it that a man and a woman can hold hands, kiss in public while a same sex couple needs to stay 'in the closet'? How is it that parents support their child when he/she wants to get married to a guy/girl of his/her dreams but pull away when their child comes out to them? Why are we so afraid of accepting those that are a bit different from us? Why do we shun them to a life of humiliation? Why do they have to rally and fight for the rights that are due them as humans? What have they done to deserve our hatered and fear? Is it the fact that they love someone from thir own sex? Is that even a fault? Is our society not plagued by worse things? Rapes? Murders? How can anyone lable love as being impure?
Saying "its a sin" is not enough. Not anymore. We cannot push all the responsibility on religion or God. God does not hate his children. He has made us what we are - dark or fair, short or tall, male or female, straight or homosexual. God does not discriminate between his children, I dont care what anyone claims the Bible or the Gita or the Quran says, all I know is He would NEVER shun his children. Its about time we see these relationships as what they really are, beautiful. Love is not something you can control. It is not something you can limit or chain within the boundries of sex, age or caste. Its a feeling you can feel for anyone and its not fair that some celebrate their bond with the world while others have to hide it. Its not fair that one kind of love is pure while the other kind is labelled a sin. Loving another human being cannot be sinful. It doesnt matter if the one you love is a guy or a girl, what matters is the feeling.
Homosexuals are not different from me or you. They too are humans, they too have feelings, they too cry when they are hurt, they have people they love, people they call family. The only difference is , their families rarely ever do what famillies are supposed to do....support them. Stand with them when the world is against them, hold their hands when they need support, lend them a shoulder when they need to cry. This has to change, this needs to change. We need to teach our children the qualities of equality and tolerance. Just like its important to tolerate each others faith, so also it is important to tolerate each others sexuality. Let us stop behaving like brutes and punishing our fellow human beings, let us be humans again. Let us open our hearts and eyes to those a little different than us. The love they share with their partners is not sin. Let us not degrade their relationship by calling it dirty or bad. Its as pure a feeling as you or me can experience.
As for Leyla and Tala, they do get together ..........you guys should watch I Cant Think Staright. Its one of those few movies that knows how to handle an issue sensitively. This is the first lesbian movie I have watched and I was touched. It has been very well delivered and the chemistry between the lead characters is amazing. I would recommend this movie very highly to those who like quality cinema with good content. In fact, I think this movie should be shown to as many people as possible, maybe after watching this, they will be able to think straight.

Image courtsey Music Hills