All set to act gay

It’s not easy for every newcomer in the industry to opt for a daring and challenging role as the entry point to Bollywood. But Rishi Miglani, a 25-year-old model from Jaipur, says he has the guts and the talent to accept the role of a young gay man. Not that he plays a true gay character – the character he plays just has to act like one because he had to give in to the demands of some homosexuals.“But,” says Rishi, “It is a short film that talks about gay rights and amendments in Section 377 in India. And so, I wanted to do it.”
The model turned actor says he has already worked in many commercials and is also shooting for a mythological TV serial, Allah Udal. And he readily admits that the decision to take up such role – and that too in a short film – wasn’t easy for him. “I was contacted by a Delhi-based director, Bodhi Satwa Ray, who is a very young director who has made seven short films so far, for this 45 minute short film. He told me that this film will be participating in all the major international film festivals this year. He offered me a choice between two roles – one was that of a politician’s son, who turns a rapist in the film, and the other one was of this guy who is not gay, but has to act one for several reasons in the film. The film basically addresses the issue of gay rights and deals with Section 377 as well. I initially opted for the role of the politician’s son, but then, the director said my looks are just perfect for the other role, that’s the lead role of the film. I had to think a lot before taking up the role of the other guy. Finally, I thought if the director has confidence in me, I will definitely be able to do it,” says Miglani.
Apart from Rishi, the film will also have some actors from Mumbai. Ray adds, “The film will revolve around four characters, a college hunk, a eunuch professor, a politician and a gay hit man, all of whom stay as a family and take up the role of father, mother, brother and sister. The film will speak about how their lives change after the amendment in Section 377, and how the society reacts to them. It’s a very different kind of film.”
Ray has been directing just short films so far and says that even if in future, he does opt for big budget Bollywood films, they will be character based. “I believe in a different kind of cinema and like to involve youngsters. Even in this film, besides Rishi, I have taken a young guy called Gaurav Nanda, a second year Delhi University graduation student and Manoj Kumar Shah, from Mumbai, whose last film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival,” says Ray, who is also 25 years old. And when we ask Miglani why he chose such a challenging role for his very first film, and if at all he is apprehensive about being branded, he smiles and says, “I am a newcomer, and I don’t have many choices. I just need a beginning that will help me prove my acting skills. This role is ideal for that. I don’t think this role will typecast me. That’s an old-school thought. If that would have been the case John Abraham or Abhishek Bachchan would’ve never agreed to act gay in Dostana. When I signed the film, I just had their example in my mind.” The shooting for the film will start in Delhi from May 19.
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