Bollywood's gay hit.India has a new gay film to debate: My Brother Nikhil focuses on a gay HIV-positive swimming star. But unlike with previous AIDS- or gay-themed films from Bollywood--such as the controversial Phir Milenge Phir Milenge (Hindi: फिर मिलेंगे, Urdu: پھر ملیں گے, English: We'll Meet Again and the riot provoking Girlfriend--India's filmgoers are widely embracing Nikhil. That is particularly surprising, says Monica Mody of the gay rights group Break-through India, because the film is one of the first to avoid portraying gays as objects of scorn or ridicule. Combating homophobia homophobia Psychology An irrationally negative attitude toward those with homosexual orientation, or toward becoming homosexual. See Closet, Gay-bashing, Heterosexism. Cf Gay, Homosexual, Phobia. couldn't come at a better time: India is home to as many as 10 million HIV-positive residents, and gay men remain a significant risk group because fear limits access to HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. education. Gay Indians also hope Nikhil might boost an ongoing legal challenge to the nation's criminalization crim·i·nal·ize tr.v. crim·i·nal·ized, crim·i·nal·iz·ing, crim·i·nal·iz·es 1. To impose a criminal penalty on or for; outlaw. 2. To treat as a criminal. of gay sex, now punishable by up to 10 years in prison. |
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