With gay abandon

by Shradda Sukumaran
The Indian Express, India
February 12, 2003

An evening that begins with a bitchy cat-fight and ends in queen bonding. Gulabi Aaina- Sridhar Rangayan's 40-minute digital film- is as dramatic as a drag queen herself and works on the premise that "men bring out the best in queens…and sometimes the worst!"

So conquests rule the day for Bibbo and Shabbo, two drag queens who live together, and erupts into a slanging match when they vie for stud Samir's attention.

Gulabi Aaina is Rangayan's first film, after working in television where he made episodic stories for Rishtey. There is mostly over-the-top acting and overt humour, but Rangayan assures that it is deliberate. "it is more melodramatic than I would've liked, but that's how drag queens are. I also wanted no apologies in the language," explains the film-maker, who intends to send the film on the festival circuit.

But Gulabi Aaina also has moments of pathos, spirited song and dance, sexuality, innuendo and genuine flashes of humour. This is more than just the "peeping into the closet" that Rangayan intended. It's almost throwing the doors wide open for the world to look in!

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