“For true change to be enabled, the conversations have to move from metros to Tier 2 and Tier 3 citiesâ€, said Sridhar Rangayan, director of Hindi film Evening Shadows which has been released in theaters on January 11. After its successful screenings in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru, the film will now be screened in Nagpur.
“There are also plans to take the film to Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhopal and other cities in a phased manner. We want to reach out to youngsters and families with the message of acceptanceâ€, said Rangayan.
Evening Shadows, the heartwarming family drama about a son coming to his mother telling her he is gay, has had a warm response from audience with several houseful shows in its limited run till now. The audiences have given it thumbs up as a family film that touches heart.
The film’s release is also a harbinger of hope for independent films, not LGBTQ films as it uses a theater-on-demand model facilitated by Vkaao, an initiative of PVR Cinemas. Through this platform any interested group of audiences can set up a screening of the film in their own city.
The show of the film in Nagpur has found resonance with the NGO there working with LGBTQ community – Sarathi Trust, whose founder Anand Chandrani said, “Our organisation has been at the forefront of anti discrimination in Vidarbha region for over a decade and are sincerely very honoured to showcase a movie of such caliber as Evening Shadows. The film questions the deep rooted social system that we all live in and helps to uproot this ignorance, so that future and present generations may be able to live life with dignity and make choices of their own, without the pressure of the family. Evening Shadows leaves all those that see it, with a sense of deep thought and introspection.
Evening Shadows will be screened in Nagpur on January 24 at PVR Cinemas  and tickets can be bought through BookMyShow.
The film has a star cast of Mona Ambegaonkar, Ananth Mahadevan, Devansh Doshi and Arpit Chaudhary in the lead.