Actress Purva Bedi To Take On Controversial Lesbian Role

RushPRNews.com:

Purva Bedi's role in the soon to be filmed film, When Kiran Met Karen has been garnering worldwide attention. She talked to OUTinPerth's Megan Smith.

Purva Bedi left behind the safety and security of a successful position as a management consultant to pursue a career as an actress for theatre, television and film in the late 1990's. It was a risk that paid off with roles in the films American Desi, Green Card Fever and various appearances in television shows including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Alias and ER.

Some would say that Bedi has taken another chance in accepting the role of Rachna in ARYA/FLAVORS-Fame director MANAN KATOHORA's cross-cultural film, 'When Kiran Met Karen'. Interracial lesbian relationships are not common in popular media, and neither are roles in which a woman from the traditionally conservative world of Bollywood explores her sexuality.

However concerns on behalf of prominent Indian actresses that the role would prejudice their Bollywood careers if they took it on have not fazed Indian-American Bedi, who said the decision to play Rachna was a relatively quick and easy one, stating “"I wanted to make this movie because it tells a story that in the Indian diaspora has rarely been shared. In India, lesbianism is not only a taboo subject, but previous films based on the subject have bombed at the box office. This is one reason actresses there are reluctant to play these parts and one more reason for me to take the scary plunge of doing something that might fail but might also increase the possibilities of the roles Bollywood actresses are willing to accept and stories filmmakers want to tell. Simply because a subject is taboo is no reason to stop creating art about it. In fact it is just the opposite."

I agree. And as an actress she has a responsibity to challenge herself and express her versatility. Kudos to her for taking on such a risky role despite the impending backlash.