Filmworld
LGBT community unclear about my project: Monica Dogra
New Delhi, July 2
After facing criticism on
social media for asking fans to crowdfund Rs.50 lakhs for her art
project titled "Shiver", singer-actress Monica Dogra thinks people
aren't clear about the details of her project.
“...I don't
think that the LGBT community is completely clear on all the intricacies
of this project because it was just too much information to include in
the first campaign page. I really didn't think that it was necessary,
that, of course I realised was untrue, and that they would like all of
the details to be revealed,†Monica told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
She
also remarked that if it's okay to spend “tens of crores†on Bollywood
films then Rs.50 lakhs is not a big sum for an art project aimed at
empowering the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.
“...I
think it's important to ask why it's okay to spend tens of crores on
Bollywood films and songs but it's not okay to have a (Rs.)50 lakhs
project of a music video and art inspiration on transgender visibility,â€
said Monica, who has appeared in films like “Dhobi Ghat†and “The
Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim".
The project, which aims to “take
on the double-fold agenda" of mainstreaming transgender representation
in pop culture and also to take on the gender binaries that exist and
destroy them, will employ members from the LGBT community.
The 32-year-old actress says she has spoken to people from the community and they are "excited" about it.
“Some
of the details I will not be revealing but many of them will be
clarified through interviews such as this. The amount of money that I'm
asking for which is the budget of Rs.50 lakhs, which is our goal and it
includes the music video, the art inspiration along with the live
performances which ultimately will employ members of the LGBT community
as equal partners in this video," she quipped.
Monica, who is one half of the electronic duo Shaa'ir and Func, said the budget isn't as excessive as it is believed to be.
“From
what I understand, there is a sentiment that this is like a completely
exorbitant and unjust amount of money to ask for but that's an
assumption that I'd like to collapse because anyone who works in
mainstream entertainment reproduction can testify that the amount of
money that it costs to produce work at such a high level -- Rs.50 lakhs
is actually not a large budget at all," she said.
For Monica, "Shiver" is her way of contributing to a human rights movement and she doesn't know why it was “misinterpretedâ€.
“From
the inception of this project my only intention was contributing to
human rights activism through something that I feel really passionate
about. I don't understand how that could possibly be misinterpreted,â€
she said.
As a citizen of India, Monica feels it's important for her to stand up for human rights.
“I've
not been marginalised to the extent of the LGBT community. I have not
had birth rights revoked as a result of my sexual orientation but as an
empathetic and connected citizen of India, I have a responsibility to
stand up for human rights,†she said.
Stressing that her
association with the LGBT community has been long standing, Monica, who
was invited for a panel discussion on improving mainstream visibility on
transgenders here, said that the assumption is "completely false."
“I
think that the biggest issue is that there is a very wrong assumption
that my association and communication with the LGBT community has only
just begun... But I want to reiterate that's a false assumption and it's
just not true," she said.
(Siddharth Jha can be contacted at [email protected])