A Tender Portrayal of Acceptance: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade on His Sundance-Winning Film Sabar Bonda

Rohan Kanawade
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, writer-director of Sabar Bonda. Photo by Mangesh Pawar.

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade was apprehensive about coming out to his parents. He had reasons to be. Pop culture is shaped by tragic queer stories and unyielding parents offering cruelty instead of love. He has seen friends from affluent backgrounds with educated parents struggle for acceptance. Kanawade’s father did not finish schooling and his mother didn’t receive a formal education. But here’s what happened: he came out and they accepted.  “My father coaxed me,” he rectified with a smile. “I was sad about something and he said unless I share what is inside, how will he help me? That’s when I came out.” The anticlimactic nature of the revelation opened up a reality that he rarely saw in films dealing with queer relationships. “Why don’t we see this open acceptance in more films?” he asked. “We are telling stories, right? Why can’t they be real and simple?” When the time came…


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Ishita Sengupta is an independent film critic and culture writer from India. Her writing is informed by gender and pop culture and has appeared in The Indian Express, Hyperallergic, and New Lines Magazine.