Screening Queer India in Pratibha Parmar’s Khush

Abstract

In her short experimental documentary, Khush (1991), Pratibha Parmar explores the complexities, and at times difficulties, of the lives of lesbian and gay Indians. Through the layering of queer Indian voices and imagery of India, past and present, she “captures the intricacies of being queer and of color” (Schaub et al. 1998, p. 241). In a country where upwards of 80 per cent of the population does not speak or understand English (Khan 2001) the use of words such as queer, gay, or lesbian is not only problematic due to issues of translation, but also because these labels originate in the West. The term khush, an Urdu word implying “ecstatic pleasure” (Joseph 1996), has been employed in India to convey same-sex erotics and identities in a culture that is ill-equipped to both conceptualize and interact with those of queer identities. Parmar’s unique film aesthetic documents these complexities in a novel and thought-provoking manner, demonstrating the nuanced and multifaceted experience of queer Indians.