Indian gay couple celebrates their love in candid photo shoot
Despite an active LGBT rights movement and numerous campaigns, homosexuality remains illegal in India under a controversial colonial-era law. As part of a new campaign to promote the right to love, a gay couple decided to celebrate their relationship in a unique and candid photo shoot.
Bengaluru couple Vaibhav Dalal and Sukanth met on a social networking site and have been together for five years. They have both come out to their friends and family, and say they have a "great support structure". The two saw the photo shoot as a fun opportunity to celebrate their relationship.
"We hope it makes people realise we are as normal as anyone is," Sukanth told Mashable. "Its about time photographers do more such shoots and be more inclusive."
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The shoot was part of app-based services startup UrbanClap's ongoing campaign to support the LGBT community by sponsoring photo shoots for five same-sex couples across India. "We believe that everyone should have the right to love whoever they want to as it's the most basic human right, yet denied to many," UrbanClap co-founder Abhiraj Bhal said. "We firmly stand with the LGBT community in India as they fight for their equal rights in the eyes of law and society."
The photographs were shot by Bengaluru-based photographer Anubhab Ray in a lake-side park in the city. "The whole experience was a little awkward in the beginning but slowly became fun," Sukanth says. "Most of the time we didn't know how and when the pictures were being clicked."
Yet, same-sex relationships remain socially taboo for many, and Dalal and Sukanth were also the only couple in the campaign who chose to display their photographs publicly. "The reason for offering these photo shoots to same-sex couples was for them to be able to capture their moments together and create memories," an UrbanClap spokesperson added. "While we're not saying people should use these to come out publicly as many have chosen not to, but to share these moments with their close friends and family."
The campaign comes a year after a groundbreaking commercial for an Indian clothing company showed a live-in relationship between two women and their conversations about coming out to their parents. Appreciated for its honesty, the ad started many conversations and quickly went viral.
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Topics LGBTQ
Sonam Joshi was Mashable's principal correspondent in India. She has previously worked for The Times of India group and Time Out Delhi, and written for The Caravan, Mint Lounge and Yahoo Originals.
