Juno actress Ellen Page has taken the world by storm by declaring she is now a man, Elliot Page. In every sense he/she has turned the Page. Writer-director Apurva Asrani met Elliot when he was Ellen. Apurva recalls, “I met Elliot Page in May 2016. He and his best friend Ian Daniel were in Mumbai shooting for a series and we were meeting prominent LGBTQ citizens. They came home with their camera crew for my pet dog Doobie's 9th birthday.”
Elliot, then Ellen, had a long conversation with Apurva. “We talked for a couple of hours about Aligarh (which I had scripted) and the state of India's LGBTQ. I found Elliot to be very concerned for us under the archaic Article 377 which was still in force back then.”
Ellen/Elliot appreciated Apurva being an uncloseted homosexual inspite of 377. “He was very happy to see my partner and I celebrating the day with our parents and was trying to understand how we could be so open when the law was against us.”
Apurva was impressed by Elliot/Ellen’s nature. “What struck me was how down-to-earth and simple Elliot was. He didn't demand special attention, dressed simply and talked to everyone sincerely. He even brought presents for my pet Doobie.”
Apurva Asrani has never been afraid to express himself on the subject of sexual orientation.
In an interview in 2016 Apurva had spoken to me about homophobia in the film industry. "Our film industry like most movie industries in the world employs a sizable number of gay and bisexual men & women. Some of these filmmakers, actors and technicians are known for their attention to detail, while others create dynamic female characters. Many do song and dance with great aplomb. While all of this is wonderful, it has a flip side. Owing to outdated ideas of morality, and also criminalizing of same sex unions, most of our filmy gay folk are closeted. Some get married early and avoid questions; others stay single but create smokescreens from time to time, always worrying that they will get 'exposed'. This gives rise to a kind of homophobia, where as they will not associate openly with an 'out' gay person for fear of being discovered by association. This also ensures that they create gay characters in films that either ridicule themselves or are there only for villainous purposes. This continues the vicious cycle of homophobia in society."
Image source: Instagram/apurva_asrani