‘It is important to break the stigma’
Mrinal Dutt talks about the importance of normalising same-sex relationship
Mrinal Dutt is making waves with his performance in His Storyy, an Alt Balaji and Zee5 original web series. Mrinal plays a gay character, who is a food critic and traveller by profession. His life intertwines with that of Sakshi (played by Priyamani) and Kunal (played by Satyadeep Mishra) when the former calls him to the opening of her restaurant, without knowing that her husband is in love with him.
“I wanted to be a part of a story where I can make a difference. Yes, this is a controversial subject, and needed to be done in the right manner. I knew this would make people inquisitive about the show. Hence, I jumped at the opportunity,” he said when asked why he agreed to do the role. “I went through a lot of transformation for the role, both physically and mentally. I even went an extra mile to gain about fiveseven kgs for this part,” he added.
Homosexuality on Indian screens hasn’t really been portrayed right. While at times it ends by being comic, there are several instances when melodrama takes centrestage. “Sleazy portrayal of homosexuality is the easiest thing to do, so much so that it could end up being a cliché. But I wanted it to be very original and natural. The writers have etched out the characters quite nicely and it is a wellwritten plot,” he said. Did he have apprehensions about playing a gay character? “Not really, it is a beautiful role to play. I wasn’t worried at all because it has been portrayed in a very sensitive manner,” he pointed out.
Gay love stories often end up being just that, gay. Yet what most people fail to realise is the fact that gay couples have as many problems just like any other regular couple. “It is important to break the stigma, we must learn to normalise them. They are not different; they are just like everyone else. We have to regularise our perception of gay people. Gay is normal,” he added.
Mrinal also reveals lessons he learnt while working on the series. “I have learnt to be more accepting of people around me. I have seen how much the LGBTQ community has suffered in their lives. Every individual must learn to be more accepting in our society, only then will we change as a nation,” he added.
Sleazy portrayal of homosexuality is the easiest thing to do, so much so that it could end up being a cliché. But I wanted it to be very original and natural.