A gay-and-lesbian themed film festival in Mumbai, said to be the biggest of its kind in India, concluded on Sunday (June 16), manifesting celebrations of colours, art, and artists. The 10th edition of the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival that began on Wednesday (June 12) had ‘over the rainbow’ as its theme. The festival is seen as an attempt to improve the image of gays in a nation where homosexuality still carries a heavy social stigma. “We need to vet every single government person, every ministry, especially, education…we do not want our children to suffer like we have suffered and I think we have a lot of work to do,” said India’s famed fashion designer Wendell Rodricks. Bollywood has generally shied away from openly gay themes, preferring to occasionally use homosexuality as a comic tool, and even then at the risk of inviting the wrath of right-wing fundamentalists.