Nishit Saran

Nishit Saran (1977-2003) was an Indian gay activist filmmaker, best known for the 1999/2000 documentary Summer in my veins which was featured at a number of film festivals.^[1]

Saran was born and raised in New Delhi. In 1994 he enrolled to study film-making at Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude before taking up a Harvard teaching position. In India he campaigned for gay rights, lecturing at colleges and contributing news articles, reviews, and essays to a number of Indian newspapers. His writing included the 8 February 2000 Indian Express piece "My sexuality is your business" attacking Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 377 then included a provision criminalizing same-sex sexual activity;^[2] the provision was stricken from the Penal Code in 2009. His best-known work was his film Summer in my veins, in which he captured his coming out to his mother on film.^[3]

Saran was killed in a 2003 car accident when he was just 26 years old at Lodhi Road in New Delhi,^[4] along with Channel V video jockey Pooja Mukherjee.^[5] Following his death his mother, Minna Saran, established the Nishit Saran Foundation to campaign for the decriminalization of homosexuality in India, becoming a prominent gay rights activist.

References

1. ^ IMDb entry
2. ^ Nishit Saran Foundation
3. ^ "Out, Into The Spotlight". The Indian Express. 16 July 1999. http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990716/ile16137.html. Retrieved 2008-09-05. 
4. ^ "'I want to celebrate her life'". The Times of India. 25 April 2003. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/44403800.cms. Retrieved 2008-09-05. 
5. ^ wordpress.com