A Hindi film about self acceptance and inclusion ‘Margarita With a Straw’ was screened at Dylogg Coworking here on Sunday.
Margarita with a Straw is a 2014 Indian drama film directed by Shonali Bose. It stars Kalki Koechlin as an Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who relocates to America and comes of age following her complex relationship with a blind girl, played by Sayani Gupta. Revathi, Kuljeet Singh and William Moseley also played vital roles in the film.
laila (Koechlin) is a teenager with cerebral palsy, studying at Delhi University. She is an aspiring writer and also composes music for an indie band at the university. laila develops feelings for the lead singer, but is heartbroken when she is rejected. Moving on from the experience, laila is overjoyed to receive a scholarship for a semester's study at New York University. Despite her father's reservations, she moves to Greenwich Village, Manhattan with her orthodox Maharashtrian mother Shubhangini (Revathi).
laila meets an attractive young man named Jared (Moseley), who is assigned to help her in the creative writing class. She also meets a young activist, Khanum (Gupta), a blind girl of Pakistani-Bangladeshi descent, with whom she falls in love. laila is enamoured by Khanum's fiercely independent personality and her positive perspective towards her own disability. The two spend most of their time together, filling in as each other's caregivers. laila becomes confused about her sexual orientation, as she is attracted to men Jared in particular while being in a serious relationship with Khanum.
But later, laila tells about her relationship with Khannum to her mother and she disapproves it. Besides, she confesses her relationship with Jared to Khannum and Khannum feeling betrayed leaves laila immediately. laila’s mother was detected with cancer and soon she dies. In the end laila is seen enjoying the scenery all by herself.