My Mother’s Girlfriend: Heart-Tugging Tale Of Love Between Two Mature Women

This article contains spoilers. Pride Month is nearly coming to an end, so I decided to dig deep into my heart and understand the wounds and complexities of same-sex love in India. A country where even after 200 years post-independence, the prude colonial hangover of having stitched cloth covers for sofa legs and dining table chairs still exist. In this conservative culture, there are also the pride marches and discussions on inclusion and diversity that are gradually becoming a subject that even corporates are embracing, albeit maybe reluctantly, but surely with more acceptance than before. 

My Mother’s Girlfriend: The 15-Minute Film That Leaves A Lasting Impression 

Language too is going through change and words that smear the queer community and were used freely in the past are now being policed, as awareness and activism in terms of sexuality and gender identity are clearly not backing down. Therefore, being unprejudiced is the need of the hour. 

So, I decided to devour queer films addressing subjects of love, rejection, confusion, identity and suppression. Most of the films veered towards gay men that touched upon the taboo of being queer, in a heterosexual society. There is a bouquet of beautiful films, but one that stands out for the sheer delight of a watch is My Mother’s Girlfriend by Arun Fulara, which touched my heart, like warm melting chocolate inside a muffin. 

This is a 15-minute film, catalogued in the shorts section, and surely the sweetest film made on adult lesbian love. The story is unfolded from the perspective of the son coming to terms with his mother’s coming of age with her lesbian lover. 

As I settled to watch the protagonists, the filmmaker deftly touched upon the subject of interfaith love in the film, very subtly without making the viewer shift to focus on the two women in love. 

The story revolves around Renuka and Sadiya, who are two mature working-class women in love with each other. They meet, spend time and are out celebrating Renuka’s birthday, when Renuka’s son, Mangesh, a taxi driver follows them furtively to discover, his mother’s love affair. What remains the most remarkable moment of the film is the son's concern and worry about his mother’s reputation within the family, especially his little daughter. This scene is very real and touching. Mangesh’s face, in this scene, as he confronts his mother and her candid non-apologetic attitude, delves into the beautiful menacing relationship between a mother and her son.

My Mother’s Girlfriend is also about the male gaze and his point of view, a grown man coming to terms with his single mother’s romantic relationship with another woman. The film is as beautiful as Mangesh, the son is all about being his mother’s son and all he can muster to say is, “What will people say?”

Mangesh, deep down, is all right about his mother living life the way she chooses to but is concerned about her reputation and discretion. His performance explores societal pressure, and his compassion and what is moving is that he isn’t busy playing the patriarchal son, judging and minding his single mother’s business. 

This film’s title is exploratory because a mother isn’t supposed to be associated with having a girlfriend and thereby it breaks down barriers of stereotypes of motherhood and the restrictive nature of being an adult woman who must only be seen in temples or loving her grandchildren and living life vicariously via her children. Renuka and Sadiya are loud and proud to be in love with each other, seeking a separate life from their respective families. 

We need more adult lesbian love stories, like My Mother’s Girlfriend, where the viewer is treated to women in their later years and not films only depicting girls in their early 20s with perfect bodies and candy-floss love stories, created from the lens of heterodoxy. This film is raw, beautifully made and a sweet watch. 

Mohua Chinappa is a poet, and author and runs two podcasts, The Mohua Show and The Literature Lounge. She is also part of a London-based, non-profit think tank called Bridge India.