Riyad Vinci Wadia
Encyclopedia
Riyad Vinci Wadia was an India
n independent filmmaker from Bombay, known for his film, BomGay (1996), regarded as one of the very first gay themed movies from India. Born into the filmmaking Wadia family, he inherited the production company
Wadia Movietone, known for the Fearless Nadia
movies, one of its kind in the superwoman genre, when the other movies of its time usually portrayed women in submissive roles. Wadia is also known for his documentary on Nadia
, Fearless: The Hunterwali Story.
s in India. The latter's production firm, Wadia Movietone, which Riyad would later inherit, launched the Australia
n actress Mary Evans
into Bollywood
, known more popularly as 'Fearless Nadia'. Riyad did his schooling in Bombay and later went to Australia for a course in filmmaking. Riyad was openly gay and so was his brother Roy Wadia, who was working for the World Health Organization
.
local
tracks along which people defecate, was described as "part Bollywood, part Genet
". The film explored the underground gay subculture of Bombay and marked the entry of queer themes into Indian Cinema. The film had a limited release in India, thanks to its explicit content. It got screened in a number of international film festivals and finds mention in the research works on the history of queer themes in Indian Cinema as the first queer themed film from India.
. Things got difficult post 9/11, with not much jobs available, forcing him to get back to Bombay. Riyad was lost to Stomach Tuberculosis
on November 30, 2003, in Mumbai
. He was then in the process of generating funds for his supposed first full length film (unfinished), Naked Rain, based on R. Raj Rao
's novel, Boyfriend. “He made a very important contribution to the gay cause and was one of the central figures to begin the broad-basing of the gay movement in India,” said gay activist Ashok Row Kavi on Riyad. An award has been instituted in his name, The Riyad Wadia award for Indian emerging filmmaker, in 2011, for the film that wins in the competition section of Kashish
, Mumbai's International Queer Film Festival
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n independent filmmaker from Bombay, known for his film, BomGay (1996), regarded as one of the very first gay themed movies from India. Born into the filmmaking Wadia family, he inherited the production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
Wadia Movietone, known for the Fearless Nadia
Fearless Nadia
Fearless Nadia was an Indian film actress and stuntwoman, who is most remembered the masked, cloaked adventuress in Hunterwali made in 1935 , which was one of the earliest female lead Indian films .-Early life:Fearless Nadia was born as Mary Ann Evans on 8 January 1908 in Perth, Western Australia...
movies, one of its kind in the superwoman genre, when the other movies of its time usually portrayed women in submissive roles. Wadia is also known for his documentary on Nadia
Fearless Nadia
Fearless Nadia was an Indian film actress and stuntwoman, who is most remembered the masked, cloaked adventuress in Hunterwali made in 1935 , which was one of the earliest female lead Indian films .-Early life:Fearless Nadia was born as Mary Ann Evans on 8 January 1908 in Perth, Western Australia...
, Fearless: The Hunterwali Story.
Personal life
Riyad was born in Bombay to Nargis and Vinci Wadia, son of JBH Wadia, one of the forerunners of stunt filmAction film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
s in India. The latter's production firm, Wadia Movietone, which Riyad would later inherit, launched the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n actress Mary Evans
Fearless Nadia
Fearless Nadia was an Indian film actress and stuntwoman, who is most remembered the masked, cloaked adventuress in Hunterwali made in 1935 , which was one of the earliest female lead Indian films .-Early life:Fearless Nadia was born as Mary Ann Evans on 8 January 1908 in Perth, Western Australia...
into Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
, known more popularly as 'Fearless Nadia'. Riyad did his schooling in Bombay and later went to Australia for a course in filmmaking. Riyad was openly gay and so was his brother Roy Wadia, who was working for the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
.
Recognition
Nicknamed as 'The Turk' of the Indian Independent cinema, Riyad's films are still being referred to in many books about Bollywood, be it gay themes in Indian Cinema, or the ones about JBH Wadia. His first documentary, Fearless : The Hunterwali Story, on Nadia Wadia, got screened at over 50 international film festivals, like Berlin Internation Film Festival (1994) and London Film Festival (1993). The short film, BomGay, with shooting locations like the gay cruising spots of Victoria Terminus urinals and the MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
local
Mumbai Metro
The Mumbai Metro is a rapid transit system being built in Mumbai, India's largest city. The system is designed to reduce the rapidly-growing city's congestion problems, and will be built in three phases over a 15-year period, with overall completion expected in 2021...
tracks along which people defecate, was described as "part Bollywood, part Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
". The film explored the underground gay subculture of Bombay and marked the entry of queer themes into Indian Cinema. The film had a limited release in India, thanks to its explicit content. It got screened in a number of international film festivals and finds mention in the research works on the history of queer themes in Indian Cinema as the first queer themed film from India.
Final years
Riyad tested positive to HIV in 1995. Though he was quite able to afford the then expensive HIV medication, he had refused to be on any kind of dosage. He left India shortly after the production of BomGay, supporting himself with petty jobs in New York and writing an article or two for The New Indian ExpressThe New Indian Express
The New Indian Express is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as the Indian Express, under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu. In 1991, following the death of the then owner Ramnath Goenka, the Goenka...
. Things got difficult post 9/11, with not much jobs available, forcing him to get back to Bombay. Riyad was lost to Stomach Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
on November 30, 2003, in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. He was then in the process of generating funds for his supposed first full length film (unfinished), Naked Rain, based on R. Raj Rao
R. Raj Rao
R. Raj Rao is a writer and teacher of literature and "one of India’s leading gay-rights activists." His 2003 novel The Boyfriend is one of the first gay novels to come from India. Rao was one of the first recipients of the newly-established Quebec-India awards.-Personal life:R. Raj Rao was born in...
's novel, Boyfriend. “He made a very important contribution to the gay cause and was one of the central figures to begin the broad-basing of the gay movement in India,” said gay activist Ashok Row Kavi on Riyad. An award has been instituted in his name, The Riyad Wadia award for Indian emerging filmmaker, in 2011, for the film that wins in the competition section of Kashish
Mumbai Queer Film Festival
The Kashish – Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is an annual LGBT event that has been held in Mumbai, India since the year 2010...
, Mumbai's International Queer Film Festival
Works
- Films
- Fearless : The Hunterwali Story (1993)
- BOMgAY (1996)
- A Mermaid called Aida (1996)
- Writings
- Long Life of a Short Film: The Making of BOMgAY
- Wadia also wrote columns for The New Indian ExpressThe New Indian ExpressThe New Indian Express is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as the Indian Express, under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu. In 1991, following the death of the then owner Ramnath Goenka, the Goenka...
.