Abstract
This chapter, inspired by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s groundbreaking queer essay “The Epistemology of the Closet” (1990), focuses on Ian Iqbal Rashid’s film A Touch of Pink (UK/Canada 2004), a romantic drama about a young gay Indo-Canadian of Ismaili origins who lives in London with his white British boyfriend. The film problematizes the Western conceptualization of coming out and queerly revises white and ethnic perceptions of interracial intimacy as well. In its cinematic inquiry into the particularities of the epistemology of the ethnic closet faced by ethnic gay men, Rashid’s film politicizes the notion of unconditional love in order to develop a new, inclusive point of view on ethnic gay men’s negotiating of their sexual identification and their emancipation inside and outside their families and communities. Notably, this film embraces the Indian family’s willingness to open its heart to its gay son, proving that love is unconditional. A Touch of Pink’s somewhat utopian ending shows the viewers that greater acceptance of sexual minorities within Alim’s community is possible.
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Notes
- 1.
Cultural Otherness and ethnic tensions are common themes in contemporary European migrant cinema, reflecting the challenges faced by ethnic minorities wishing to maintain their authenticity and to negotiate their traditional heritage with the powerful mechanisms of globalization of Western economy and cultural, gender, and sexual values. Significant ethnic comedies, such as Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (Stephen Frears, UK 1987), London Kills Me (Hanif Kureishi, UK 1991), Polish Wedding (Theresa Connelly, USA 1998), East is East (Damien O’Donnell, UK 1998), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Joel Zwick, USA 2002), In America (Jim Sheridan, USA/UK/Ireland 2002), Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, USA/India, 2001), Bend it Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha, UK 2002), The Guru (Daisy von Scherler Mayer, USA/UK/France 2002), Roger Mitchell’s adaptation of Hanif Kureishi’s novel The Buddha of Suburbia (UK 1993), and the BBC two-part miniseries White Teeth (Julian Jarrold, UK 2002), are characterized by their mainstreaming of subaltern cultures and apparent sensational articulation of traditional minorities in Western societies, including the Indian and Pakistani communities in the contemporary UK.
- 2.
The Ismaili-Muslim community is a community-based section of the Shia Muslim faith. While they follow the Qur’an, they also have a living religious leader, the Aga Khan, who is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Internationally, the community is known for their enthusiasm for architecture and their devotion to education and healthcare (e.g. the Aga Khan University and Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan). The North American community is relatively new, with their public appearances limited mostly to volunteering and charity activities. “Being such a close-knit, quiet—some might even say silent or closed—community,” Zahara Meherai (2006) notes, “one can imagine the global shock and surprise when Ismaili Muslim writer/director Ian Iqbal Rashid’s first full length movie, A Touch of Pink was released to mainstream North American audiences earlier this year.”
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Filmography
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East Is East. Director: Damien O'Donnell. Performers: Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routledge. FilmFour / British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) / Assassin Films, 1999.
The Guru. Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer. Performers: Jimi Mistry, Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei. Universal Pictures / StudioCanal / Working Title Film, 2002.
In America. Director: Jim Sheridan. Performers: Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou. Hell's Kitchen Films / East of Harlem / Irish Film Industry, 2002.
London Kills Me. Director: Hanif Kureishi. Performers: Justin Chadwick, Steven Mackintosh, Fiona Shaw. Channel Four Films, 1991.
Mambo Italiano. Director: Emile Gaudreault. Performers: Luke Kbackirby, Ginette Reno, and Paul Sorvino. Cinemaginaire Inc./Equinoxe Films/Harold Greenberg Fund. 2003.
Monsoon Wedding. Director: Mira Nair. Performers: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shfali Shetty. IFC Productions / Mirabai Films / Pandora Filmproduktion / Paradis Films / Baron Pictures / Delhi Dot Com, 2001.
My Beautiful Laundrette. Director: Stephen Frears. Performers: Saeed Jeffrey, Roshan Seth, and Daniel Day-Lewis. Working Title Films/SAF Productions/Channel Four Films. 1985.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Director: Joel Zwick. Performers: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine. Gold Circle Films / Home Box Office (HBO) / MPH Entertainment Productions / Playtone / Ontario Film Development, 2002.
Play It Again, Sam. Director: Herbert Ross. Performers: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, and Tony Roberts. Paramount Pictures / Rollins-Joffe Productions / APJAC Productions. 1972.
Polish Wedding. Director: Theresa Comelly. Performers: Claire Danes, Gabriel Byrne, Lena Olin. Addis Wechsler Pictures / Lakeshore Entertainment, 1998.
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. Director: Stephen Frears. Performers: Shashi Kapoo, Claire Bloom, Frances Barber. Channel Four Films, 1987.
A Touch of Pink. Director: Ian Iqbal Rashid. Performers: Jimi Mistry, Kris Holden-Ried, and Suleka Mathew. Martin Pope Productions/Sienna Films. 2004.
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Padva, G. (2017). The Epistemology of the Ethnic Closet: Interracial Intimacy and Unconditional Love in Ian Iqbal Rashid’s A Touch of Pink . In: Padva, G., Buchweitz, N. (eds) Intimate Relationships in Cinema, Literature and Visual Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55281-1_15
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