Q. How and when did you first become aware of LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) issues?
Nandita: For me, the film Fire was really the turning point. When I read the script, I thought, “Wow, I come from a fairly liberal family, yet we don’t talk about [LGBT issues], so it’s definitely something that I want to be a part of.” But at that time, it was just a story, a powerful story. The real journey of understanding and sensitivity was after Fire, when it became a controversy. There was a whole range of opinions, from the people who hated the film because “this is not part of Indian culture,” to the people who were more involved with these issues saying,“Why did these two women have to be in bad marriages to fall in love?” I saw the best people, very educated, so-called progressive urban people, who were very judgemental. I started taking up the cause almost by default, because if somebody says something that’s really scandalous and very inhuman around you, then you feel like you have to defend it.