Once more, with pride | KASHISH Pride Film Festival 2026
What to look out for at the 17th edition of the Kashish pride film festival in Mumbai
It is fitting that South Asia’s biggest queer film festival, held in India, is called Kashish. This Urdu word, meaning ‘charm’, captures the spirit of breaking out of binaries and exploring the world in all its colour and vigour. The 17th edition, Kashish 2026, will be held in Mumbai from June 3 to 7, featuring 153 films from 43 countries, including 57 in competition. “Starting this year, we have curated a short films package—‘Programmers’ Pick’—for films that slipped through the cracks of competition, but not our attention,” says founder-team member Saagar Gupta. “My personal favourites are Chico and Linger.”
It is fitting that South Asia’s biggest queer film festival, held in India, is called Kashish. This Urdu word, meaning ‘charm’, captures the spirit of breaking out of binaries and exploring the world in all its colour and vigour. The 17th edition, Kashish 2026, will be held in Mumbai from June 3 to 7, featuring 153 films from 43 countries, including 57 in competition. “Starting this year, we have curated a short films package—‘Programmers’ Pick’—for films that slipped through the cracks of competition, but not our attention,” says founder-team member Saagar Gupta. “My personal favourites are Chico and Linger.”
Among this year’s buzzy titles is Sabar Bonda, Rohan Kanawade’s directorial debut, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The Marathi feature follows an urban man returning to his village, where he develops a homoerotic bond with a childhood friend. Then there’s Queering India, an Australian-Indian production by Lakhinandan Boruah and Swapnesh Dubey. Set against the backdrop of the Supreme Court declining to legalise same-sex marriage, the documentary traces Dubey’s coming-out journey. Another documentary is Sam Feder’s Heightened Scrutiny, which follows civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio as he fights for transgender adolescents’ access to gender-affirming healthcare in the US.
The festival opens with Jimpa, directed by Sophie Hyde and starring John Lithgow as a gay man living freely in Amsterdam. His filmmaker daughter (Olivia Colman) visits him, hoping to bridge generational gaps and also make a feature film on him. Closing the festival is the Spanish drama Maspalomas, centred on another elderly gay man. Also among the special features is Dibakar Banerjee’s LSD 2, an edgy excursion into queer lives.
While Sridhar Rangayan, founder-director of the festival is not partial to any selection, he does have two recommendations. “The Crowd (Iran) is a brave film produced underground,” he says. “And On the Road (Mexico) is a raw, sexy film about the struggles of a lonely boy wandering through truck stops and getting involved in drugs, sex and murders.” That is Kashish in all its colour and vigour.
—The screenings will be held from June 3-7 at Liberty Cinema, Alliance Franaise and NGMA, Mumbai
