Riyad Vinci Wadia (19 September 1967 – 30 November 2003) was an Indian independent filmmaker from Bombay, known for his short film, BOMgAY (1996), possibly the very first gay themed movie from India.[1] Born into the filmmaking Wadia family, he inherited the production companyWadia Movietone which is known for the Fearless Nadia movies which are one of their kind in the superwoman and stunt genre[2] when other movies of their time usually portrayed women in submissive roles. Wadia is also known for his award-winning documentary on Nadia, Fearless: The Hunterwali Story (1993), which was written about in Time magazine and made a name for Riyad at the very outset of his brief but impactful career.[3]
Riyad was born in Bombay to Nargis and Vinci Wadia, son of the legendary filmmaker JBH Wadia who was one of the founding fathers of stunt films and mythological films in India. The latter's production firm, Wadia Movietone, which Riyad would later inherit, launched into the Indian film industry (later known as Bollywood) the Australian actress Mary Evans who was known popularly as 'Fearless Nadia'.[4] Riyad did his schooling at Bombay International School, briefly attended St. Xavier's College, and later went to Australia to the Charles Sturt Film School in Wagga Wagga. Riyad was openly gay, and BOMgAY was India's first overtly gay-themed film.[5]
Recognitionedit
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 and Fearless Nadia. His first documentary, Fearless : The Hunterwali Story, which is based on the life of Mary (aka Nadia) Wadia, got screened at over 50 international film festivals,[6] such as The Berlin International Film Festival (1994)[7] and The London Film Festival (1993).[6] The short film, BOMgAY, with shooting locations such as the gay cruising spots of the Victoria Terminus urinals and the Bombaylocal tracks along which people defecate, was described as "part Bollywood, part Genet". The film, based on the gay-themed poetry of the Poona-based R. Raj Rao, explored the underground gay subculture of Bombay and marked the entry of queer themes into Indian Cinema.[8] The film had a limited release in India, thanks to its explicit content.[9] It got screened at 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.[10][11][12]
An award has been instituted in his memory by his mother and brother at the KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and awarded every year since 2011. The Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker is given to first or second time filmmaker whose LGBTQ+ short film is being screened at the festival.
Final yearsedit
Riyad tested positive for HIV in 1995. Though he was quite capable of affording the then expensive HIV medication, he 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 a regular column for The New Indian Express. Things got difficult post 9/11, with not many jobs available, forcing him to get back to Bombay. Riyad was lost to stomach tuberculosis on 30 November 2003, in Bombay.[5] At the time of his death, he was 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," says gay activist Ashok Row Kavi.[13] The Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker was instituted with funding from Wadia Movietone (through Riyad's brother Roy) in 2011 by Kashish, the noted international queer film festival held annually in Bombay.[14]
riyad, vinci, wadia, september, 1967, november, 2003, indian, independent, filmmaker, from, bombay, known, short, film, bomgay, 1996, possibly, very, first, themed, movie, from, india, born, into, filmmaking, wadia, family, inherited, production, company, wadi. Riyad Vinci Wadia 19 September 1967 30 November 2003 was an Indian independent filmmaker from Bombay known for his short film BOMgAY 1996 possibly the very first gay themed movie from India 1 Born into the filmmaking Wadia family he inherited the production company Wadia Movietone which is known for the Fearless Nadia movies which are one of their kind in the superwoman and stunt genre 2 when other movies of their time usually portrayed women in submissive roles Wadia is also known for his award winning documentary on Nadia Fearless The Hunterwali Story 1993 which was written about in Time magazine and made a name for Riyad at the very outset of his brief but impactful career 3 Riyad Vinci WadiaBorn 1967 09 19 19 September 1967Bombay IndiaDied30 November 2003 2003 11 30 aged 36 Bombay IndiaNationalityIndianOccupationFilmmakerKnown forBomGay Contents 1 Personal life 2 Recognition 3 Final years 4 Works 5 References 6 External linksPersonal life editRiyad was born in Bombay to Nargis and Vinci Wadia son of the legendary filmmaker JBH Wadia who was one of the founding fathers of stunt films and mythological films in India The latter s production firm Wadia Movietone which Riyad would later inherit launched into the Indian film industry later known as Bollywood the Australian actress Mary Evans who was known popularly as Fearless Nadia 4 Riyad did his schooling at Bombay International School briefly attended St Xavier s College and later went to Australia to the Charles Sturt Film School in Wagga Wagga Riyad was openly gay and BOMgAY was India s first overtly gay themed film 5 Recognition editNicknamed 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 and Fearless Nadia His first documentary Fearless The Hunterwali Story which is based on the life of Mary aka Nadia Wadia got screened at over 50 international film festivals 6 such as The Berlin International Film Festival 1994 7 and The London Film Festival 1993 6 The short film BOMgAY with shooting locations such as the gay cruising spots of the Victoria Terminus urinals and the Bombay local tracks along which people defecate was described as part Bollywood part Genet The film based on the gay themed poetry of the Poona based R Raj Rao explored the underground gay subculture of Bombay and marked the entry of queer themes into Indian Cinema 8 The film had a limited release in India thanks to its explicit content 9 It got screened at 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 10 11 12 An award has been instituted in his memory by his mother and brother at the KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and awarded every year since 2011 The Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker is given to first or second time filmmaker whose LGBTQ short film is being screened at the festival Final years editRiyad tested positive for HIV in 1995 Though he was quite capable of affording the then expensive HIV medication he 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 a regular column for The New Indian Express Things got difficult post 9 11 with not many jobs available forcing him to get back to Bombay Riyad was lost to stomach tuberculosis on 30 November 2003 in Bombay 5 At the time of his death he was 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 says gay activist Ashok Row Kavi 13 The Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker was instituted with funding from Wadia Movietone through Riyad s brother Roy in 2011 by Kashish the noted international queer film festival held annually in Bombay 14 Works editFilms Fearless The Hunterwali Story 1993 Bomgay 1996 A Mermaid called Aida 1996 Writings Long Life of a Short Film The Making of BOMgAY 15 Wadia also wrote columns for The New Indian Express 16 17 References edit Sarma Udaysanker 28 August 2010 The secrets of a boy s hostel The New Indian Express permanent dead link Mishra Ambarish 8 May 2011 Once upon a Bal Gandharva The Times of India Archived from the original on 12 June 2012 Jain Madhu 14 August 2008 The return of Nadia Hunterwali DNA Surat s Wadias created Fearless Nadia The Times of India 2 October 2010 Archived from the original on 12 June 2012 a b Wadia Roy 2009 My brother Riyad Archived from the original on 8 June 2010 Retrieved 2 March 2021 a b Shukla Archna 6 October 2002 Screen saver The Economic Times Malik Amita 5 June 2005 The one and only Hunterwali The Hindu Archived from the original on 8 January 2006 Ghosh Shohini 30 May 2005 The Closet is ajar Outlook Mallik Choudhuri Sucheta 2009 Transgressive territories queer space in Indian fiction and film Morris Gary 2 October 2001 QFilmistan Bright Lights Film Journal Knews 30 May 2020 SASOD Film Festival opens Tuesday Kaieteur News Sood Karan Bomgay Pink Pages Tribute Riyad Wadia EGO 19 August 2005 Archived from the original on 25 July 2011 Retrieved 25 May 2011 Shyam Benegal announces Kashish India s first Queer Film Festival Businessofcinema com 23 May 2011 Wadia Riyad Long Life of a Short Film The Making of BOMgAY PlanetOut Archived from the original on 2 September 2011 Retrieved 25 May 2011 Wadia Riyad 23 December 1998 Set me free The New Indian Express Wadia Riyad 24 November 1999 What do you know The New Indian Express External links editRiyad Vinci Wadia at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Riyad Vinci Wadia amp oldid 1179803382, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
