In February of 2018, Lex Limbu told me he wanted to share with me a video he made. I didn’t ask him what the video was about and just said, “Sure”. When I got the link to the unlisted YouTube video, I found out that it was his coming out video. The 17-minute film was later screened at King’s College London and then published online.
The inspiring film that had everyone emotional also featured the star blogger’s superstar parents, Mr. Bhuwani and Mrs. Bimala, who now star in their son’s new short — welcoming the love of his life to the family. While it is a fictional short, it’s still wholesome and I do hope this happens for real very soon (or has it already?)
The film is titled ‘Gaurav’ and it’s released to mark Pride Month that is celebrated every year in June around the world, including Nepal, to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising — the riots that began on on June 28, 1969 to stand up against police brutality.
Getting back to ‘Gaurav’, the short video shot and directed by Ramuna Pun has a beautiful soundtrack by Susant Bista which was released last year. Lex, who has also worked on the story, stars alongside Abiskar Rai in the video that celebrates love between two gay men. It was filmed in Chawton village in Hampshire. “Pride Month is a wonderful way to refocus attention on the LGBTIQ+ community and our journey so far. Through this short video, I wanted to share how beautiful it can be when you take pride in who you are”, he said.
“Pride represents acceptance of who you are to yourself first and something that makes you feel like you are not the only one”, expressed Abiskar, who plays the titular role in the short. Ramuna Pun, who has directed some beautiful music videos for a number of amazing indie hits, was thrilled to be part of the project, “When Lex approached me with ‘Gaurav’, I was instantly drawn to the simplicity of the story. The weight it carries on a broader context is of course heavy but the fluidity of emotions exchanged between all four characters is raw, real, reassuring and that simplifies everything”, she shared. “I percieived and filmed the story how it was, with love.”
Watch the film here.
Beautiful, right?
Apparently, a lot of people who watched the short actually thought that Lex and Abiskar are a real life couple and have been congratulating the Limbu family. Lex cleared the air surrounding the confusion wih an Instagram post, saying, “Abiskar and me are only a couple in the video but I am so happy to have him step up and come onboard to be in the video! It was a challenge to find a Nepali gay man for the video but I am glad I found someone so perfect for this.”
Picture Perfect!
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