Exclusive interview! Remo Dsouza on turning producer for Laila Manju, a film on racism and LGBTQ issues: I have faced racism and color discrimination ever since my childhood

Prem Soni's forthcoming project 'Laila Manju' has found support from one of Bollywood's leading choreographers, Remo D'Souza. The filmmaker, who recently suffered a heart attack, has now recovered and resumed work with Prem's film, which he is producing.
Revealing the reason behind lending his support to the film, Remo, in an exclusive interaction with ETimes, says, "I had met Prem and Avi just before all this happened to me.Prem said he will be directing a film which is ready, and is called 'Laila Manju'. The unique title itself rang a bell and I was really eager to watch it. When I did, I was so impressed by the subject that I immediately decided to be a part of it".

'Laila Manju' deals with two pertinent subjects--racism, and the isssues faced by the LGBTQ community, which resonated with Remo. "I have faced racism and prejudice due to my skin color ever since my childhood. It is a subject that I have dealt with very closely and experienced it whenever I travelled abroad. When I was growing up, people used to call me names. I used to just ignore it because I thought that maybe they are saying it because I look a certain way. Eventually, when I grew up, I understood that this was wrong and the fact that I was letting them call me these names was even worse! Now, I stand up for it and won't take it from anyone. I also think those comments on my skin color pushed me to become who I am today so that no one could ever call me those names again. But racism still exists; go to a small town or village and it is there," points out the choreographer-turned-filmmaker.
Laila Manju also sheds light on the plight of the LGBTQ community and the issues they face. When asked if he feels that Bollywood has mostly been wrong in the depiction of the community and if the film treats the subject with sensitivity, Remo asserts, "I am sure there will be more acceptance because the subject has been shown well. I am sure when the LGBTQ community watches it, they will also enoy it. After watching the film I felt like I must have laughed over certain things in the past with characters in our movies, but it needs to be changed. There are a lot of things in the film which have been so beautifully shown and I am so proud to be a part of the film."

Remo and wife Lizelle have joined hands with Prem and his brother Avi for the film. Remo adds, "There were two days of shoot left and we finished that too. Now, it is ready and I am so happy I am a part of this film because I want people to see it and understand the subject of drag culture and other LGBTQ issues that we have addressed. 'Laila Manju' is very entertaining and I can't wait for everyone to watch it."
'Laila Manju' is set in London and features Shashank Vyas, Abhimanyu Tomar, Iulia Vantur, Nehal Chudasama, and Jimmy Sheirgill in key roles and it will be produced by Prem Soni and Amit Basnet.