‘We need to start normalising queer characters in films’: Indian screenwriter Mrittika ‘Mou’ Sarin

Mrittika ‘Mou’ Sarin, a queer Indian screenwriter, had to navigate the challenges that came from being a mix of two cultures. Born to an Assamese mother and a Punjabi father, she was, from a very young age, made to feel ‘different’. But, it was not until she moved to Baltimore in the US that she realised her identity as an Indian.
Then she was “suddenly placed in the position of having to defend it”, to “fight for [her] roots while “assimilating into American culture”. The cross-cultural storyteller also had to forge her identity as a queer person.
Today, after over a decade of delivering content to the global audience, Mou — who works between Los Angeles and Mumbai, and has produced and written Hotstar specials like ‘Criminal Justice’ and ‘City of Dreams’ — says she is “excited” the prospect of not ever knowing “everything there is to know about screenwriting”, and that it is important to “be open to criticism and feedback”.
In a recent interaction with , she talked about her life and beginnings, being a person of colour, Hollywood’s problem with tokenism and what she thinks about Bollywood’s treatment of films dealing with the LGBTQ+ community.

Excerpts:
Tell us about your childhood — you were raised both in India and the US. How did it influence your formative years?
I was born to an Assamese mother and a Punjabi father. Growing up in New Delhi in the ’90s, I always felt I was different. I look partly northeastern and was very aware of it based on how other kids would treat me, but my parents raised me to be proud of who I was despite this.
When I was 13, we moved to Baltimore where my mother went to Johns Hopkins for a PhD in Public Health. That was the first time I realised I wasn’t just Assamese and Punjabi, I was Indian. And being Indian is very different in the US than it is in India. Suddenly, I was placed in the position of having to defend my identity and to fight for my roots while assimilating into American culture. This process of forging my own identity — queer as well as Indian — is something I always wish I had references to in movies and TV, and is something I plan on making myself.
The screenwriter said she was born to an Assamese mother and a Punjabi father, and was made to feel different. (Photo: PR handout)
When did storytelling and screenwriting begin to appeal to you?
I was a kid with an insane imagination. The trees I climbed were my friends, the abandoned guardhouse was my hideout, the roof was my watch tower. I was always lost in my imagination. the time I was nine, I was building worlds in my head full of creatures and mythical beasts. I started writing novels based on them, complete with maps and character descriptions. All written during class, of course, when I wasn’t paying attention to my teachers. What was clear was that I was drawn towards visual storytelling from a very young age and the need to express myself led me to screenwriting.

You shuttle between Los Angeles and Mumbai now for work. How different or similar are these two cities?
Both cities are very similar in the culture of welcoming outsiders, especially for the film industry. People in both places seem to have a certain drive and hunger to achieve. My experiences with both have found me with long-lasting friendships and networks that are incredibly supportive. I’ve found there are a lot of lifestyle differences; mobility and transportation is more easily accessible in Mumbai but in LA, one needs to have a car. Overall, I’ve found that people all around the world are more similar than they think.
As a cross-cultural storyteller, what is your observation about how queer characters are written in Indian and in the West?
What I’m seeing in queer characters in India is that they are queer in stories about their struggles — as it should be. The West, however, has moved on to having queer characters that are not necessarily in queer stories but whatever the material is about. Basically, there is a normalisation of queer people, and their lives are easily found in many stories and that’s what I hope Bollywood can do in the future as well.
Of late, there have been a few films in Bollywood that have attempted to represent the LGBTQ+ community. Do you think they have been successful?
I’m very proud of the strides that Bollywood has been making to represent the LGBTQIA+ community especially in movies like ‘Super Deluxe‘ and ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui‘. Like I said, now we need to start normalising queer characters and their lives so while the progress is great, we can keep going.

According to you, what is the key component required to make more films and shows in the country that represent the LGBTQ+ community?
Good writers can write about all kinds of people, but it’s important to examine every part of this character and think about why you want them to be queer and how that will play in your story. It’s important to research, talk to queer or trans people about their experiences and, maybe, even share your stage with queer or trans people. It’s important to never assume that you know everything about this character. Defer to queer people or trans people about their lived experiences and really len to their feedback.
“I have dealt with a lot of discrimination and hate directed at me.” (Photo: PR handout)
The West has, for a long time now, been accused of ‘tokenism‘, especially with regard to a brown character. How should this issue be tackled?
What I’ve been recently noticing in Hollywood is a shift, in that there are definitely a lot more people of colour (POC) stories helmed POC. Even characters on long-running TV shows, who might have been POC without their identity ever being mentioned, are now diving deeper into their character’s experiences with race. I think there’s definitely more room to grow, but I do see significant progress.

Can you share a leaf out of your own journey to throw light on what it takes to become a successful screenwriter? What kind of challenges did you face initially?
I think it’s really important to know what your voice is. Every writer has their own dinct voice and it takes time to hone it. In my process of learning how to write for the screen, it took me a long time to shut out all the other voices and to trust myself. This goes hand-in-hand with being open to learning. I am excited the idea that I won’t ever know everything there is to know about screenwriting, no matter how successful I am. Being open to criticism and feedback made me a stronger writer. The people I have around me now, who read my drafts, are people who know my voice and know where I want to go.
Did your identity as a queer person ever become a roadblock? How supportive was your family?
I have been very lucky and grateful enough to not have had my queer identity be a roadblock but, like many others, I have dealt with a lot of discrimination and hate directed at me. I came out to my parents when I was 18 and they were not happy, to say the least, but I don’t blame them as it was a different time. I, however, had incredible support from my younger brother who was very proud of me and who pushed me to be brave. Now, many years later, I’m incredibly grateful to have an extremely supportive and loving family.
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