2023 Winner

Rangeela, a not-for-profit collective, produces some of the largest South Asian LGBTQ+ nightlife events in the world. With growing global interest, they were preparing for a world-class event in 2022 when the pandemic hit. To re-energize an audience that had grown wary of nightlife, Rangeela looked back to queer history and crafted a teaser film with a Bollywood twist to promote its events. The cheeky film was titled “Sukh My Duhk”, a Hinglish concoction which translates to “Happy My Sad” and was designed to sound phonetically crude. The film features an all-South Asian, all-LGBTQ+ cast and pays homage to queer culture, including bathhouses, poppers, Tom of Finland’s artwork and Grindr. The film was shared more than 4,000 times in its first month and led to a 45% spike in attendance for Rangeela’s Pride 2023 event. This event sold out Toronto’s historic Opera House, making it Rangeela’s highest performing year yet.

Credits

Creative Director:
Waseem Shaikh

Producers:
Shazad Hai
Imran Nayani

Production Design:
Sivakaran Gunaratnam

Visual Post:
Alter Ego