I Can't Think Straight controversyIndian Supermodel, Actress Portrays Lesbian

A top Bollywood actress and Sheetal Sheth (INDIAN, who was raised in a small New Jersey city)has touched off controversy in India following word that she will play a lesbian in her forthcoming movie, I Can't Think Straight, which was recently filmed in England. Indian-Canadian Lisa Ray, who starred in Deepa Mehta's Oscar-nominated Water, declined to discuss the film when contacted by IANS, the Indian wire service. But Aseem Bajaj, director of photography on the film, remarked that he does not see the subject matter as controversial -- "not in this day and age." Ray herself is not unfamiliar with controversy generated by her films. Water sparked violent protests by Hindu fundamentalists when it began shooting in Varanasi in 2000, forcing the Uttar Pradesh government to halt additional filming there.

Director:Shamim Sarif

Writers:Kelly Moss (writer)Shamim Sarif (writer)

Release Date:December 2008 (USA

Tagline:You can only find true love when you're true to yourself

Plot summary:

In the upper echelons of traditional Middle Eastern society, Reema and Omar prepare for the marriage of their daughter Tala. But back at work in London, Tala encounters Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating Tala's best friend Ali. Tala sees something unique in the artless, clumsy, sensitive Leyla who secretly works to become a writer. And Tala's forthright challenges to Leyla's beliefs begins a journey of self-awareness for Leyla. As the women fall in love, Tala's own sense of duty and cultural restraint cause her to pull away from Leyla and fly back to Jordan where the preparations for an ostentatious wedding are well under way. As family members descend and the wedding day approaches, the pressure mounts until Tala finally cracks and extricates herself. Back in London, Leyla is heartbroken but learns to break free of her own self-doubt and her mother's expectations, ditching Ali and being honest with her parents about her sexuality. When Ali and Leyla's feisty sister Zara help throw Tala and Leyla together again, Tala finds that her own preconceptions of what love can be is the final hurdle she must jump to win Leyla back. Written by Shamim Sarif