{"id":107897,"date":"2025-11-25T20:08:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T14:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=107897"},"modified":"2025-11-25T20:08:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T14:38:02","slug":"lala-poppy-pushes-the-mainstream-forward-cast-and-crew-share-the-making-of-a-boundary-breaking-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=107897","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Lala & Poppy\u2019 pushes the mainstream forward : Cast and crew share the making of a boundary-breaking film"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Goa Khabar : At a spirited press conference at IFFI today, the team behind \u2018Lala & Poppy,\u2019 a tender, gender-fluid love story set in the pulse of Mumbai, opened up about the film\u2019s journey, its social resonance, and its deep commitment to honest representation. Director Kaizad Gustad, producer Bobby Bedi, and actors Veer Singh and Suruj Rajkhowa came together to discuss a film that dares to centre love above labels, humanity above binaries, and authenticity above spectacle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Telling an Honest Story: Humans First, Gender Later<\/strong><\/p>\n

Producer Bobby Bedi set the tone early, reflecting on why he chose to back this project after decades of producing major films. \u201cEvery big film becomes big because audiences embrace it,\u201d he said, insisting that \u2018Lala & Poppy\u2019 moves in the same direction, with sincerity and connection at its core. Recalling that the film was finalised at last year\u2019s IFFI in Goa, he noted India\u2019s evolving social landscape: while the law now recognises transgender identities, common social acceptance still lags. For him, the film begins with a simple belief: \u201cHumans come first, gender later.\u201d He emphasised that every human deserves the right to be free, to love, and to live without fear.<\/p>\n

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Director Kaizad Gustad built on this, saying he set out to make an honest film, that speaks to the whole world. Rather than create \u201ca queer love story,\u201d he wanted to tell a relatable story of romance, one that just happens to unfold between two transgender protagonists. He spoke openly about the disciplined writing process that required years of research, close engagement with the queer community, and a commitment to getting the nuances right, as he was writing of a world that he initially knew little about.<\/p>\n

Veer and Suruj Bring Their Journeys to the Spotlight<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The actors Veer Singh and Suruj Rajkhowa, both transgender performers, brought the conversation to an intimate, personal space. Veer reflected on the absence of people like them on screen while growing up and the wish to be that representation for someone else today. \u201cI want people like me to see me on screen and think, if this person can do it, I can do it too,\u201d said Veer. Suruj added that although queer characters have long been shown in Indian cinema, they were often placed as caricatures or comic relief. \u2018Lala & Poppy,\u2019 Suruj said, gives them the chance to exist on screen as human beings first. \u201cThat in itself feels groundbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking the Story to Mainstream<\/strong><\/p>\n

When asked whether the film was aimed at a queer audience or a mainstream one, Bobby Bedi was clear: \u201cIt\u2019s a film for people, not a film for festivals.\u201d He spoke about taking the film to mainstream festivals, cinemas, and OTT platforms because, at its heart, the film belongs to the public at large.<\/p>\n

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Kaizad reiterated that \u2018Lala & Poppy\u2019 is not a \u201cmessage movie.\u201d He avoids overt moralising and instead hopes that the film\u2019s emotional truth will speak for itself. \u201cA story has to engage its audience. Love transcends gender, and that message doesn\u2019t need to be shouted; it needs to be felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For both actors, the film represents hope for visibility, dignity, and the beginning of a cinematic landscape where trans people can simply be seen as people. \u201cIt feels like history,\u201d Suruj said.<\/p>\n

As the session closed, what remained was a resonant message: \u2018Lala & Poppy\u2019 is not just a film about gender transition, it is a film about love, courage, and the right to exist. In a world still learning to accept fluid identities, the film stands as a luminous reminder that love, in all its forms, deserves room to bloom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goa Khabar : At a spirited press conference at IFFI today, the team behind \u2018Lala & Poppy,\u2019 a tender, gender-fluid love story set in the pulse of Mumbai, opened up about the film\u2019s journey, its social resonance, and its deep commitment to honest representation. Director Kaizad Gustad, producer Bobby Bedi, and actors Veer Singh and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25169,"featured_media":107898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155,6],"tags":[3794],"class_list":["post-107897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-155","category-6","tag-featured"],"read":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107899,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107897\/revisions\/107899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/107898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=107897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=107897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}