Lalit K Jha/No Gyan

New York, Jul 17: An Indian-American film on lesbians received instant accolade from film buffs at the Philadelphia International Gays and Lesbians Film Festival, which kicked off last week. Following its world premiere over the weekend, it has not only caught the attention of the mainstream media, but also been given entry to the second oldest film festival for the gays and lesbians in Chicago later this year.

Called by some as the lesbian Brokeback Mountain, the film When Kiran Met Karen has also landed on the cover of a popular American lesbian magazine Curve. The 110-minute film was screened twice and that too house full, an unusual thing, during the 12-day popular Philly festival for gays and lesbians in this part of the world.

Written, produced and directed by Manan Singh Katohora, When Kiran met Karen is the story of a Bollywood actress who lands in New York and ends up in friendship with American journalist.

Based on the popular support the film received from those attending the festival, the organisers in the first phase moved its screening to a prime slot. As all the tickets were sold out quickly, its world premiere on July 12 was moved from an auditorium having a capacity of some 200 people to a bigger venue having a seating capacity of 500 people.

"Even this was sold out," Katohora said. So the organisers had to make an unscheduled screening of the film the next evening. "It has been liked by all and the organisers did not want to disappoint people, so it was given a second screening," he said.

Surprisingly enough second screening was sold out as well with about 200 people viewing it. "This is a no mean achievement for a beginner like me," Katohora said, even as he has been struggling to convince Indian distributors to screen the film in India. "No success so far," he said.

However, Katohora Tuesday had another reason to be excited as he received the news that the film has been accepted by another popular and prestigious film festival for the gays and lesbians film festival in Chicago this fall.

Reeling 2008: The 27th Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival is the second oldest film festival of its kind in the US. It is known for showing the best lesbian and gay films and videos from around the world. "This is the most prestigious film festivals for gays and lesbians in the US," he said.

Based on the successful run during the festival, the film has started receiving favorable rating by mainstream newspapers.

"Unusual and groundbreaking WKMK (When Kiran met Karen) is a refreshing change from all those American movies where saner and more rational societies are portrayed as weird and abnormal (Lost in Translation, I'm looking at you, you piece of racist shit) and the plethora of lazily confused Arab / Indian / Hindu / Moslem stereotyping that infests all post 9-11 US culture," wrote Philadelphia Weekly.

The popular Philadelphia Inquirer called it as one of the film festivals biggest advance-sales hits. "When Kiran Met Karen, one of the festival's biggest advance-sales hits, having its world premiere Saturday night, looks at the conflict between the traditional Hindu values instilled in a young Indian woman and her emerging sexual identity," it wrote.

The film has also landed as the cover story for the latest issue of Curve – the best-selling lesbian magazine in the United States. "Everyone is buzzing about Manan Singh Katohora's cross-cultural lesbian love story, When Kiran Met Karen," the magazine wrote adding that the film is being called by many as the lesbian Brokeback Mountain.