It's a landmark day in our country’s history as the community of lesbians, gay, bisexuals, trans-genders and inter-sex, after a long struggle, has finally won the first part of the battle.

A number of my friends are homosexuals - some from the industry - and I have never differentiated between them and any of my other pals. I always felt that categorising the community members would be like dividing them on lines of religion - baseless-since they’re all human after all. However, I grew up witnessing biases towards them and hence to speak out against the issue had always been on my mind.

So when the time came for me to make my first film, I asked myself that being a part of the “new breed of filmmakers” what new was I really doing? Sex as a topic may be losing the taboo attached, but I knew that homosexuality still carries immense baggage.

As an ode to my friends, I chose to make a movie that would disrespect neither of the two communities but would instead be a genuine attempt to address the issue the right way irrespective of whether it changes the way people think. And that’s how Dostana was conceptualised.

Given the appreciation that Dostana has received from both the communities, I would like to believe that the movie has a small contribution in changing the way homosexuality is viewed in the country. I would like to believe that somewhere among the many parades, morchas and extensive lobbying, the film also, has in some way - even as one small step - helped bring acceptance to the homosexual community. I’d like to believe that 50 years hence when people celebrate July 3 as the liberation day for the community, they remember that the first onscreen Indian mother to accept her son as a homosexual was in my movie.

While I feel indebted to the community for the success of and support to the movie, the real heroes are all the community members who have come out of the closet to openly declare their sexuality. I hope the amendment to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code inspires many more.

As I congratulate the community and the entire nation on this day, I also understand that the amendment is only a milestone in a journey that’s going to be long. It will be a slow and steady progress on a well-defined path hereon as demands for legal partnership and marriage will now be made.