Sunny Boy

Sunny Boy is an intimate portrait of a gay Indian man in his late thirties. Born and raised in Malaysia, Kumar moved to the UK in 2003. He takes us through his journey from Kuala Lumpur (KL) to London, reflecting on his family, his cultural heritage, what it means to be a man and gay in his homeland, and what it now means to be brown and gay in London.

Kumar comes from a working class Tamil Hindu family. As a young boy growing up gay in a repressive society meant his childhood was complicated. He was bullied at school for being feminine and his first sexual encounter was with a paedophile. He has never come out to his parents and as a teenager he lived a clandestine gay life in KL. In search of sexual freedom and a desire to pursue an acting career, Kumar moved to London. The city offered him that freedom and good friends but that came with its own price as he tells us of the racism he experienced on a daily basis.

He discusses toxic masculinity, his own insecurities and the lack of intimacy that he finds in the gay scene, going to saunas and using dating apps for sex. We hear about his successes in explicit detail and the problems he encounters as an Indian man on the scene where attractiveness is dictated by white standards of beauty.

This documentary is ultimately a reflection on masculinity, sexuality, race, Tamil culture, faith, and importantly, how all these multiple identities intersect.