The men's room

Early last year, Himanshu Verma, director, Red Earth, launched a pamphlet series with a 40-pager on metrosexuality; the stated purpose of the first issue was to discusses various aspects of the topic "" and, by extension, of masculinity.

The subject had started making waves in India around the time, with newspaper supplements "" then as now "" seemingly coining a new term every second day to describe the "new man". Verma believed there was a need for a counterpoint to these simplistic definitions, and for a more studied, informed approach to the subject.

Now, he is taking that discourse to a new stage with the Met-Fest, billed as India's first-ever festival on men and masculinities, to be held in Mumbai between October 5-15. The festival, a multi-disciplinary event, will use the arts "" painting, music, theatre and film "" to address issues pertaining to masculinity in urban spaces.

What is the relevance of an event of this sort? Verma believes that there has been an inadequacy of discussion on men's issues. "It's important to talk about how notions of manliness in big cities are being transformed, and no popular forum has been doing this seriously. What we get instead are oversimplified bytes from popular culture "" on Shah Rukh Khan's appearance in the new Lux advertisement, for instance. But metrosexuality is an issue with deeper resonances."

Accordingly, the Met-Fest will be serious and focused in its tone "" which is one reason why Red Earth has avoided corporate sponsorship. "Corporates might have put pressure on us to include something like a fashion show, and we didn't want to step into those waters. Also, they probably wouldn't be comfortable with some of the franker issues we are dealing with here "" men's sexuality, for instance."

Met-Fest is being co-sponsored by organisations like the British Council, Two Plus Productions, Gallery Beyond and The Fourth Floor (a new gallery, where much of the event is being held), each of whom have helped pool resources.

The festival has been six months in the planning, which has, among other things, enabled the commissioning of paintings relevant to the topic "" contributing artists include Sudarshan Shetty, Kiran Subbaiah, Manisha Gera Baswani and Julius Macwan.

Shetty, who is still adding the finishing touches to his painting, says the idea appealed to him because of the femininity that runs through the traditional Indian arts. "Male artists usually need to be in touch with their feminine side," he says, "in fact, when I look at many of my own paintings, it feels like they could have been done by a woman."

Macwan, who has completed three artworks for the festival, has another take. "There are many men who enjoy looking beautiful, but who can't be called feminine," he says, "They don't really understand or empathise with women. Ultimately it's all about power "" about using the sensitivity approach to get closer to women."

Other exhibitions on the programme include a photo display by HIV-positive photographer Sunil Gupta and posters from the advertisement campaign "What kind of a man are you?"

Theatre director Jamini Pathak is performing a play written for the festival by Vijay Krishna Acharya, which will take the form of three characters discussing metrosexuality.

"The term has become a phenomenon in itself," says Pathak, "It cuts across various media and has provided a context for men to look at themselves and how they interact with the world."

At the same time, he believes, "one must understand to what extent these new-fangled terms are relevant and to what extent they are marketing ploys."

There will also be a dance piece by Gilles Chuyen and a music concert featuring Shubha Mudgal "" the last featuring recitals from Hindi and Urdu texts to illuminate the fact that androgyny was a key element of masculinity in traditional Indian culture. "Even our gods, like Krishna, were gender-benders," quips Verma, "which is another aspect of metrosexuality that isn't much touched on today."

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Talks: Curator and fashion theorist Alice Cicolini will discuss the influence of Dandyism on contemporary British fashion; Sanjay Srivastava will analyse masculinity and sexuality in sex clinics in Delhi and Mumbai, as well as footpath pornography.

Films: Including Men, Muscles and Masculinity by Rohit Dubey; two films by Rahul Roy; and the Nicaraguan production Macho.

Workshop based on visualisation, movement and expression; conducted by Gilles Chuyen