When Renuka escapes from a Delhi brothel after stabbing a policeman to death, she takes refuge in a community of sex workers in northern India. There, she meets Devika, a meek youngster staring at a life of prostitution. As their bond develops into an illicit romance, they are forced to battle political and familial obstacles in their quest for freedom.

Charged with debutante Anasuya Sengupta’s electric performance as a hardened, drug-addled criminal, The Shameless constantly hints at the fractured Muslim identity and rising religious intolerance in Indian society. Yet, the film sparkles when Bulgarian filmmaker Konstantin Bojanov turns his focus on the tenderness of Renuka and Devika’s coupling, offering a persuasive depiction of queer femininity onscreen.

- Poulomi Das