Purva Bedi, an Indian-American actress, is the brave lass who will play the role of a lesbian in Manan Katohora's When Kiran Met Karen.
Perizaad Zorabian reportedly refused the role as being "too unconventional".
Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das had touched upon a lesbian relationship in Deepa Mehta's Fire, but they and the film maker were hounded by harsh criticism for breaking norms. Isha Koppiker and Amrita Arora suffered the same fate for their roles in Girlfriend; further, this film died a natural and premature death and burial.
When Kiran Met Karen, revolves around Purva's character, who plays a total heterosexual actress Kiran. But on meeting a lesbian Karen, she finds that she has hidden desires and proclivities in that direction.
Purva's mother was also an actor, but is now a management consultant. Her family shifted to the US in the 1970s. She is a double graduate in Economics and Theatre from attended Williams College in Western Massachusetts. Purva has appeared in the Indian-American film American Desi, where she played the perfect Indian-American college student. She has also acted in the South Asian films Green Card Fever and Cosmopolitan. Purva also had meaty roles on several prime TV shows, including 'Strong Medicine' and 'The Drew Carey Show'.
