Has Bollywood promoted authentic Queer stories?

When Bollywood sings astir love, it usually means lad meets girl, cue melodramatic monsoon, and a creation fig successful Switzerland. But what happens erstwhile lad meets boy? Or miss loves girl? For the longest time, specified characters and stories were either brushed speech oregon turned into punchlines.June is simply a period of vibrant celebrations and heartfelt reflections, marking Pride Month, a clip to honour the struggles, resilience, and triumphs of the LGBTQIA+ community. Indian cinema, peculiarly Bollywood, has agelong been a almighty storyteller, shaping societal attitudes.So the question is, has Bollywood truly evolved successful the mode it represents LGBTQIA+ lives? Let’s instrumentality a person look.Looking back: Shadows of stereotypes successful aboriginal BollywoodLong earlier Bollywood embraced rainbow-hued emotion stories, it played a damaging game, portraying queer characters arsenic comic relief, villains, oregon wholly sidelining them.

In slapstick comedies similar ‘Humshakals’ oregon ‘Mastizaade’, queer characters were written purely for laughs. But adjacent beloved films similar ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ featured a series wherever a location assistance reacts with disgust aft mistakenly reasoning 2 men are romantically involved.

The message? Queerness is thing to laughter astatine oregon beryllium repulsed by.Etimes reached retired to voices from the queer assemblage to measurement successful connected the matter, Instagram creator Shantanu Dhope reflects,

Films similar ‘Dostana’ (2008) mightiness person been the archetypal large banner effort astatine showing 2 men successful a relationship, adjacent if they were faking it, but the mode they exaggerated their behaviour fed into each bushed cheery stereotype.

‘Student of the Year’ (2012) included a main who was stereotypically gay, secretly successful emotion with the sports coach, and perpetually irritated by his wife. ‘Raja Hindustani’ (1996) introduced queer characters Kammo and Gulab Singh, some determination were not represented with implicit honesty. And past there’s the lawsuit of Bobby Darling, 1 of Bollywood’s archetypal transgender figures, who was repeatedly formed successful hyper-comic roles successful films similar ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’ and ‘Kya Kool Hai Hum’.

Her practice was truthful exaggerated that she became a punchline, contributing to harmful ideas astir trans women successful Indian popular culture.

The displacement begins: Sensitive stories instrumentality centre stage

Thankfully, not each was lost. Independent filmmakers and a fewer brave mainstream voices began changing the narrative.Director Onir’s ‘My Brother… Nikhil’ (2005) was a quiescent revolution. Based connected a existent story, it follows Nikhil, a state-level swimmer diagnosed with HIV successful 1990s Goa.

Ostracised by household and society, but for his spouse Nigel and sister Anamika—Nikhil’s travel highlighted the ineligible and affectional struggles faced by queer radical astatine the time.Then came ‘Aligarh’ (2015), wherever Manoj Bajpayee played Professor Siras, suspended from his occupation aft being caught successful a consensual infinitesimal with different man. The movie didn't shy distant from portraying his loneliness and dignity, showing the assemblage the quality down the label.‘Kapoor & Sons’ (2016) offered 1 of Bollywood’s astir subtle queer narratives, with Fawad Khan playing Rahul, a closeted cheery antheral successful a dysfunctional family. His individuality was revealed without fanfare, and it wasn’t utilized arsenic a joke.And successful ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’ (2019), Sweety, played by Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, realises she’s successful emotion with a woman, not a man. The communicative revolves astir her accepted Punjabi family’s travel from rejection to acceptance—a script galore Indian queer younker could place with.

Bollywood gets bold: Queer emotion goes mainstream

The existent trial of advancement came with the commercialized occurrence of ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ (2020). For the archetypal time, 2 men—Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar—played lovers successful a mainstream rom-com format.Ayushmann, known for choosing offbeat roles, had explained his determination successful an ETimes interview, “This was important for the movie due to the fact that we person to normalise it. I precocious saw 2 boys kissing successful a promenade and past I realised, we are acceptable for it.

We usually don't spot PDA betwixt same-sex couples but that happens abroad. That volition hap successful India also. It's astir basal quality rights. People deliberation that it is unnatural, abnormal due to the fact that they are wired similar that.

So, acceptance is importance.”The film’s boldness didn’t halt astatine casting. Ayushmann and Jitendra shared a buss connected screen, thing uncommon adjacent successful today’s cinema. On this, Ayushmann added, “Right present we are discussing the same-sex kiss, and I deliberation the adjacent measurement volition beryllium that cipher volition inquire this question again erstwhile it happens successful a film.

Just similar cipher asks a question astir a heterosexual kissing country anymore.”

He besides touched connected the work of mainstream actors, “This is different benignant of hazard and I conjecture this is the time and property erstwhile you tin instrumentality a batch of risks. You person to springiness thing antithetic to the audience. And for me, it's not conscionable astir entertainment, it's besides astir definite worth creation, coupled with entertainment. That's what I effort to bash with each movie of mine, and ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ is nary different.

I conjecture we are acceptable for a homosexual emotion story. Because it's 2020 we person go much progressive arsenic a society. There's a batch of acceptance retired there.” And indeed, the assemblage responded with warmth, laughter, and understanding.

Rajkummar Rao: Love is love

Speaking to Bombay Times, Rajkummar had shared, “I americium gladsome that determination are much and much films being made connected the LGBTQIA+ community, due to the fact that we request much voices and much awareness.”

Reflecting connected Pride Month backmost successful 2022, the histrion said,

The gaps that inactive remain

While cheery and lesbian narratives are yet uncovering their place, different identities stay mostly invisible.

Stories of trans people, non-binary individuals, bisexuals, and asexual characters are fewer and acold between, and often misrepresented.‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ (2021) featured a trans pistillate pb but formed a cisgender histrion successful the role, sparking backlash. Authentic practice means giving queer actors the accidental to archer their ain stories.Shantanu points out, “Trans and non-binary stories are inactive underrepresented, and erstwhile they are shown, it’s seldom from a spot of authenticity.

We request those stories to beryllium told by radical from wrong the assemblage with nuance, honesty, and lived experience. It’s clip for the manufacture to make abstraction for queer voices not conscionable successful beforehand of the camera, but down it too.”He continues, “The improvement is happening, but we person to beryllium vigilant astir calling it retired erstwhile aged patterns resurface. Representation should ne'er travel astatine the outgo of dignity.”

From Reel to Real: The powerfulness of being seen

Cinema isn’t conscionable astir entertainment; it’s a reflection of society.

And sometimes, it tin lead. Shantanu explains however films helped him consciousness seen, “The abbreviated movie successful ‘Bombay Talkies’ directed by Karan Johar stood retired to me. It was 1 of the archetypal times I saw a queer quality successful a mounting that felt existent and layered, not exaggerated oregon made into a joke. The communicative wasn’t trying excessively hard; it conscionable showed however analyzable and quality these experiences tin be.

It didn’t lick everything, but it made maine consciousness seen successful a tiny but meaningful way.

Sometimes, that’s capable to displacement thing internally.”

He added, “‘Sheer Qorma’ (although not a mainstream Bollywood release) was beautifully authentic. It handled queer emotion and generational struggle with specified quiescent power. The performances, the silences, the intimacy—it each felt truthful real. It didn’t consciousness performative; it felt lived in.”So, has Bollywood truly evolved representing Queer stories? Yes, but there’s inactive a agelong mode to goFrom being the punchline to becoming the protagonist, queer characters successful Bollywood person travel a agelong way.

There’s much authenticity, much acceptance, and much awareness. But the travel isn’t over.Bollywood has the powerfulness to signifier hearts and homes. It’s clip to archer each queer stories—with honesty, complexity and, supra all, respect. As Rajkummar Rao aptly said, “Love is love. Just beryllium who you are.”Because existent alteration doesn’t extremity with representation. It begins with it.