Get out your rainbow flags and wave them as high as you can! The month of June is celebrated as Pride month all over the globe and what can be a better way to celebrate the day than with Bollywood films. Over the past few years, we have been lucky enough to watch Bollywood filmmakers making space for LGBTQA+ stories and actors.
For the longest time, the film industry has used queer characters for poor comedic relief, antagonists and occasionally just for a token of representation. However, there have been some brilliant movies that acknowledged the struggles of the queer community and left an impression on our minds. So, if you are looking for suggestions for a rainbow-themed movie marathon, we have got you covered.
Aligarh
Hansal Mehta’s Aligarh is a drama starring Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao in the lead. Manoj played the role of an academic who is fired from his post for being gay and shunned by society. The film is based on the real-life story of Ramchandra Siras and it is one of the most hard-hitting queer movies in Bollywood.
Where To Watch: Zee5
Badhaai Do
The 2022 film Badhaai Do is a brilliant attempt to capture the nuisances in a Lavender marriage. Two members of the queer community, played by Bhumi Pednekar and Rajkummar Rao agree to marry each other to escape their parents and their gazillion taunts and questions. The film is a light-hearted comedy with an empowering message for the masses.
Where To Watch: Netflix
Fire
One can’t have a discussion about LGBTQA+ cinema in India without talking about Deepa Mehta’s Fire. The 1996 film was the first in mainstream Indian cinema to explore homosexual love between two women. It presented a taboo subject to the audience of the world’s largest film-producing and film-viewing nation and changed everything for Bollywood.
Where to watch : YouTube
Margarita With A Straw
Shonali Bose’s film Margarita with a Straw is a gift that keeps giving. The film stars Kalki Koechlin in the role of a teenager with cerebral palsy who relocates to America for her studies. Slowly, she finds herself falling in love with a blind girl and the two try to navigate their feelings while struggling with self-acceptance.
My Brother… Nikhil
This 2005 film by LGBTQA+ activist Onir was truly way ahead of its time. It treated homosexuality sensitively, without any unnecessary jokes or sexual innuendos. The romantic relationship between Sanjay Suri and Purab Kohli was not designed to shock but was presented with love.
Where to watch : Zee5
Kapoor & Sons
After insensitive portrayal of homosexual relationships in films like Dostana and Kal Ho Naa Ho, Karan Johar got his shot at redemption with his production of Kapoor & Sons. The film is directed by Shakun Batra and stars Fawad Khan, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles. Fawad’s struggle to conceal his sexuality from his family forms the emotional crux of this emotional film.
Where to watch : Netflix
We hope Bollywood steadfastly continues on its mission to ‘set things straight’ (pun intended) as far as depicting the LGBTQIA+ community is concerned. After all, tinsel town can surely use more rainbow flags!
Featured Image: Instagram
