June is the LGBTQ Pride Month. Every year around the globe, the society celebrates this community and its indispensable that we continue doing so. Homosexuality in modern India has always been a burning topic. LGBTQ community have been put through the barriers of normative heterosexuality and desire has been politicized time and again. Your gender roles become an essence of your social power and public stature. This community was considered downtrodden and against the ‘godly’ gender norms for a very long time. A certain type of notion was set for what an ideal man and woman should be and people were meant to work under it. Not only the lower class but the educated, rich upper class was also submerged in the load of the gender setup which was to be followed by one and all. While filling forms or paperwork, the third gender wasn’t even mentioned showing how non-existent it was thought to be. It was considered against nature so much so that the people from the LGBTQ community had to stay mum about their identity all along. Cases wherein gay men married straight women crashing both their and the woman’s life were very common and still are. By section 377, homosexuality was a crime in our country until 2018.

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code states- ‘Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.’

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This was introduced during the British Rule in India in 1864 and was extremely harsh and restrictive. On 6th September 2018, a 5-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra scraped the section stating it to be “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary”

The depiction of the LGBTQ community has been widely seen in Hollywood and Bollywood is not much far behind. Many film actors and now even tv shows have become ‘LGBTQ friendly’. And not just on the camera, but people behind and in front of it have also come out in public regarding their sexuality. Let’s have a look at some of the pathbreaking characters played by actors who were unafraid to exhibit their sexuality cinematically.

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

One of the most significant roles played this year was by Sonam Kapoor in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. The film was a clear representation of a small-town girl, Sweety played by Sonam who falls in love with a woman. The dominant understanding of gender norms work heavily on the character and she even agrees to marry a writer just to please her father played by Anil Kapoor. The film lies in the grey area of a queer woman in love and her family chaos surrounding it. It was a brave attempt by an A-grade actor and director to remove the cloak over same-sex romance in mainstream cinema.

Fawad Khan in Kapoor & Sons

Fawad Khan played the role of a famous novelist abroad called Rahul Kapoor in this film. He was a doting son to his mother and a role model for his brother. He had set the bar way too high through his achievements and this was the leading cause of issues between the two brothers. The turning point of the film was that Rahul was gay. His mother played by Ratna Pathak Shah, displayed the real and the most common picture of a mother who succumbs to the fact that her son is gay. The film problematizes the shackles that this community deal with starting from their own home itself.

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Bani J in Four More Shots Please

Four More Shots Please was a TV series released on Amazon Prime this year. The story rolled out and became a huge deal. It was based on 4 girls who went through their everyday hurdles of womanhood. Actress Bani J portrayed the role of a bisexual who held no bars to her freedom of sexuality. In the tv show, she was in a relationship with a filmstar who herself showcased the drama that goes into the rumors of a homosexual relationship concerning a person in the limelight. Her family in the tv series is unaware and mostly derogatory towards the LGBTQ community which furthermore highlights the thinking of the masses in such instances. Bani J was celebrated for her acting and portrayal in the series.

Kalki Koechlin in Margarita with A straw

The film, Margarita with a Straw was a drama film which hit the screens in 2014. The film revolved around a young woman with cerebral palsy who challenges the dominant social norms by going on a path to self-discovery. She moves to New York to Study and experiments with her body sexually as well. She meets a girl called Khanum and pursues a serious relationship with her but after a period of time is also attracted to a guy. This confuses her and she is muddled up about her sexuality. The movie is an authentic illustration of a person who is unsure of her sexuality and Kalki plays her role with honesty.

Arjun Mathur in Made in Heaven

More recently released and critically acclaimed TV show, Made In Heaven made a splash in the field of conventional tv stories by showcasing a gay love story. Arjun Mathur earnestly exhibited the role of a lover stuck in the complexity of a homosexual relationship. His part in the TV show depicts a real-life situation of a man in unrequited love. Towards the end of the story, the new age actor Vikrant Massey gives a special appearance as his lover. The love they share is heart-wrenching and the audience sympathizes with these two men who can’t pursue their love.

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Even though many actors and actresses have displayed roles pertaining to homosexuality, many of the current crew still feel playing queer characters could be a potential harm to their public image. Director Onir stated at a panel discussion, on the third day of FICCI Frames event in Mumbai, “I have had many narrations with these mainstream male actors and they refused it. The fear of what it can become still holds them, and this is why I really have a lot of respect for all those actors who say yes to these roles,”

On the panel was present the writer of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Gazal Dhariwal as well. She spoke in length on why it was important to crumble gender stereotypes and rewrite new stories in the context of the queer community.

“It is all about business and what works is what sells and reaches the audience. Because of the patriarchy we live in, the masculine ego is really fragile and that’s the reason they refuse to take up gay characters”

Gazal further added to generalize these characters and not just use them as jesters in the stories.

“Our mainstream cinema needs to become responsible for representing LGBTQ characters. Till the time there is general sensitization among the audience, we should refrain from creating characters like in Dostana, where it is all about laughing,”

More and more filmography on the lines of the queer community might be a great way to break the conventions but what still binds most people against the LGBT community is their mentality. It is high time we realize that awareness and acceptance go hand in hand.

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After the scrapping of section 377, a lot of changes have been seen, in terms of homosexuality. Increasing acceptance for starters but is this acceptance still a privilege only some section of the society hold is still a matter to be pondered on. Till then, we must celebrate the powerful and brave attempts by few actors to remove the alienation and isolation clouded around the LGBTQ community. Each and every portrayal is an ode to the atrocities the LGBTQ have faced for long and it’s time they get the recognition they deserve. Why on earth should a person be ashamed of who they are and who they chose to love? Love is an unadulterated and the purest form of god there is. We are free to live in. We are free to love. We are free to choose who we love.