The director of a new Indian anthology film has praised Karan Johar for choosing to break the mould and show a gay kiss in a Bollywood film.

Director Dibakar Bannerjee has made the eagerly awaited Bombay Talkies, made up of four short films celebrating 100 years of Bollywood cinema.

‘I am too close to my own work to judge its value,’ Bannerjee told Business of Cinema.

‘But my favourite film of the omnibus is Karan Johar’s. Not only has he yanked himself out of his comfort zone, he has made sure he has not compromised on the telling of his story.

‘I’ve seen the response to the gay kiss in his film. There’s pindrop silence. The audience are stunned.’

Dibakar Bannerjee directed the film with co-directors Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap. Each of them have directed their own short film individually.

It is to be screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, which takes place from 15 to 26 May.

In Bollywood films, LGBT characters have only been portrayed positively on a few occasions. My Brother…Nikhil, The Pink Mirror and Girlfriend are examples of Indian movies featuring lesbian, gay and transgender people.

Homosexuality in India was decriminalised in 2009 and the Mumbai Queer Film Festival has been running since 2010.

Bannerjee has directed five Bollywood films and a Coca-Cola commercial during his career.

Check out the trailer to Bombay Talkies here: