Pride 2023: 10 Bollywood Films That Honour Our Desi LGBTQIA+ Family

With Pride Month coming to a close, we wanted to go through our Bollywood directory and put together relatively recent 10 films that celebrate and honour our Desi LGBTQIA+ family. From comedies to dramas and everything in between, these movies bring to the forefront the awareness and visibility of Queer-centered stories that we all should be watching and listening to, and learning from. 

Fire 

Director: Deepa Mehta

Cast: Nandita Das and Shabam Azmi

Year of Release: 1996

Fire is an absolute classic released in the ’90s written and directed by Deepa Mehta. It brings in the story of the Queer community and touches on the secrets of the contemporary Indian community. Sita and her sister in law Radha are not satisfied by their husbands and therefore start on a relationship of their own.

The film pathed the way for conversations about sexual orientation in the Indian community which at the time of release was still a very touchy subject in India.

Girlfriend

Director: Karan Razdan

Cast: Isha Koppikar, Amrita Arora and Aashish Chaudhary

Year of Release: 2004

Girlfriend is an interesting film as it is not based on a lesbian relationship more so a one-sided love triangle. Tanya and Sapna are friends and when they get drunk they share intimate relations. Sapna doesn’t see Tanya as a lesbian but Tanya clearly has love for Sapna and is very possessive over her. Sapna then meets Rahul but Tanya is not happy with the relationship.

This is a story of friendship and obsession where Tanya is obsessed with Sapna but Sapna only sees her as a friend. This is more of a typical Bollywood film with a love triangle but instead of two men being in love with the same girl its a man and a women in love with the same girl.

My Brother… Nikhil

Director: Onir

Cast: Sanjay Suri, Juhi Chawla, Victor Banerjee and Purab Kohli

Year of Release: 2005

My Brother… Nikhil was the first mainstream (non-arthouse) Bollywood film with a central storyline focused on AIDS. It was based on the real life story of a man who contracted AIDS. Nikhil Kapoor is a swimming champion and is adored by his parents and sister. He is diagnosed with HIV and therefore kicked out of the swimming team and kicked out of the house. He is then arrested for being HIV positive. He is supported by his sister and friend Nigel.

Again this was a film that came out before its time when India was still very much against gay and lesbian marriages even Karan Johar, was quoted saying ‘Everybody knows what my sexual orientation is. I don’t need to scream it out. If I need to spell it out, I won’t only because I live in a country where I could possibly be jailed for saying this. Which is why I Karan Johar will not say the three words that possibly everybody knows about me.’

Magarita with a straw

Director: Shonali Bose

Cast: Kalki Koechlin, Revathi, Sayani Gupta and William Moseley

Year of Release: 2014

Filmmaker Shonali Bose said that Margarita With A Straw was inspired by her own cousins’ experiences as well as instances that had happened to her in her own life. In the film, Laila is a teenager who suffers from cerebral palsy and after some heartbreak, she decides to move to New York to study and move in with her mother. It’s here where Laila falls in love with Jared, a man who is helping her in her creative writing class and Khanum, a blind Pakistani-Bangladeshi. Whilst in a relationship with Khanum, Laila is confused and sleeps with Jared although she regrets it straight away. Laila then tells her mum about her bisexuality and Kahnum about sleeping with Jared.

We don’t just get to explore sexuality or disability in this film but we witness Laila’s self-discovery of just being a teenager. Laila is played by Kalki Koechlin and she plays the role so well you literally laugh with her and cry with her all at once.

Kapoor and Sons

Director: Shakun Batra

Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan and Alia Bhatt

Year of Release: 2016

Kapoor and Sons isn’t completely based on the LGBTQIA+ community but it does touch on the subject. Brothers Rahul and Arujn have not spoken in years but come back to their childhood home after their grandfather suffers a heart attack. Their parents Harsh and Sunita argue when Sunita finds out Harsh has taken out a number of loans. Arjun walks out and meets Tia and they become friends. Rahul also meets Tia and they share a kiss. After a date, Tia confides in a friend saying she regrets kissing Rahul as she has feelings for Arjun. Later Sunita finds out that Rahul is in a relationship back in London but it is with a man.

This is fun filled family drama where one of the boys is actually gay but tries to hide it from his family until one day when he decides he must tell the truth. Alia Bhatt, Sid Malhotra and Fawad Khan are brilliant actors so it’s definitely worth a watch!

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

Director: Shelly Chopra Dhar

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Sonam K Ahuja, Rajkummar Rao and Juhi Chawla

Year of Release: 2019

I feel that Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga was such a progressive film for Bollywood as it starred such a high profile Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor alongside his daughter Sonam Kapoor. Sweety is a young Punjabi girl who is being pressured by her family to get married. She meets Sahil a young man who is a playwriter. As Sweety returns home her brother tells the family Sweety is in love with a Muslim boy and in the confusion her father thinks Sahil is her other half. Sahil then writes a theatre show called ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’ for a fashion show that Sweety’s father is putting on. Sweety plays the lead opposite her actual lover Kuhu and at first, everyone is disgusted but when Sweety’s father comes to find out the truth he supports his daughter.

This just shows that post the homosexuality arguments in India the community and now finally seen as equals where Bollywood are now not scared to use this relationship as a main storyline in a film and the film also done well at the box office whereas in the past it would have been shunned upon with protests.

Shub Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

Director: Hitesh Kewalya

Cast: Ayushmaan Khuarrana, Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao

Year of Release: 2020

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is a Bollywood film based on the life of a man who is in a gay relationship and whose parents do not want to accept that he wants to marry a man. They decided to get him married off to a girl who tells him she has a boyfriend in Delhi and they should get married and then once they move they can be with their own other halves.

Homosexuality was legalized in India by this stage and at the end of the film, this is shown as part of the storyline. The family also decide to support their son and allow him to be with his gay partner.

Chandirgh Kare Aashiqui

Director: Abhishek Kapoor

Cast: Ayushmaan Khurrana and Vanni Kapoor

Year of Release: 2021

For me this was a very important Bollywood film for the LGBTQIA+ community because it broke a lot of barriers in terms of trans women. Manu is a bodybuilder and owns a gym in Chandigarh, and he is preparing for a competition although his gym doesn’t seem to attract clients, that is until Zumba instructor Maanvi comes in. Manu falls in love with Maanvi and as they share a kiss she tells him she has something to tell him but he refuses to listen and they start a sexual relationship. Manu’s family like Maanvi and tell him he should marry her. It is at this point that Maanvi reveals she is a trans woman and Manu is disgusted thinking he has slept with a man.

Although Manu was disgusted at first thinking he slept with a man he finally realizes his wrongdoings and starts looking into what being a trans woman is and this is huge for anyone in that situation, Bollywood paved the way for those difficult questions that others have been too scared to ask.

Maja Ma

Director: Anand Tiwari

Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Gajraj Rao, Ritwik Bhowmik and Barkha Singh 

Year of Release: 2022

Madhuri Dixit-Nene is such a huge name and she chose a film like Maja Ma that was based around sexuality and gender identity. Pallavi is a housewife with a secret. She is known for her cooking and her dancing and her husband is the chairman of the society. Pallavi’s daughter is working on her PhD on sexuality and gender identity. She is an activist for the LGBTQIA+ rights. To her Pallavi her family is everything but her world comes crashing down when she is questioned about her sexuality.

Badhaai Do

Director: Harshvardhan Kapoor

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekhar, Sheeba Chaddha and Chum Darang

Year of Release: 2022

Again Bollywood decided to step out of the box with this one. Yes it still shows a almost scared side in Indians when it comes to homosexuality, but it some what shows acceptance of others as well. Shardul is being pressured by his mother to get married and he is introduced to Suman a teacher who has met a woman on a dating app. It turns out it was a man who starts stalking her and she reports him to Shardul who decides to marry Suman as he is also gay. Shardul and Suman get married to please their family and when they go on their honeymoon he introduces Suman his is boyfriend Kabir. Suman then meets Rimjhim and they start a relationship.

Shardul and Suman decide to stay married for the sake of their child but actually, it shows how two couples can work through anything as they both have their own partners and live in harmony. Rajkummar Rao is a fantastic actor and is underrated in Bollywood, it is nice to see a film that allows him to flourish and play the lead role.

Main Image Photo Credit: www.imdb.com