From Taboo to Triumph: Must-watch Bollywood LGBTQ+ films for Pride Month 2023
Mumbai (Maharashtra), June 1: The month of June is celebrated as Pride Month, with people of diverse sexual orientations marching in parades to express their sexual orientation.
Bollywood has often presented various inspiring and different LGBTQ films that have had a significant impact on viewers.
This year, from June 1 to June 30, is Pride Month, so let's have a look at 5 Bollywood films that depicted homosexuality with pride!
1. Badhaai Do
'Badhaai Do,' directed by Harshvardhan Kulkarni, features Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar in the main roles. It depicted the little-discussed topic 'lavender marriage'. It's a story of two gay people who decide to marry each other, and it shows how gay people must make painful "compromises" in order to please conservative sections of society and avoid being discovered.
2. Aligarh
The film, directed by Hansal Mehta and released in 2015, was based on the true story of Professor Ramchandra Siras, played by Manoj Bajpayee, who was banned from Aligarh University for moral issues after being detected having sexual relations with a rickshaw driver. Following the event, he was publicly humiliated and mocked. The film won numerous awards for portraying this topic in a sympathetic and realistic manner. Rajkummar Rao, who played journalist Deepu Sebastian and fought for Siras' justice, also delivered an exceptional performance.
3. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga
This was one of the first mainstream films to represent the story of a same-sex love relationship. The film, directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar, starred Sonam Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, and Rajkummar Rao. Sweety Chaudhary, an innocent joyful girl born and braised in a traditional Punjabi household, has always wanted to be a bride since she was a child, but as she grows older, she realises she doesn't want a husband on the other side. Sweety's family and society's extreme rejection of her homosexuality was depicted in the film. At the end of the film, Sweety gets reunited with her love Kuhu.
4. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
The film, which starred Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar, Gajraj Rao, and Neena Gupta in major roles, was released in 2020. The film also addressed the issue of same-sex marriage. In the film, Aman's family does everything they can to keep them apart; nonetheless, Kartik does not give up and battles against all odds to marry Aman.
5. Margarita With A Straw
The film 'Margarita With A Straw' addresses two critical issues: homosexuality and disability, both of which commonly provide difficulties in the lives of those affected. Kalki Koechlin plays Laila, who has cerebral palsy and is still exploring her sexuality before discovering she is a lesbian. The film's key highlights are her disability and sexual orientation discrimination in society.
- ANI
