SOCIAL TRENDS

Journal of the Department of Sociology of North Bengal University
Vol. 8, 31 March 2021; ISSN: 2348-6538

A Peer-reviewed National Journal

11

Gender Minority and its Changing Portrayal in

Bollywood Films

Ankita Chowdhury
PhD Scholar, Department of Sociology, North Bengal University

Abstract: This paper outlines how the sexual minorities like LGBTQ

are represented in Bollywood films. Cinema is the most important

medium that influences people’s opinion and it has contributed a lot

to the spread of queer awareness and queer movement. This paper

aims to give some idea about how LGBTQ is portrayed in cinema and

how such portrayal influences peoples’ perceptions about them. The

paper talks about how Hindi films have represented different discourses

on the LGBT theme over time. It took almost 40 years for Indian cinema

to portray a homosexual character. Since then, there have been

differential representations of the LGBT community and the audience

in this homophobic society has also reacted differentially.

Keywords: Homosexual, lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, homophobia,

queer, queer culture, heteronormativity.

Introduction

One of the greatest sources of influence of media on modern life has been
cinema. Cinema, on the one hand, reflects on changing social reality and
impacts peoples’ perceptions, on the other. It has become a powerful vehicle
for communication in the fields of culture, education, leisure and propaganda.
Baldoon Dhingra, in a report for the United Nations Educational Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has quoted from a speech by Prime
Minister Nehru who stated, “…the influence in India of films is greater
than newspaper and books combined” (Dhingra 1963).

Films have a strong impact on the way people think and can influence the
society. Films carry an advantage of being a part of the social reality and
also a medium of portraying it. Projection of gender stereotypes in films



forms social perception of gender roles. The over-saturation of gender
stereotypes in the films results in misrepresentation of gender roles which
get embedded in the human mind and is passed on from generation to
generation as an acceptable view (Kaur 2017). This is called normalization
of the abnormal. Indian cinema has largely contributed to this task of
normalization by reproducing the gender stereotypes along the line of
patriarchal order. Indian cinema took a long time to make films based
homosexual themes. But the portrayals in most cases have been ambivalent,
reflecting a strong social division on the issue. In some cases, however, the
portrayals have been sympathetic, touching the roots of the problem.

Sexual and gender minority is a group whose sexual identity, orientation or
practices are not generally accepted in the larger society. Sexual or gender
minority is an umbrella term that encompasses populations included in the
acronym “LGBTI” (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) and
those whose sexual orientation or gender identity vary from the “normal”.
Our culture is deeply committed to the idea that there are only two boxes
of sex i.e., male and female, and these boxes also consist of few
characteristics of what is “male” and what is “female”.  Heterosexuality
has been defined as “normal” and all other forms of sexuality, despite being
in practice alongside heterosexuality, are labeled “abnormal”.

Homosexual relationships and unions have been a source of social
discomfort since they challenge the conventional morality rooted in
heterosexuality. The traditional morality had cultural, legal and religious
sanctions. The homosexual movements therefore were confronted by social
and religious orthodoxy. The legal acceptance of homosexuality is a recent
phenomenon and a large majority of the societies are yet to legalize any
form of homosexuality (Acharya et al. 2017).

Homosexuality means the same sex orientation relationship and is not a
new phenomenon. Even instances of homosexuality are found in Hindu
mythology. “The literature drawn from Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, and
modern fictions also testify the presence of same-sex love in various forms.
Ancient texts such as the Manu Smriti, Arthashastra, Kamasutra,
Upanishads and Puranas have references to homosexuality. There are
also reports that same-sex activities are common among sannyasis, and
members of the Orthodox Church, who cannot marry. Thus, instances of
homosexuality are available in historical and mythological texts world over
and India is no exception to this” (Parasar 2010). The religious communities
view homosexuality as a sin, against nature and especially against God.
Religions like Islam, Christianity, and Judaism reject homosexuality

Ankita Chowdhury184



completely. Homosexuality was considered as a mental disorder until 1970s.
Societal attitudes towards homosexuality differ from culture to culture and
over historical periods. Homosexuality is not a taboo but a tradition in India,
which has been in practice in different forms. Ancient India never defamed
homosexuality; instead, it has been a part of its traditional spiritual
consciousness. Ancient India was quite tolerant to homosexuality although
the Hindu law book The laws of Manu took a very conservative position
on the issue.

Homophobia entered into Indian society with the British and when they
came to India, the Laws of Manu was one of the first texts to which they
had referred. As a result, Laws of Manu became the ultimate voice of
authority for the British and sex became confined to heterosexual
monogamous marriages. This was legitimized in 1860 when the British
government brought in section 377 of Indian Penal Code, which reads:
‘whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature
with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment of
either description for term which may extend to ten years and shall also be
liable to fine’. It was rooted in the Judeo-Christian religious morality that
abhorred non-procreative sex. Based on this, homosexuality become illegal
in India which was also supported by nineteenth century social reformers
and the nationalists, upholding either Hindu or Islamic morality (Khatun
2018: 218). Monogamy was the ideological and moral bane of The Hindu
Marriage Act of 1954, which criminalized all forms of polygamy for all
Indian citizens excepting the Muslims.

Methodology

This paper is based on the method called “content analysis”. Content analysis
is a research method for studying documents and communication artifacts,
which might be texts of various formats, pictures, audio or video. For this
paper I have done content analysis of some selected Hindi films which
feature sexual minorities. I have tried to capture the varying discourses
that find reflection in the portrayal of homosexuality in the Hindi films in
recent decades.

Sexual and Gender Minority and its Changing Portrayal in Bollywood Films 185



Conceptual framework

Queer is the term used by and for those persons who are gay, lesbian,
transgender and bi-sexual. Queer theory suggests that identities of
individuals, especially their sexual identities, are not stable and straight
forward as the socially given identities sometimes do not match the self-
identities constructed by the grown-up agencies.

Though the context of heterosexuality is the origin and foundation of society’s
heteronormative stability, the concept of queerness focuses on mismatches
between sex, gender and desire. Queerness has been associated with
bisexual, lesbian and gay, and its analytic framework and includes topics
like cross-dressing, intersex bodies, gender ambiguity and gender-
confirmation surgery. Queer theory holds that individual sexuality is fluid,
fragmented and dynamic collectivity of possible sexualities and it may vary
at different points in one’s life time (Jagose & Genschel 1996:47).

Queer theory is a part of the field of queer studies whose roots can be
found in women’s studies, feminist theory, in gay and lesbian studies, and in
postmodern and poststructuralist theories. In 1991, Teresa de Lauretis used
the words “queer theory” to describe a way of thinking that did not use
heterosexuality or binary gender constructs as its starting point; instead,
argued for a more fluid concept of identity (Gieseking 2008: 737). Queer
theory has represented a different way of thinking and discussing about
gender identity which is not based on heteronormativity. Queer theory is
not a singular or systematic conceptual or methodological framework, but
a collection of intellectual engagements with the relations between sex,
gender and sexual desire (Spargo 1999: 9).

LGBT studies as a form of discourse has challenged the dominant notion
of sexuality, i.e., heterosexuality. When one category is designated as
“normal”, it automatically makes its opposites as “deviant”. The practices
relating to deviant category are marked by less prejudice and these practices
are liable to different forms of social condemnation and punishment. “Queer
theory emerges from gay/lesbian studies’ attention to the social construction
of categories of normative and deviant sexual behavior. But while gay/
lesbian studies focused largely on the questions relating to homosexuality,
queer theory expands its realm of investigation to a wider field. Queer
theory looks at, and studies, and offers a political critique of anything that
falls into normative and deviant categories” (Harris 2005: 1). The term
also describes representation of same-sex relationship in literary texts, films,
and music. This describes the power relation in sexuality. It reverses the
process of designating heterosexuality as a norm.

Ankita Chowdhury186



Heteronormativity is defined as a world view that promotes the idea that
heterosexuality is the default, preferred or normal mode of sexual orientation.
It assumes the gender binary (i.e., that there are only two distinct, opposite
genders) and argues that sexual and marital relations between people of
opposite sex are the most desirable forms. This belief system is harmful
for sexual minorities because it creates a hierarchy among sexual practices
that reinforce heterosexism and homophobia. This term was coined by
Social theorist Michael Warner in 1991, and further examined this ideology
in his book Fear of a Queer Planet(1993), one of the building blocks of
queer theory.

Heteronormativity is problematic for its assumptions and beliefs for all
societies. As far as heteronormativity is concerned, any non-confirming
sexual orientation is a passing phase and an individual will eventually grow
out of it to be “normal”. LGBTQ people may face healthcare discrimination;
the transgender people face struggles when trying to receive healthcare
services.

Heteronormativity informs the normativity of daily life, including institutions,
laws and regulations that impact the sexual and reproductive lives of
members of society as well as the moral imperatives that influence people’s
personal lives. Heteronormativity refers to the practices, norms governing
those practices, institutions that uphold them and effects produces by those
norms within individuals. These effects can be seen in the behaviour and
feelings as well as in the aspirations for the future that the narrators nourish
for themselves and their children (Wieringa 2014:28).

Journey of the Hindi Cinema

The scholars started taking interest in the depiction of homosexuality in
cinema in the 1970s with the spread of feminist awareness and we could
notice increasing representation of diverse issues relating to race, ethnicity,
gender and even LGBT groups.

The last quarter of 20th century witnessed the America and Western Europe-
driven globalization and the subsequent increase in transnational mobility,
especially from East to West. Developing nations like India reacted and
responded to the ‘liberal project’ of the globalized modernity in multiple
ways. The western discourses around newly felt sensibilities and identities
such as non-heteronormative sexualities are seen as significant, certainly
not the only marker of this project. Sexuality has become a decisive factor
of individual’s identity. Moreover, the idea of community started building

Sexual and Gender Minority and its Changing Portrayal in Bollywood Films 187



around sexuality. Expression such as ‘gay’, ‘lesbian’, ‘bisexual’, and
‘transgender’, ‘queer’ for individual identity and LGBTQ or queer
community for collective identity which are originated in western societies,
achieved international currency and the rights-based projects supporting
the anti-AIDS and-discrimination campaigns of NGOs in non-western
societies (Ramesh 2016: 63).

With the changing society, the world of cinema has also changed. The
audiences have become more tolerant about the queer sexualities. The
Indian cinema is still perplexed about the projection of LGBT characters.
The discussion on queer love stories has been a long one with twists and
turns, ups and downs. It still has a wave of awkwardness, shame, mockery
and the fear of the public condemnation and stigmatization. Hindi films
have tried to include gay themes in their own way. But in such movies the
gay characters are far from reality. The mainstream movies invariably
show a caricature in the name of a homosexual or LGBT character and
the audience too expect these characters to bring some comic relief. The
Hindi film industry is one of the powerful forces to create new opinions.
But unfortunately, one of the largest film industries of the world is often
seen lacking a sense of responsibility towards LGBT community.

India has seen cinematic brilliance with films like Fire (1996) to Margarita

with a Straw (2014) and also seen shameless depiction of a queer character
and ridiculing gay culture. Fire was directed by Deepa Mehta and she was
one of the early and brave directors who brought the concept of
homosexuality, especially lesbianism on the screen. She eventually faced a
lot of public wrath. Fire was one of the most controversial films and it set
the cultural landmark in Indian cinema which was both loved and hated.
Previously, the queer characters were only effeminate character that added
zero meaning to the plot of the movie but were only kept to add insensitive
humour.

Mooji has captured this changing mood of Hindi films saying: “More film
school graduates are getting their first break in an industry where the big
stars have typically passed on the baton to their children, regardless of
their talent. These educated first time directors are bringing new stories to
Bombay or new ways of telling stories” (Mooji 2006: 32).

Featuring the LGBT characters in any Hindi film means that they are just
an object of ridicule and joke. The directors never dare to bring different
sexual characters under one screen. Earlier, in the 1960s and 1970s the
characters of LGBT were depicted as companion of hero or heroine. The

Ankita Chowdhury188



characterization of LGBT was far from reality as they were just represented
in the form of transvestite or cross dressed in order to evoke laughter.
Commercial films had a long history of using cross dressed male actors in
songs in order to add a comic scene, like in “Mere angane mein” number
from the 1981 super hit Lawaaris, where Amitabh Bachchan cross dressed
as woman to be mistaken as a eunuch (Fig: 1)

Fig:1

Hindi film industry began to witness a noticeable transformation during the
1990s, from the old school love stories to more challenging and audacious
stories. But these adventurous movie plots mostly backfired as the
restlessness and discomfort devised by films were represented in debates.
Few images and scenes were accused of being obscene, vulgar, against
the Hindu tradition, against Indian culture and faced public wrath.

Queer images rarely found significant space in commercial ventures and
whenever they did, it was in the form of comic relief which could be found
in large number of Hindi films. Gay representations have been made in
different ways in Hindi films. The first in the form of Hijra, the second is in
the form of humour, the third is in the form of mental sickness and lastly, in
the way which shows the complexities of the life of the gay people (Kaur
2017: 27).

Sexual and Gender Minority and its Changing Portrayal in Bollywood Films 189



1990-1999

It was the last two decades that the filmmakers are in a dilemma to choose
the themes of the films, which is publicly accepted and does not hurt the
morals and traditions of any community. As cinema is one of the most
powerful, popular and accessible form of art which leaves a strong influence
on the people. Saadak (1991) portrays a transgender character, which is
depicted as completely evil.  Raja Hindustani (1996) represented two
homosexual characters Kammo and Gulab Singh as comic characters in
the film. Tamanna (1997) is a national award-winning film which touched
upon many social issues like female infanticide and third gender. The film
was based on actual life of a eunuch. In this film the character of eunuch
‘Tikku’ played by Paresh Rawal who faces a lot of humiliation from
neighbourhood but also his brother and his family because of his gender. At
first, Tikku was not involved in the traditional way of living of hijra
community, he was a hairdresser and worked for Bollywood actresses.
But at certain point when he lost his job, he turned towards this traditional
path like begging, dancing in marriage parties, on occasion of new born
baby etc.

2000-2020

It was after 2000 that the Indian Cinema was conscious about not mingling
up the gay characters with the transgender. Film like Kal Ho Na Ho (2003)
created a comic gay plot between two lead characters. The scene was
actually of mistaken identity. It is a about a love triangle, both Rohit and
Aman are in love with Naina. Rohit’s housekeeper, Kantaben mistakes
Rohit and Aman as homosexuals which made her appalled. This exaggerated
reaction to the mere implication of homosexuality gives a visual image of
VisceralHomophobia (Holtzman 2010:123 cited in Webb 2018), spilling
the tray of orange juice; fainting; screaming. Largely silent, she is denied a
voice in which to vocalize her objections (Webb 2018).  Karan Johar made
an attempt to introduce gay themes into popular films, but he chose to do it
through homophobic humour which, soon turned into a trend.

Male homosexuality is established through implication and innuendo with
Rohit and Aman, embodying a “buddy” or dosti role of “barely disguised
same-sex desire” (Gopinath 2000 cited in Webb 2018). Neither character
is explicitly queer, yet homosexuality is framed as a disjuncture to
heterosexuality. Rohit is established as aggressively heterosexual, harassing

Ankita Chowdhury190



a woman in an elevator before being confronted by a security guard (Webb
2018).

The film Girlfriend (2004) has shown that being homosexual is not natural
process. In this film, one of the lead characters was sexually abused in her
childhood and this is the reason that she becomes comfortable with same-
sex relationship i.e., lesbianism. The director intended to throw some light
on homosexual relationship but he ended up representing that queer sexuality
is not natural but it is due to social circumstances or misfortune, where one
changes their sexual orientation.

A breakthrough film was My brother… Nikhil (2005) directed by Onir.
This film was well directed and it took great care in representing
homosexuality with utmost sensitivity and it did not focus on the sexual life
of Nikhil. The film primarily focused on HIV theme and about its awareness.
Another film by the same director I am (2010) focuses on how gay people
are abused and used in a country where homosexuality is considered as
taboo. Some other films like Dostana (2008), Straight: Pinu Patel ki tedhi

medhi love story (2009), Ek Ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga (2019), and
Shubhmangal zyada sabhdhan (2020) have also dealt with different
themes relating to homosexuality. Dostana marks a cynical appropriation
of an increasingly public discourse on sexuality for the purpose of comedy
while Straight is a brave exploration of what it means to be gay, who is
really gay or more accurately who is not. And yet Pinu Patel’s journey
towards self-realization ends in an overwhelming validation of
heterosexuality, which does justice neither to the idea of homosexual love
and nor to the woman who ultimately wins the race (Srinivasan 2011).

The third gender

Hijra characters always had some presence in Hindi cinema. It was the
late comedian Mehmood who, for the first time, portrayed eunuch in a
respectable manner in his blockbuster Kunwara Baap (1974). The films
like Tamanna, Shabnam Mausi, Daayra, Darmiyaan, Welcome to

Sajjanpur attempted to take a serious take on third gender. There were
many actors who grabbed eyeballs playing eunuch character on the silver
screen.

Sangharsh (1999): Sangharsh is a 1999 Indian psychological action horror
film directed by Tanuja Chandra. Ashutosh Rana played the role of Lajja
Shankar Pandey, a religious fanatic, a psychopath transgender who

Sexual and Gender Minority and its Changing Portrayal in Bollywood Films 191



sacrificed children to attain immortality. This role of transgender won him
several accolades.

Sadaak (1991): Sadashiv Amrapurkar played Maharani, a eunuch who
was the lead villain of the movie. Maharani was a brothel owner who
tortures and traffics young women. The film was directed by Mahesh Bhatt
and it did its bit to improve the image of eunuch in the society. The
performance of the actor fetched him a Filmfare award.

Tamanna (1997): Mahesh Bhatt once again showed courage by making
another film which involved transwoman as an important part of the film.
This film was based on actual life story of a eunuch ‘Tiku’. The movie
represented a transwoman played by Paresh Rawal, who finds an abandoned
girl child and raises as her own. This film was an attempt to represent the
struggles of a transgender and female infanticide.

Daayra (1996): This film explored the male-female relationships, the
preconceived notion of love and the changing attitudes towards them. The
plot includes a romantic relationship between a transvestite dancer and a
gang raped woman who begins to dress up like a man.

Laxmii (2020): Laxmii is a comedy horror film directed by Raghava
Lawerence. The story revolves around Asif played by Akshay Kumar who
is possessed by transgender ghost. This film represents the issues and
struggles faced by a transgender. They are discriminated against by the
society on all grounds be it social, educational or economic.

Although the journey of experimenting with different themes on the Indian
screen has not been smooth with passing time people have accepted male
sex relationship. It evolved as a celebration of masculinity and exclusion of
women. To make my point clear about the portrayal and its changing nature
through the passage of time, I have discussed below three films in greater
details.

Fire

Fire, released in 1996, is the most controversial film in the history of Indian
Cinema. It was written and directed by Deepa Mehta and is an Indo-
Canadian romantic drama film. It is the first film of her trilogy, the other
two being Earth (1998) and Water (2005).  It was the first transnational
film which was commercially released in various global cities. After release
it had a negative impact on the main stream audience. The film got banned
in Delhi and Mumbai, where its screening stopped after two violent

Ankita Chowdhury192



demonstrations. The film was described as “unconventional”, “sumptuous”
and not “lesbian” or “homosexual”.

The film is about two daughters-in-law of a family, who are not happy in
their respective marriage. Radha (Shabana Azmi) is the wife of elder brother
Ashok (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) and Sita (Nandita Das) is the wife of
younger brother Jatin (Javed Jaffrey). Ashok had no intimate relation with
his wife, as he was under the influence of a Swamiji. Jatin, on the other
hand, had a Chinese girlfriend and thus had no interest in Sita. These denials
brought both the daughters-in-law closer and they, as an alternative
exploration, started having an affair. Having been caught red handed by
Ashok, Radha confesses that she loves and Sita and wants to be with her.

Deepa Mehta’s Fire, no doubt, is considered a cultural landmark in the
history of Indian cinema, which has been both loved and hated for its
portrayal of lesbian desire. Reponses to the film have veered wildly between
unqualified appreciation and destructive rage. The rage displayed in India,
soon after the release of the film through violent, Hindutva-inspired protests,
was directed at Mehta’s audacity to represent a lesbian relationship that
appears to develop as a result of the crippling pressure of Indian middle-
class patriarchy (Bose 2007). Those who expressed anger against the film
were Hindu right-wing activists, who took a clear position in support of
Article 377 of the IPC, which criminalizes any form of homosexual relation.
In their perception, in a country like India, where woman is seen as goddess,
mother, daughter, daughters-in-law, the idea of woman having sexual desires
ruin the so-called Indian culture and morality.

Fig:2

Sexual and Gender Minority and its Changing Portrayal in Bollywood Films 193



Mehta has taken a huge and bold step to introduce Lesbianism in Indian
cinema as a realistic alternative to heterosexuality, the only form of sexuality
endorsed by patriarchy. As the film was a Canadian production, it was
claimed that Lesbianism is a Western concept.  The film portrayed love
relationship between two sisters-in-law of one family. This movie focuses
on unhappy heterosexual relationship with their husbands. The protagonists
never thought of having a love affair with same sex until they met each
other.  The protagonist Sita and Radha were not lesbians from birth, and
they were not aware of their different sexual orientation prevailing within
themselves. Sita and Radha were the two sides of the same coin as both of
them were sufferers of alienation and denial from their respective husbands.
This is also an acknowledgement of the fact that neither men nor women
have just one sexual identity, which is fixed for life. The monolithic fixation
of heterosexual identity, which perfectly endorses patriarchy, has been
challenged in Fire.

The act of physical intimacy is not perceived merely as a contact of two
female bodies. The bodies become territorialized with inscription of
nationality, in being Indian (defined by borders), of religion in being Hindu,
probably upper caste and kinship, in being sisters-in-law. Hence, the act of
physical intimacy does not remain just a contact between two female bodies.
Many critics described Fire as the story of “the two unhappy housewives
compelled to seek emotional and sexual satisfaction from each other
because their husbands provide none” (Kishwar 1998: 3).

Deepa Mehta did not portray the negative stereotyped of their looks but
has represented the negative but authentic outlook of people, when they
come in terms of lesbian relationship. The moment Ashok (husband of
Radha) came to know about the love affair of Radha and Sita, he got
devastated and got furious. He asked Radha that it is only for sexual desire
that she has committed this sin.  He wanted her to apologize for her sin and
so that he can forgive her and continue life as usual. But Radha had a clear
idea of what she was doing and her agency spoke when refused to apologize
about her deeds. Their argument became violent and Radha’s saree caught
fire. Ashok saw and left the room. This behavior portrayed the homophobic
attitude of almost all the people in this country who are trapped in
heteronormative ideal. People cannot accept the female love relationship,
Ashok left her to burn and die for committing this sin.

Fire is an advance film with a different theme that was released in 90s,
which would require broad mind people to understand. This film did justice
to the representation of homosexual character and being a 90s film did not

Ankita Chowdhury194



stereotype homosexuality. But the same sex relationship was seen emerging
only after the two women failed in heterosexual relationship and not as a
preferred choice.

Aligarh

Fig 3

Aligarh is an Indian biographical drama film released worldwide on 26
February 2016. This film is directed by Hansal Mehta and written by Apurva
Asrani. This film is based on the life of Ramchandra Siras, who was an
Indian Linguist and author and was a professor at the Aligarh Muslim
University. He got suspended from his job just because he was homosexual.

This is a true story of Ramchandra Siras (played by Manoj Bajpayee), a
professor in Aligarh Muslim university. He worked in that university for 20
years and suddenly got suspended because of his different sexual
orientation. His intimate video with a rickshaw puller was released in the
internet which resulted in many protests resulting in his suspension from
his job. After this a journalist Deepu Sebastian (Rajkumar Rao) helps him
and the court gives verdict in his favour.

This film is in fact the best gay-themed film in Indian cinema. Thanks to
the directors like Hansal Mehta and many others, Bollywood has come to
accept homosexuality as a serious mainstream theme. Some of the well-
known filmmakers in the industry were otherwise interested only in the
“funny” portrayal of gay people. This film is more significant because it
has boldly represented the attitude, pressure, prejudices towards gay people.
Riggle et. al. (1996) stated in their paper that being homosexual is associated
with prejudice. Even contact with homosexual people is looked down upon

Sexual and Gender Minority and its Changing Portrayal in Bollywood Films 195



in society. They have referred to Devine’s model of prejudice to support
their statement. In discussing the model, Devine et. al. (1991) have stated
that “the change from prejudice is not viewed as an all-or-none event but
as process during which the low prejudice person is especially vulnerable
to conflict between his or her enduring negative responses and endorsed
non prejudiced beliefs” (Devine et. al., Prejudice with and without

compunction, p. 515).

Fig:4

The film was released with a #comeout campaign. The campaign asked
people to come out about their sexuality, discuss it and accept more openly
about being homosexual. Coming out to the world is the most difficult task
as it will have a negative impact on his/her life and those who are related to
him/her. Society is divided into a masculine-feminine binary, and all those
who do not fall in this binary have to face “othering”, humiliation, violence
and isolation. This binary system of gender is a social construct and not
biological, and is forced on people. Heteronormativity is declared as default
sexual orientation and anyone falling outside this is unacceptable.

Aligarh became an important film not only for its homosexual theme but
also for its stand on the LGBT rights. Everyone has the right to right to
freedom, right to live their life in her/his own way and it does not change
with anyone’s class, caste, status, race, ethnicity or gender. As, the whole
society is bounded by heteronormativity, which is forced on the members;

Ankita Chowdhury196



homophobia prevails in peoples’ mind. Earlier, in movies gay people were
presented as “girlish”, “feminine” or “less manly”. Their dress up, walking
style, and personality were presented in a feminine way. But Indian cinema
has travelled a long distance to make a gay main plot film. Like in this film
Aligarh, Prof. Siras was represented as a normal man, he was masculine
and was a married person. This film also depicted the impact of
criminalization by section 377 of the Indian Penal Code on the homosexuals.
The court case against Siras gets delayed day by day, after many days of
struggle when Deepu finally succeeds to bring justice to Siras, drunk Siras
tells Deepu on the phone that he strongly believes he should move to U.S,
where no one will humiliate or torture him for being gay.

This film carries social relevance but also has importance of religious
institution. Since heteronormativity aims at ensuring a utopian society, scenes
where the protagonist was portrayed following conventional Hindu practices
such as not sharing food with a non-Hindu, or referring to his Muslim partner
as ‘friend’ established the symbolic violence which is perpetrated in the
name of religion. Therefore, religious moralities control not just sexual but
individual expression (Bhatia 2017).

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

This Hindi movie, directed by Hitesh Kewalya, portrays queer people in a
more realistic and dignified manner, although through humour. Shubh

Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is a story of Kartik Singh (Ayushmann Khurana)
who overcomes all the social obstacles to be with his lover Aman Tripathi
(Jitendra Kumar). The main characters of this movie do not hide their
masculine and gay identities.

Fig:5

Sexual and Gender Minority and its Changing Portrayal in Bollywood Films 197



This is a film about two gay men Aman (Jitendra Kumar) and Kartik
(Ayushmann Khurana) who unwittingly come out of their homophobic
families to be together for their whole life. Both try to convince Aman’s
family at his cousin’s wedding. The next day, the Supreme Court
decriminalizes homosexuality. Aman and Kartik reconcile with family and
leave for Delhi.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan makes a serious effort in throwing some
light on the experiences of LGBT groups and the abuse and violence that
they are subjected to, even in their families. This film is a significant step
towards right direction in the light of growing social acceptance of the
rights of the LGBT members. The fact that this film was allowed to be
released in a homophobic society without any cuts was a sign that we as
audience is going towards right direction; the otherwise conservative decision
makers on the Censor Board are also changing their perceptions.

The film portrayed the alternative sexuality with empathy and the
representation of homosexuality was quite open. This movie, however, holds
one thing wrong – the struggle of being a queer individual in India was
played down; the treatment is too safe for a gay couple living in India. The
queer community in a place like India, is unquestionably marginalized. The
same sex marriage may not be a big problem, but their different sexual
orientation itself creates problem. The homosexual couples face difficulties
in walking in the streets, in finding accommodation and are often victimized
in the domestic realm. The film focused on Aman’s dad discovering them
kissing in train. The film does not give any illustration of the difficulties the
couple faces in their living situation. Kartik’s family background was never
disclosed. The struggle and pain that he has taken to grow into a gay
personality, who can declare his gayness and attack homophobia, has not
been adequately depicted. Overall, this film is a good step for any mainstream
movie to portray same sex relationship, but still there is a long way to go, in
order to establish the LGBT rights and give them a “normal” life like that
of the heterosexuals.

Conclusion

Cinema was and will remain one of the strongest media for influencing
peoples’ perceptions especially on emerging issues of an ever-changing
society. Therefore, it is the duty of the all the directors and actors to make
films on the LGBT subjects being well-informed about the changing course
of the movements for alternative sexuality and legal reforms. A progressive

Ankita Chowdhury198



and humane treatment of the subjects can contribute positively to freeing
the society from heteronormativity and homophobia. Sexual minorities are
slowly finding place in Hindi films. Their representation has changed with
the passage of time. The shift from negative to positive representation of
the “queer” in the films has helped to change the societal attitude towards
the LGBTQ community. Some of the young directors have challenged
heteronormativity through their projection of gay themes. The reaction of
audience of these films also holds a touch of patriarchy. People are gradually
becoming sympathetic towards gay relations but still find difficulty in
accepting lesbian or gay relationships wholeheartedly. After the
decriminalization of section 377 of the IPC by the Supreme Court on 6
September 2018 it can be expected that the filmmakers would be able to
make films on queer themes in an ambiance of tolerance and more freedom.
The films being popular can do a lot in bringing about the necessary discursive
changes in giving the LGBT communities their rightful place in society.
Many people have different sexual orientation but they are still in their
closet because of the fear of discrimination heteronormative society; they
will come out in the open and claim their identities when the overall ambience
in the society changes. Films like Aligarh and Shubh Mangal zyada

saavdhan capture the changing moments of a major social transformation.

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