Queer love stories no longer a taboo

“I haven’t done a film of this nature in a while. I understand Homi Adjania’s sense of humour, his point of view towards people, their humanity, their imperfections and how he treats it with a sense of reality,” says Shahid Kapoor, without divulging much.

Somewhere along the way, Bollywood appears to have loosened up around queer love stories. More strikingly, its mainstream female actors — names one wouldn’t traditionally associate with this space — are leading the charge in recent narratives.

Laapataa Ladies’ Pratibha Ranta chose the thriller Accused as her second film outing. Playing a character in a normalised queer relationship with her partner Konkana Sen Sharma, the actor says for her the role was from the lens of visibility. “I love representaton, and lean towards stories where I am able to feel seen and heard. I enjoy bringing somebody’s stories on screens an give life to that. There is so much awareness around us, and one wants to experiment a lot with every shade and colour”.

Konkana Sen Sharma, known for nuanced portrayals of queer characters in cinema — from the intersectional exploration of caste and sexuality in Neeraj Ghaywan’s Geeli Pucchi (2021) to a normalised depiction of same-sex relationships in Accused —says she has never regarded the roles as commentary, but rather as characters. “I just feel you cannot just look at a person through one lens. Women like all humans live in different zones and different spheres with different experiences.”

Not an easy path

Yet this wasn’t always the case. The uproar against Deepa Mehta’s 1996 film Fire, starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, marked one of the first explorations of a lesbian relationship in the commercial space. The film was met with stiff opposition, with protests and calls for censorship.

Thirty years later, one notices a shift, as female actors have shown a growing ease with playing LGBTQI characters — from Sonam Kapoor, in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha to Bhumi Pednekar in Badhai Do , to Tabu in Khufiya, as well as Vaani Kapoor in Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui.

Filmmaker Ayesha Sood says, “I do think some women actors are interested in exploring their craft as actors, not just their image as stars. Though the fear of being typecast exists for most in the star system.”

Shivraj Parshad, Coming Out Coach, Brevis Consulting, says, “Women have always been braver when it comes to love, whether on screen and off it. Actresses playing queer roles are open to being celebrated; male actors still treat it like a career risk. That tells you everything about where masculinity is stuck, especially here in India. The two newcomers who said yes to Heated Rivalry are now global stars. Courage has a funny way of doing that.”

Acceptance now

Exceptions are always there. Manoj Bajpayee won acclaim for his portrayal of real-life queer professor in Aligarh. Actors like Fawad Khan in Kapoor and Sons, Ayushmann Khurrana in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Rajkummar Rao in Badhai Do, as well as Kartik Aaryan in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, have played queer characters.

Rohan Kanawade, director of Marathi queer film Sabar Bonda, acknowledges making the film was an uphill task. “Many actors didn’t even turn up for auditions once they realised it was a love story between two men. They were so wary of being labelled, of being perceived as queer,” he says.

However, several activists and filmmakers also feel one should be mindful about tokenism. Ayesha Sood says: “I think we need to cast more queer actors in mainstream roles. Find ways to bring them into the fold. Ultimately acting is also a craft and skill and the role should go to actor that has the chops to perform it. But true representation will be when we are able to bring queer characters into the pool as well. Strong queer or LGBTQI+ stories that are written through lived realities and experiences, and if the characters aren’t queer, the story falls apart.”