Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

I have mixed feelings about this show. These days there are plenty of murder mystery shows and it's important to keep viewers engaged in the story. The show opens with the brutal murder of a gay sex worker in the toilet of Mahim train station and this is where the story begins. The show and story is good but the show takes forever to come to a point. There are so many side stories and every 5 minute conversation is starched into  20 min scene. The show tries to educate and empathize with gay community in India because still it is considered a big taboo in that society. The show takes a gritty yet empathetic look at gay life in the Mumbai underbelly. In the male public urinals of Mahim station, a mutilated body is found. The victim is discovered to be a young gay sex worker; soon enough, another sex worker turns up dead with clue being given on who the next target would be. IT turns out that two police constables are next in line. This will take expertise of Shiva Jende, an inspecto...

I had been looking for this film ever since I had heard of it running in a few film theaters. The makers recently released the film on Muni, which gave a lot of people an opportunity to eventually watch this film. Jaggi is traumatic, triggering, and shakes you to the core. But it’s also raw, touching, and unnerving. It is definitely not gay cinema, but the subject that says "Story of a schoolboy’s impotence leads to accusations of being gay, triggering relentless bullying" was something I really wanted to see. Id also like to say that the film has some very disturbing scenes that could be triggering for some people. The film starts in present day where we see Jaggi as he goes through rollercoaster of emotions. He breaks down, tries to jerk off, grabs a gun, writes a letter in his diary and gets picked up his uncle to take him home for his engagement the next day. On the way, they give lift to a man who slowly starts to inappropriately touch Jaggi and the film goes into flashb...

Having heard a lot about the performances in this film, I was looking forward to seeing it when it recently came out on Prime video. What a take on homosexuality. This film presents a very different perspective than what we have seen ever.  The gay couple is not even ever together in any scene holding hands or anything , but. The film shows what social pressures can do to the psyche of not just the person who is in closet but also to the people around him, especially his wife (in case of this film). It is a bold but much needed attempt to revamp the social stigma associated with one’s sexual inclination. Matthew is a middle aged man who is forced by his friends and community to run for local elections. While the preparations are going on, a two month old court filing comes out in open where his wife Omana of 20 years is now asking him for a divorce, citing the denial of her physical needs due to his homosexual orientation. His political party suggest him to fight the case since the...

India hasn't produced that many gay series or shows to talk about (although my blog will probably give you a different statistic). Amazon Prime's 'Rainbow Rishta' comes in as a breath of fresh air. At a time when queer relationship portrayal and dating is somehow focused on negatives, this show depicts life with all its burdens, joys, and the need to keep going on, day after day. It leaves you with a sense of hope, of finding moments of relief in everyday strife, and embracing life for everything it has to offer. Featuring six episodes focusing on three queer couples and three singles, this series gives a more balanced view IMO but also gives you hope. Gauhati-based lesbian couple Aneez and Sanam , tired of finding space for themselves in their parental homes, are in search of a flat. But their being a couple keeps becoming a deal-breaker, as they go through one refusal after another from prospective landlords. Trinetra Haldar , an MBBS doctor-turned-actor whose trans c...

A biopic inspired by real life story of Meghna Sahoo, India’s first Transgender cab driver and social activist, a real inspiration to the transgender community and to the global community. Sometimes even with decent noble intentions, it's the execution that can falter. Here I would blame director to a large extent, since the actors try to do the best they can with limited characterization and growth. For India community understanding eunuch and the trans community is not easy. This film also tries to Gove us a glimpse of how most of the Eunuchs are maligned in real life & are mistreated every day of their lives. Many are forced to beg & make a living by sex work. Some parts of the film did remind me of the recent web series Taali that I had reviewed. Vishnu is subject to abuse and ridicule as a child and attendee for his feminine behaviour. One day when he is hanging out with a friend , he sees two eunuchs being beaten up and he helps them, there getting an opportunity meet...

I guess taking inspiration from all the Asian BL series, this show is touted as first BL series, from the state of Manipur, a princely state in the eastern part of India. Even though the series is being promoted as a BL show, I have to say that it is much more than that. BL is a part of it, but the show mainly focuses on the lead man's trails and tribulations, his family, his struggles, his friends and everything around him. It tries to tackle issues that queer folks have to face like opposition from society, from their families, from peers, and might even their own selves in the form of internalized homophobia. Bimol is a young adult studying college, from a lower middle class family and struggling to provide for his younger brother while also dealing with his alcoholic father. The mother left them sometime back. HIs father abuses him of being feminine. To make ends meet, Bimol does makeup for girls. His only two close friends are a girl and another boy. The girl knows that Bimol ...

Gauri Sawant is a very popular transgender activist in India. So, naturally when a series on her life was announced, a lot of pope were excited. Of course, there were mixed reactions when it was announced that a very popular cis female actress will play the part; but I understand that you do need sometimes popular names to attract audience to watch, especially in a country like India. And with an actor like Sushmita Sen, you won't have to worry about that. And I was right. The composure and vigour with which the lead actor slips into the skin of the complex character is worthy of applause. Unfortunately, overall the series itself feels a lot to be desired. For the uninitiated, 'Taali' means clap, a reference to the way, the trans community or the eunuchs are identified in India by their peculiar style of clapping. Gauri Sawant, a transwoman became a household name in India, when she managed to pull off the impossible. She petitioned the Supreme Court of India to acknowledge...

This film has a very indie feeling and a story idea that had its heart at the right place but execution fails at multiple levels sadly. Also, of many non-Indians it will be hard to identify with the family dynamics and how and why every relative has a say in what goes and what doesn't. We have seen quite a few films about coming-out, but here the focus seems on father an family and the societal pressure rather than the actual dilemma of being gay/coming out and being with your loved one. Sidhu, a young introvert guy is about get married. Preparations are in full swing and it just a couple of days away , but something is bothering him and he doesn't say anything. His father is clearly boss of the house, very dominating and always worried about society and what people will say or think. The film goes on showing us wedding preparations and also the fact that something is bothering Sidhu. Eventually when his uncle comes, he tells him he doesn't want to get married, but never te...

I had no clue this movie will fall somehow in LGBTQIA category, but still I was expecting a lot form this film, just because the names involved. The director has given us some really good stuff in the past, and with the lead actress being a revered actress in India film industry, the expectations were naturally higher, especially since this is Amazon Prime's first Indian original film. Sadly, despite a very promising plot, the execution and the handling of the characters leave a lot to be desired. Tejas wants to marry an NRI girl Esha, who comes from a very filthy rick Texas family born to India parents. Since her parents are extremely rich, they always question others' moves and in this case they decide they want to meet Tejas' family in India before anything can happen. Tejas' family back in India has her godlike mother Pallavi, who could do no wrong, his father and her sister who is doing her PhD in Gender studies and has her own issues with marriage going on and is ...

This story is actually one of the six love story in the anthology series Modern Love Mumbai recently released on Amazon Prime. In what feels like a very romantic and poetic setting, this almost 45 minute long film  explores the challenges of coming out in a seemingly-modern society that often keeps its real views on same-sex love in the closet. The title 'Baai' is a Urdu word often used to refer to your grandmother. Manzu is one of the scions of a conservative Muslim family. A stolen kiss with neighbor boy makes him realize he is gay and comes out to his parents who refuse to believe and understand him. The doting grandmother wants to see him get married but she doesn't know about him and he also doesn't wanna risk her health by coming out to her. The granny is now sick and the family has got together to pay their respects. This is when through flashback we know that Manzu moved to Goa in his passion for music, where he meets a chef Rajveer and before you lock love kick...

Finally this film got a release on Netflix. I had read this book a few years back when it came out and I was looking forward to the cinematic adaptation, especially when its the writer who also decides to direct the film. I feel people are going to have mixed emotions about watching the film. It's not your typical film, but is an emotion and poetic representation of romance, heartbreak, society with the gorgeous and lush colorful and green landscapes of Kerala while playing with the color "cobalt blue" in nearly every frame. The film keeps moving form reality to imagination to poetic representation all within minutes. Set in 1996 in beautiful town on Kochi in Kerala, we meet a Marathi family who migrated there few years back. The family has3 kids but the story primarily is of Tanay and Anuja. Tanay is a writer and a dreamer who goes to college and flirts with his professor, who returns the favor. Anuja meanwhile, is a tomboyish hockey player who prefers her game over any ...

Hindi film industry in India is definitely taking a good few steps in projecting queer characters and creating a story around them. There have been enough cases when gay stereotypes were forced into films just for comic relief. But only rarely has  Hindi cinema shown gay characters who are not fodder for laughter and jokes. They are sure and confident (maybe) of their sexuality , they own it but there struggle is same as everyone else with respect to how to get people around them accept who they are. This film takes us a on a journey of marriage of convenience. Shardul is the only make cop in an all female police station. He is a body builder and a very macho portraying guy hiding a secret. His family desperately wants him to get married. But courtesy a creepy dating app, he gets to meet Suman, a female physical education teacher who is a closet lesbian. Shardul convinces her to get married to him so thatchy can keep their families off their back. The situation seems mutually benef...

This 2012 docu-drama focuses primarily on two transgender friends from Kolkata, India. The director follows their life over the course of a few years, documenting their life, their struggles as trans people, poor social backgrounded how they have to resort to being a sex worker. Chiranjit and Bubai are two young transgender friends from Kolkata. Hailing from poor and uneducated families, they confronted social castration from a tender age. However, it helped strengthening their bond as friends. Bubai, often mistreated in his family, seeks love and care outside. He falls in love with a boy only to be dumped for a 'real' girl. Chiranjit, an only child, is relatively accepted by his parents. He wants a good job. But nobody wants a feminine boy in company. In 2009, they joined Manas Bangla, a non-profit organization working in LGBT advocacy and HIV awareness. Their job is to generate consciousness amongst high risk youth and bring them in for blood test. Months pass and now  Bubai ...

Its quite surprising to see Indian mainstream films coming up with queer friendly subjects. Recently we saw some gay friendly films and this is probably the first that a film introduces to a trans character in a Hindi film. I have seen a few films from the south talk about this with utmost sensitivity and respect, but it would be a first for a big budget mainstream Bollywood film. Our lead man Manu is a bodybuilder and an owner of a struggling gym. His friends and business partners hire a Zumba coach Maanvi, hoping to attract more customers. It does happen and gym becomes popular. Manu is preparing for a competition and injures himself, and Maanvi gets him to the hospital and then home, where she meets his overbearing sisters and his widowed father and grandfather. Manu asks Maanvi out and they gradually become friends, then lovers. A steamy romance ensues, and before you know Manu proposes Maanvi for marriage. This is when Maanvi tells him that she is actually a trans woman. Manu is h...

Acceptance of LGBTQ folks in India is still a huge issue and is something that's considered a very western thing. For a substantial population, when it comes to honor, they would rather their child be dead than come out as gay. The film maker tries to deal with that thought here in this film. Lakshmi is a school principal and a single mother to Varun who is in his first year of college. The two live in a coastal town on an island in their happy space with Varun's cousin living with them after his mother's death. Soon Varun starts to feel he is getting attracted to male masculinity and I this quest to find answers he does a few sessions with a psychiatrist who eventually then introduces him to his gay son Kartik who is also an activist. Slowly the two boys start coming closer. Varun is envious of how supportive Kartik's family is. But all hell breaks lose when he is outed to Lakshmi. She doesn't take the news well and throws her son out of home declaring that he is a...

Its always hard to take sides when suddenly a married couple breaks up after years of being together, and this task gets especially hard after the fact that the husband turns out to be gay. The sympathies go with the male, of course, but what about he female. Even though the title of the show says "His Story", to be honest, what I felt was that the story was more of a "Her Story" because almost everything is told from the wife's perspective. There is nothing wrong in that, but I would have loved it even more if there was more of an exploration done from the husband's point of you, given the show title and of course my personal interest. Despite this, the series has approached the subject of homosexuality in Indian context with sensitivity, highlighting some of the inherent prejudices and trying to address them as best as possible in the limited timeframe. Sakshi and Kunal are a South-Bombay power couple who are running a restaurant business together. Sakshi ...

This series / short film can be a very good example and case study on why amateurish film making can sometimes do more harm than help to a subject that still considered taboo in a country like India. Nothing, absolutely nothing is good about this 45 minute short film. Story line is perfectly straight forward. Riya and Sunny are roommates. Riya's mother has been trying to setup her daughter Riya with a man for a while and enter Canadian India Roger, who is visiting India for some business. He stays with these roommates for sometime. Slowly Riya starts to fall for him, but it turns out Roger is gay too and before you know, Sunny and Roger are an item. Riya is initially sad thinking Sunny stole her man only to realize that Roger has always been the way he is. Where do I even begin on how horrible this was. Starting from really bad acting by everyone. Riya was the worst of all. And then that made up accent from Roger. I mean, it was so fake that every time hw would open his mouth, I ju...

Gray (Hindi) Nandini is married to Rohit, who is gay. Zoel, Rohit's partner, is aware of Nandini's suffocation. When Rohit tells Zoel that he is planning to have a kid through IVF, so that Nandini will get busy in her life, Zoel felt disgusted with this thought and discards Rohit's intention of managing his life between him and Nandini. If it was a sacrifice for Rohit to get married against his gender's choice for the sake of social integrity, it was a crime to Nandini also whose dreams of a married life devastated.  Pencil Box (Hindi) A young boy Appu lives in a village with his family. They are hiding a secret which is soon revealed to the entire village when a group of eunuchs come to take Appu away from the family. At this point, another struggle begins for the whole family. The struggle of saving Appu from society. Struggle for family’s own space in society and moreover, struggle for Appu’s present and future. The story shows how Appu faces all these odds and leads...

It's good to see that a lot of Indian film makers are trying to tackle subjects with LGBTQ+ themes but I think they still have a long way t o go before something substantial can be made which make a statement and eventual difference in the way people think. An interesting subject on paper is marred by average acting and sub par direction. Veer and Mansi meet at a low key LGBT party. Veer left his fiancé realizing that he can't go on lying about his sexuality. He is in love with his best friend who lives in Delhi (who also happens to be married to a woman because of social pressure). Mansi has also run away form home because of marriage pressure. Her lover lives in Delhi and she decides to go live with her, but turns out she is on a family trip to McLeodgunj. Mansi decides to take a road trip to surprise her and Veer also joins in as her chauffeur, but also since he desperately needs a break after his lover decided that he can't be out socially to be with him. Here starts a ...

This film seems to be an independent film made on a very low budget with minimal production quality. I had not even heard of the film till very recently. My expectations were extremely low for the film, which turned out to be a good thing. At least I would call the film average now, instead of saying it poor. Harish and Latif are lovers in the town of Chennai. Latif is out to his family and apparently they even accept his relationship with Harish, but things are different for Harish. He is getting pressured to get married and he has no courage to tell them the truth. Latif decides that telling parish's parents the truth about their relationship is the only way out. They dup go home and Latif tells Harish's father about them, which, as expected outrages his father. Through a couple of encounters Latif tries to explain Harish's father how they truly love each other and this is not about sex, but the father is too worried about society and what they will say. He even takes Har...