This Hindi movie is a pretty straightforward slice-of-life story that tries to give a modern look at what it's like to be a single, professional gay man. It dives into how he understands who he is, the chances he missed out on, and the personal choices he’s made along the way. The director used three parallel timelines to tell the story, which honestly didn't make much sense to me. While the core idea was actually pretty interesting, I really feel like this would have worked way better as a short film considering the point it was trying to make. Still, it wasn't a bad watch. The plot centers on Rachit, a city professional, and his friend Shikhar as they hang out for an evening. Rachit is a polished, urban guy, while Shikhar has more of a "small-town" rustic vibe, and you can really see the contrast between them when they talk. As the night goes on, Rachit starts thinking back to some old memories from a long time ago. He remembers being an intern after college in ...
I’ve got to be honest, if I’d caught this documentary right when it dropped back in 2011, I probably would’ve felt a lot differently about it. But looking at it now, it hasn’t aged well at all. The whole thing is built on the history of Section 377, that old law from 1860 under British rule that made same-sex acts illegal by calling them "against the order of nature." Back on July 2nd, 2009, the Delhi High Court finally scrapped that clause in a huge landmark ruling, which was basically the biggest win the Indian LGBTQ community could’ve asked for at the time. This film uses that massive moment as its backdrop to introduce us to the lives of its three main subjects.
The doc follows three people: a gay man, a lesbian, and a transgender woman. Their stories all hit pretty similar notes—they talk about the terror of trying to accept their feelings while growing up and the struggle of eventually facing those fears to find some peace. We listen to the trans woman explain how she still stepped up as the "son" to provide for her family, even though she knew she had to live her truth. The lesbian woman shares a story about her first love and how it hit a dead end because her girlfriend was forced into a marriage. Then there’s the gay guy, who’s basically just holding out hope that he’ll find love one day. All three of them are shown making their way toward the big celebration for the one-year anniversary of Section 377 being overturned.
The people in this movie are basically living out the struggle for equality in a country that’s constantly stuck between old traditions and new changes. But like I mentioned before, things have shifted quite a bit now, and even if I try to look at it through the lens of 2011, the documentary just isn't very entertaining or deep. Aside from the trans woman’s story, the people they chose to follow didn't really have anything particularly profound to say. In my opinion, most of their hardships and backstories felt pretty much the same as what almost any queer person on the Indian subcontinent was already going through back then.
This is a pretty dated documentary that doesn't offer much new insight or entertainment value, even when considering its historical context. It feels a bit too surface-level to really leave an impact today. (3/10)
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