When Ayushmaan Khurrana kissed Jitender Kumar in "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan", it wasn't anymore an eye-opener for mainstream Bollywood viewers. The audience had learnt to embrace same-gender love stories in films and web series with open arms.
More than our film, however, the emerging medium of OTT has effectively addressed the elephant in the room, providing a secure platform to LGBTQ community stories.
For decades, the community has been represented in a farcical way in commercial cinema. With time, content creators have now learnt to give same-sex stories mainstream importance.
The audience is curious to know about the lives of the Trans community. Hence, we will get to see an array of content on LGBTQ community on mainstream viewing mediums.
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Films that dealt LGBTQ stories include "Kapoor & Sons", "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga", "Bombay Talkies", "My Brother Nikhil", "Aligarh", "Margarita With A Straw", "I Am" and "Loev".
There is more coming up, mostly on OTT. Stories to look forward to are "Four More Shots Please" season 2", "Made In Heaven 2" besides other untitled web series in the pipeline.
As Pride Month draws to an end, here are some on-screen same-gender that left an impact on the viewers in the digital space.
A MARRIED WOMAN
Directed by Sahir Raza based on Manju Kapur's book "A Married Woman", this ALTBalaji series is about two women Astha (Ridhi Dogra) and Peeplika (Monica Dogra) who discover that love happens when you least expect it.
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ROMIL AND JUGAL
Directed by Nupur Asthana, ALTBalaji's original is set in a fictional Indian hill station Colwynganj. The story is about boy next door Jugal (Manraj Singh) who falls in love with his new, hunky neighbour Romil (Rajeev Siddhartha). Their love faces many obstacles including the homophobic residents of the Colywynganj, disapproving parents, and Romil's internalised homophobia.
MADE IN HEAVEN
Created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, this Amazon Prime series weaves two parallel stories -- involving gay Karan Mehra (Arjun Mathur) and lesbian Tara Khanna (Sobhita Dhulipala) in multiple stories.
FOUR MORE SHOTS PLEASE!
Directed by Anu Menon and Nupur Asthana, this Amazon Prime original is an ode to friendship and sisterhood, and also highlights a fairytale romance between two women, Umang Singh (Bani J) and the Bollywood superstar Samara Kapoor (Lisa Ray).
THE 'OTHER' LOVE STORY
Directed by Roopa Rao, this YouTube film set in the nineties, the two girls Aadya (Spoorthi Gumaste) and Aanchal (Shweta Gupta) start off a tentative friendship that leads to a secret romance.
HIS STORYY
Directed by Prashant Bhagi, an ALTBalaji and ZEE5 original, the story is about Kunal (Satyadeep Mishra), Sakshi (Priyamani) and his lover Preet (Mrinal Dutt) and the social issue of acceptance of homosexuals by society and family.
MAAYA season 1 and 2
Produced by Vikram Bhatt, the series talked about lesbian relationships. It's the story of two girls Ruhi (Leena Jumani) and Simmi (Priyal Gor) with contrasting attributes.
377 AB NORMAL
Directed by Faruk Kabir, Zee5's original show is inspired by true events narrating the journey of five petitioners who challenged Section 377 that marked the beginning of a new era of equality. It stars Sid Makkar, Maanvi Gagroo, Tanvi Azmi, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Kumud Mishra.
