India is a country that, unfortunately, looks at the queer differently – a gaze of acceptance, a gaze of rejection, a gaze of dismissal. On September 6, 2018, India took a step in the right direction, moving its gaze from rejection to acceptance as the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality. Yet, the country still awaits its giant leap – de-stigmatisation and acceptance from a conservative society, which may be facilitated with legislation from the Centre, and in the meantime, by art.

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Cinema has, time and again, dutifully reminded the people of the shackles that cage them and devised creative strategies to break those barriers, normalising taboos and making the society more tolerant, more accepting.  We can count on it to do justice to the sensitive subject of fluid gender preferences – to portray homosexuality with dignity, not as something special, but as a natural process of attraction, just towards the person of the same sex.

Coming out of the closet is as necessary as accepting those who brave to do so. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s time we move on from associating the love season only with heterosexuals and accept the fundamental concept – Love is love.

Here are a few films in Bollywood that were way beyond their time, depicting love between people of fluid gender preferences:

1.       Fire (1996)

Helmed by Deepa Mehta, ‘Fire’ beautifully depicted the journey of two married women, Sita, played by Nandita Das, and Radha, played by Shabana Azmi, whose husbands went on to the path of celibacy or preferred mistresses over their wives. The two find solace in each other, eventually building an intimate, passionate relationship in a society that doesn’t even approve of women having sexual desire.

2.       Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020)

Starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar playing the role of a gay couple, ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ is a film that talks about the taboo around same sex relationships and the backlash faced by them from their families. The two leave no stone unturned to get the blessings of their family and convince them to accept their sexual preference.

3.       Margarita With A Straw (2014)

The film, directed by Shonali Bose, is the story of a girl, Laila, played by Kalki Koechlin, with cerebral palsy, who is on her journey to explore her sexual identity. On her quest, she falls in love with a blind Pakistani girl, played by Sayani Gupta. She even comes out to her mother as a bisexual person.

4.       Dear Dad (2016)

A directorial debut of Tanuj Bhramar, ‘Dear Dad’ is a story unlike all other LGBTQ films. A father and a son set out on a road trip, dropping the latter to his boarding school, discovering their lives as they open up to each other. The father, played by Arvind Swamy, chooses this trip as the right moment to come out as gay to his son, played by Himanshu Sharma. The son, not sure how to handle this news, even considers looking for a cure for his homosexual father.

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5.       Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019)

‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’ revolves around Sweety, portrayed by Sonam Kapoor, who finds herself in a tough spot as her family is convinced she is in love with a Muslim man, played by Rajkumar Rao. No one knows that the real trouble is that she is a lesbian in reality, stuck in the crosshairs of how to come out to her family.