LQBTQ and its filming in BollywoodImage Credit Source: Social Media
After 77 years of independence we can see many changes in the society and one of the biggest changes is that today most of the people of our country can live their lives with freedom as per their wish. There was a time when as soon as we were born we were taught to live for others, to compromise and accept conflict as the basic mantra of a happy life. But today as man is becoming educated and self-reliant, his thinking is becoming independent.
In these 77 years, the meaning of relationships is also changing. A live-in relationship has come between marriage and commitment. There was a lot of discussion about this. Just as the perception of a live-in relationship raises questions, living with a preferred partner under homosexuality also faces opposition. Neither same-sex relationships have been accepted by society nor films made on the subject.
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Films about LGBTQ
While making films on every subject, Bollywood has also made many films on LGBTQ. 28 years ago i.e. in the year 1996, when Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi’s film Fire was released, there was a lot of uproar. The film is still controversial because of the same-sex relationships it depicts. Like ‘Fire’, there were many films about same-sex relationships, but these films were not very successful. But there was a lot of discussion about him. For example, Bollywood tried to talk about this topic with many films like Girlfriend, Margarita with Straw, Manoj Bajpayee’s Aligarh, Kapoor and Sons, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, Shubh Mangal Jyada Savdhan.
Hope comes from movies
Films on topics like LGBTQ are definitely different. But in this we are talking about people living in society who cannot share their problems or sorrows with everyone. One always suffers from the pain of not being able to tell one’s truth. The emotions of such people are exposed through films and it would not be wrong to say that some films based on LGBTQ relationships can, if only for a moment, light a beacon of hope for those who are going through such a delicate phase. Stuck in the confusion of right and wrong.
Audience reaction
Everyone has their own perspective. For example, if a half glass of water is placed on the table, some people call the glass half empty, while others call it half full. This means that sometimes a relationship that is considered wrong by society is also considered right in the eyes of some people. But just as people are reluctant to speak openly about a topic like homosexuality, so is the audience’s attitude towards films made on the subject and this is the reason why despite winning many awards and accolades, these films fail at the box office. But he is unable to show his magic.
Change is happening slowly
It is said that films are the mirror of society. Whatever is happening in the society, it is tried to be shown in films. For a long time, people from the transgender or LGBTQ community were only kept for comedy in Indian films. Now slowly a change is being seen in this craft. Efforts are being made to normalize it mostly on OTT. Even though it can be challenging for the film industry to make films on homosexuality considering people’s preferences on screen. But in real life, many Bollywood celebrities have started talking openly about this.
Film critic and expert Aarti Saxena, speaking on the whole subject, said that people’s thinking about homosexuality films and Bollywood’s thinking on the subject are completely different. Earlier, these relationships were considered ‘vices of the rich’ or ‘disorders of society’ and the Hindi film industry was blamed for spreading this disorder. Perhaps this is also because people in the film industry first started talking openly about their sexuality. Therefore, he was accused of corrupting society.
Aarti continued, “Now Bollywood Or the rich people of the corporate world as well as ordinary people are openly talking about their homosexuality. Even today no particular section of the society considers it suitable but the number of people joining this section is increasing day by day. As it is said in English, ‘co-existence’, gradually people have also come to believe in ‘co-existence’. Even on social media, many people from the LGBTQ community are seen talking openly about their relationships and there was a time when only hate-filled comments were posted under their videos. But now gradually even those comments are decreasing.
Find out what people in this community think
We also spoke with a model from the LGBTQ community about this whole issue. The model, who did not want to be named, said that when we talk about Bollywood films and homosexuality, we should also talk about the treatment given to those associated with it by society. Even today, if we go to find an apartment alone or with a partner, no one gives us a house. We have to prove that we are brothers, only then will we get a home to live in.
The model further said that even in a city like Mumbai, there are very few people outside our industry who talk to us without any discrimination. But some people think that we force relationships with other boys and then because of our force the young men become homosexual. Even today, if one of us dies in marriage, his spouse does not inherit his money or property. Because there is no law to give maintenance allowance to one’s partner. Because of this, if one of the couples who have been living together for years dies, the other is completely ruined. In such a situation, a person has to suffer psychologically and financially.
Overall, it can be said that a start has been made, but it may take time to completely change the attitude of the society. Obviously many people will not be able to watch the romance of two heroes or two heroines in the theater now, but until then it will be enough to see these people as human beings.
