Queer representation and the presence of LGBTQ+ characters throughout mainstream media has been booming in the past couple decades in Western countries. This is in large part to LGBTQ+ movies and TV shows from the past that were arguably ahead of their time in terms of representation. Outside of Western media, of course, it's important to acknowledge that similar strides in diversity and inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and stories are taking place in global film industries as well.
India, in particular, has recently decriminalized same-sex relationships, as reported by Time, which will, according to The Hollywood Reporter, further impact Bollywood movies and TV series. While Indian cinema has been no stranger to LGBTQ+ content, there's evidence (since the ruling) of an increase in production of stories where queer relationships and characters — as well as gender non-conforming, transgender, and non-binary characters — are proudly standing in the spotlight. Here are the best Indian movies and TV series with LGBTQ+ representation.
5 Cobalt Blue
Cobalt Blue is a romance and drama set in Goa during the 90s and follows the story of a young writer (Neelay Mehendale) caught in the middle of his family's issues and the rising student movements at his University. His and his sister's lives are starstruck with the arrival of a mysterious and handsome tenant at their house. From that moment on, a love triangle between Tanay (Mehendale), his sister (Anjali Sivaraman), and the newcomer (Prateik Babbar) begins and unfolds throughout the film.
Cobalt Blue is a book to film adaptation of Sachin Kundalkar's novel, who also serves as the film's director. This is a melancholic film able to carry out the narrative with grace and excitement until the last minute. The drama between the two siblings and how they overcome this struggle is a captivating experience. Ultimately, Cobalt Blue is an incredibly pleasant surprise for queer cinema internationally, with delicate yet sensual and romantic scenes that exhibit queer affection in such a beautiful and well put manner. Similar in theme and tone to Call Me By Your Name, Cobalt Blue is available on Netflix and is worth a screening.
4 Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
Featuring the lives of Aman (Jitendra Kumar) and Kartik (Ayushmann Khurrana), two men in love, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan tells their struggle to convince their families to accept their relationship and the different opinions and views each man has on the inherent tensions between coming out and traditional customs and values in society. Since things are never as easy as they seem, Aman's family decides to marry him off to a girl, and one has to watch how this romance will be resolved on the very same day the Indian Supreme Court rules in favor of decriminalizing same-sex relationships.
As a South Asian rom-com, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan's main achievement, besides the evident and much-needed gay representation, is how light-hearted the acceptance, coming out, and even discriminatory behavior is portrayed, which make such themes more approachable for society in general, and therefore is able to reach a greater number of people who wouldn't care to watch an LGBT-related film otherwise. The audience will definitely laugh during many scenes and be mesmerized by the world-known Bollywood dance scenes. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
3 Super Deluxe
Super Deluxe starts off when Mugil (Fahadh), the husband, isn't at home, and the wife, Vaembu asks her ex-lover whether he has forgotten about her and invites him over to her house. Before the audience can relax in their comfortable seats, a group of adolescent lads appear, hell-bent on realizing their adolescent dreams. Next up comes Raasukutti (the mind-blowing Ashwanth Ashokkumar), who has been waiting seven years for his father Manickyam (Vijay Sethupathi) to return home. And he does return, but this time as a transgender woman named Shilpa. Then, there's Dhanasekharan (Mysskin), a preacher who believes he was protected from the tsunami by God for a greater purpose.
Super Deluxe's director Thiagarajan Kumararaja addresses difficult subjects, such as adultery, stereotypes, and the challenges that transgender people confront in public and private spaces — everything from harassment in police custody to social humiliation and the lack of a gender-neutral bathroom. However, he has fumbled in a few scenes, which could have been handled with a great deal more sensitivity and consideration for a community that is already suffering greatly. Nonetheless, he brings the film to a satisfactory and all-encompassing climax. Rasukutty, in Shilpa's situation, has our complete attention and emotions. Only unconditional love is understood by a child's unbiased mind. In any guise or identity, he extends his arms and heart to his father. The transgender community longs for that kind of openness. The film is streaming on Netflix.
2 Four More Shots Please
The TV series set in the cosmopolitan city of Mumbai, is the first female-led project by Amazon in India resembling Sex and the City and also brings to the table a series of other subjects, such as queer and bi-characters. The show follows the lives of four young Indian women who have developed a close connection during their lives. The foursome congregates in a pub. Damini (a journalist), Anjana (the group's lone mother and a lawyer), Sidhi (the group's youngest member with an overprotective and marriage-obsessed mother), and, of course, Umang (an out bisexual personal trainer).
Umang's narrative (played by actress and model Gurbani Judge) is the main draw, but it was the arrival of actress Lisa Ray (I Can't Think Straight, The World Unseen) that audiences walk away remembering. Ray portrays Samara Kapoor, a well-known Bollywood actress who engages Umang to prepare her for a prospective part as an MMA fighter. Samara is well aware of the fickle nature of the film industry, and she is concerned that this may be one of her final roles if she does not demonstrate that she is still in fighting form. Umang and Samara quickly become friends (Umang has always had a thing for the actress) and embark on an age-gap romance. The first season was one of the three most watched Amazon original series in India in 2019, and the second season was considered the "most watched Indian show on the platform" in May 2020. Shortly after the release of the second season, Amazon announced that the third season was in progress.
1 Fire
The family drama Fire, directed by Deepa Mehta, is the study of a conservative society represented by its microcosm: the home. Men and women have clear gender-defined roles that neither challenges until the younger brother's bride arrives. When Radha (Karishma Jhalani) cannot have children, Ashok (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) does not turn her out or take on another woman. This intimate film explores the relationship that will be developed between Radha and his sister-in-law Sita (Nandita Das) with great doses of eroticism, and it's important to remember Mehta's movie was released in 1998, a long time before LGBTQ+ characters were common in media in general, and was therefore such an impactful venture for this director. Ultiamtely, Fire is a silent revolution that has a lot of force (as seen by the wrath and violence it sparked in right-wing minds), and its issues about men, women, desire, bodies, and sex are both timeless and timely.