#queer bollywood | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pearlgisa · 1 year

Text

badhaai do & filmfare and how it affects the queer movement

badhaai do won 6 filmfare awards!! and apart from that, 14 nominations. this is such a welcome surprise to me considering how much the filmfare panders to popular films and celebrities. while i'm convinced that best actor in a supporting role was robbed from gulshan devaiah (who played guru) as well as best dialogues + best director, let's not dwell on that negativity. the war to get same-sex marriage is still on. and i'd like to thank the team for dedicating their awards to the queer community. for those who have been complaining yet again that this was a profitable venture for the people involved, think again about how much it tanked in the box office. and yes, bhumi pednekar has addressed the on-going legal battle for same sex marriage here. i would ask for jaded queer individuals like me to step back and think that there are different ways of coming together to support a social cause. making an entire film is one of them. green lighting such a film is one of them. acting in such a film is one of them. considering what the extremely homophobic government is capable of, we must take all such things into account. and when queer icons like onir also come out in support of badhaai do (btw his red carpet look on filmfare >>>), we should take a page from their book to see where they are coming from. also i went and checked out the team behind badhaai do (not just the actors). apparently the director (harshavardhan kulkarni) and the editor (kirti nakhwa) are already in hot soup with the government since they returned a NATIONAL AWARD a few years back. their reason? the growing intolerance of the government. kinda iconic. and a reminder that this is the same government that routinely sends journalists, activists, historians to jail while dabbling in the same fields and falsifying facts and history. (lmao calling our trauma an "urban elite" problem is so ironic considering they are the urban elites). badhaai do getting the second highest number of filmfare awards is one of the many victories that we have secured. please remind yourself to not alienate any sort of support whatsoever just because it doesn't fit the stereotypical narrative of activism. and after all, activism in art is the most powerful of its kind, is it not?

#badhaai do #filmfare #same sex marriage #bhumi pednekar #rajkumar rao #harshavardhan kulkarni #sheeba chadda #gulshan devaiah #chum darang #lgbt in india #queer bollywood #lgbt #indian lgbt #lgbt movement in india #queer films #badhaai do won filmfare!!#maits.txt

120 notes · View notes

janaknandini-singh999 · 8 months

Text

Chapter 3:

"Oye, Shlokaa! Villu's saying that there are wayy more people here today than there were during the shaadi. I mean, of course the food is better and it just proves that we all attend like besharam to only eat! Anyway, I'll just greet them with Vilasini and apologize for not being present on the wedding. We'll back, k?" Aditi nudged Shlokaa's shoulder with two fingers, an old loving gesture of theirs, and then dragged Vilasini who was laughing with some other aunty.

"Sure." Shlokaa replied, in between chugging her mocktail. Her thoughts were still swirling over the last day's events when she had travelled the whole city like a tourist with Vilasini. For someone who has lived in one place her whole life, Shlokaa had to anxiously google all places of attraction just in case she left anything. But in the end - "screw it", she just visited two to three main places and then went with the flow carrying them wherever the wind went, while Vilasini asked random strangers their experiences and places they'd recommend.

"But.. we have google maps and reviews." Shlokaa said.

"Meri jaan, logo ke dil ki jo memories hoti hain woh internet pe nahi milti. I asked them their favourite places, not a five star hotel." Vilasini chuckled.

Shlokaa had smiled, so they really couldn't help but go with the flow - even though she couldn't quite understand what Vilasini said in the beginning. Now, Shlokaa' hindi was a little weak (the beginning of her childhood years she had spent abroad and now the westernized accent and language wasn't leaving her) and Vilasini's was surprisingly good for a South Indian.

Meri- what?

What had she called her?

She'd ask her someday.

Suddenly, Vilasini had excitedly pointed at something. "Would you LOOK at that beautiful sunset?" Shlokaa had turned her head ahead. It was definitely beautiful. She had spent years in this city, seen countless of these sunsets but it was as if Vilasini's presence just brightened and heightened every part of existence around. Everything was the same old thing yet so different. Like a rebirth.

Vilasini then had grabbed her hand and sprinted to an ice cream stall as they had watched the sunset while eating ice cream together.

"Heyo, cutie Buttercup." Shlokaa was knocked into reality from her reverie, coming back into the reception. She turned around. Only one person called her that.

"Manika." Shlokaa nodded slowly

Manika gestured her champagne glass into a raising a toast position, then advanced towards her friend, so smoothly as if gliding. She was wearing a sparkling black sari, looking as deviously enchanting as ever. Her deep green bangles clanking as she moved, her magnificent chandelier earrings swaying and nath glinting in the dark as mischievously as her, her siren eyes contrasting with her rosy face, her skinny figure contrasting with her wide hips. She was a sea of contradictions but it suited her well, guys would lay down their lives for her.

"What a pleasure to see the local baddie here!" Manika hooked her arms with Shlokaa's. "Thank God, I would've been bored to death here if it weren't for you, honey. After all, I can't mingle with all the oldies and kids and weirdos.. unlike that damn lesbian."

Shlokaa's heart stopped briefly. Her breathing shook. Her gaze toppled. A hot flower bloomed inside and instantly shed its petals on her heart but instead of petals landing softly, it was like mines dropping and exploding. A cold knife plunged right across her gut. She was blinded - all she could see was darkness.

"Who?" It was like Shlokaa wasn't even speaking, someone else in her body was.

"Vilasini. Ew. I don't even wanna take her name." And Shlokaa ran. Ran forward with all her might in heavy, painful but very fast steps.

"That's right, darling. Show her what happens when anomalies mess up good ambience." Manika scoffed

But as soon as Shlokaa saw Vilasini, she froze. All her running but time was slowed down on seeing her. It was happening again. All over again. Vilasini, surprised but happy at seeing Shlokaa just smiled and waved her to come join. Vilasini, in her warm fire coloured salwar and chaand baaliya, standing next to Aditi in her silver sari. They were all picture perfect. Until they weren't.

Shlokaa dragged Vilasini in a corner, not too much away from the crowd but not too near either. "Kya hua, meri pyaari-" Vilasini started and suddenly Shlokaa slapped her, sharply right across her face. A small echo rung across the entire field for a moment. Some abruptly stopped talking and stared at them, some continued - not caring and mumbling "arey kya kare bacche toh ladte rehte hain." Vilasini almost tripped from the shock. Her automatic expression was to smile but she was finding it hard to do it right now, still she managed. "Shlokaa, is everythi-"

Another slap, a harder one. A punch probably, Vilasini couldn't tell because she blanked and fell down hard this time, tumbling on the grass as it sloped. She softly put a finger on her face, the corner of her mouth twitching as she realized her upper lip bleeding slightly, her salwar torn a little bit at its neck. Her eyes were swelling with tears too now, she had tried to withhold them but the pain was too much.

"Are you.. are you into girls?" She almost slapped the question on Vilasini as well, the heat rushing back into her because of.... God knows WHAT? She had just slapped this girl, thinking it'll kill the heat coz she thought it was caused by shame and anger but-!?

"Is this all--!?? how could you.. I... listen carefully, Shlokaa. I don't care for you in that manner. Better get that inside. your. head." Vilasini hissed.

Shlokaa had seen many angry people in her life, in fact she loved imagining and making up scenarios of situations and people in different emotions. But she found it impossible to picture Vilasini furious. And now that she was, it was.. something else entirely. Nothing objectively aggressive like she had observed of other people. This. It tugged something so much at her and she lost complete control of her senses, freezing again. She didn't know what to say. "So, you only care about girls you're.. into?"

"What. the. HELL is wrong with YOU!? Have you gone MAD??? Do you even know what you're blabbering on about?" Vilasini's voice cracked

And so did Shlokaa's heart, just the littlest bit. "Nice" she thought. She thought her heart must've been lomg destroyed by now but cracking meant it still existed. But she had been thinking so wrong all this time. Her insides jumped and screamed at her, she wanted to move fast, just do something. Anything. But the last time she did that, which was just now - she had ended up slapping someone.

"Villu-- VILASINI!!! ARE YOU OK?! OH GOD. WHAT HAPPENED??" Aditi came scrambling and helped Vilasini to her feet, who groaned just a bit at being lifted. She had fallen and shifted her weight on her elbow too it seemed because it hurt as she moved it.

"Nothing," Vilasini smiled.

She did it.

She finally managed to smile even in a situation like this one. Even though it was a little painful because of the cut on her lip.

Shlokaa had wanted her to fight back, hit her, get even, then forgive. Not smile like this. Because it hurt more than anything physical ever could.

Vilasini's voice quietly thundered

"Looks like your friend is done with my energy. She's used hers up showing me the city so her duty is done anyway. Maybe she just didn't like my face after all? Why else would you do this to an otherwise pretty one? But guess what, I didn't like her either. Tell her I don't want to see her stupid, smug face. ever. again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vilasini sighed on the railway station bench late at night and checked her watch. She was leaving. And it was now or never. The reason she had stayed longer in this city was also ironically the reason she was doing this tonight. She hadn't even told Aditi about it. She'd tell as soon as she would reach home, she'd apologize, her cousin would understand. She could feel her eyes moisting again. She was so tired.

A hoot. She got up, dusted herself off and walked away, looking back one last time towards the city lights as she boarded. She couldn't get herself to walk inside right away for some reason so she stepped and lingered at the door. Suddenly, the train started moving so she headed inside.

"VILASINI!"

"Shlokaa?" She couldn't believe her ears

But here she was, running to her, running with the train. In the same outfit she had been wearing in the reception. Night sky deep blue lehenga and anklets twinkling with her sad eyes, kajal smudging everywhere.

"Have you been crying?" Vilasini whispered

"I should ask that to you. You look-"

"Not again. So, you really are a mad girl.

Vilasini couldn't believe any of the last two days that took place, everything happened so fast. But she ached so much, she wasn't even sure if she was paining because of herself or because of her. Why would she bother to for someone who had made a place in her heart so quickly but devastated it just as quickly?

"Please forgive me." Shlokaa pleaded, the city lights flashing in her eyes, running faster as the train did, almost tripping, Vilasini's heart skipped.

But then she did it. She didn't slap her or hit her. But she pushed her. Ever so gently that you couldn't even call it a push. Just a touch with her palm and a soft push. Shlokaa lost her grip, tripped and went swirling onto the railway platform but regained balance soon.

She didn't even fall or face any injury. She heaved slowly, standing frozen on her spot as she saw the train slowly going out of view now.

17 notes · View notes

desi-lgbt-fest · 11 months

Note

idk why is it that i feel so taken aback when any bollywood celebrity (whether actor or director) talks about queer media that they have consumed & liked? like i was so shocked at sidharth malhotra saying schitt's creek is one of his comfort shows or anurag kashyap recommending a book where two fathers go on to take revenge against the people who killed their queer sons. i mean it's a good kind of shock but it's so difficult for me to expect that kind of appreciation from them ig? maybe because everytime i think about queerness in bollywood my brain flashes back to the queerphobic comments at bollywood award & talk shows that it seems so very unlikely to me that these people can appreciate queer media. idk what i wanted to say from this exactly but like just wanted to point out the deep distrust i have for bollywood & idk when that will go away lol.

Times have truly changed. It's bare minimum for sure and definitely there's still a lot of people who are actively or subtly still harbour homophobic beliefs. But it's just not a trend for them to speak that out loud.

Just like there must've been supporting people back then as well but it would've been career suicide for the allies to speak up back then. The livelihood of people in entertainment industry is so reliant on public favour, I wouldn't recommend relying on their open support for any controversial issue.

So if Siddharth Malhotra says his fav show is Schitts Creek, it's only indicative of the favourable times that we live in and not really his support or his public stand.

I do celebrate and appreciate representation in Bollywood. I do believe in Bollywood's power to reflect and reshape public opinion. But i wouldn't be too reliant on mainstream media to lend support to social issues like these.

#queer bollywood #og mod

32 notes · View notes

aaric-s-haven · 1 year

Text

TRUSTFALL - A War (2019) fanfiction

Aka

Excerpt/Part One of Something I may never post cuz I'm lazy like that

Because there is nothing stopping me from writing a Khalid x Kabir fanfiction, so what was I waiting for really.

Featuring a surprisingly shy Kabir, a very oblivious simp Khalid and a very long suffering Aditi whispering Now Kiss anytime they are in the same room.

Major Kabir Dhaliwal is a very distrustful person, everybody at RAW knew that. It was given considering the turbulent past with which he had made his entry as a field agent. Not yet twenty one and already having to kill his mentor. There were all sorts of stories about their bond. Some said they were in love, some said they were but father and son. Nobody talked about how much Kabir's personality flipped after the betrayal. How a bright kid with a ready smile on his face turned into a hypervigilant, stern wreck overnight. The soft greens of his eyes turned piercing and cold overnight. Nobody faulted him for it and certainly no one tried to tell him to take his ass to therapy. They valued their life too much. There would be whispering in corridors, not-so-subtle glances as he passed by, a boy who killed his mentor without flinching was not a man they wanted to cross on negative or friendly terms. It was better to gawk at him in awe, keep him at an arm's distance. Kabir was used to stares anyway.

Kabir is an easily flustered person and absolutely nobody outside the team knew. As Aditi often said, his ‘tell’ is clear as day and people are just blind motherfuckers. He would bite the inside of his lips and avert his eyes, trying to rub the blush off his ears. If one was lucky they would witness his soft exasperated laugh as he tried to hide the rising redness of his ears. A lot of pre-betrayal Kabir had faded out a long time ago but being highly uncomfortable with compliments, especially ones that made him feel nice, remained. Kabir was the oxymoron of a confident flirt and a flustering recipient. He was honestly better at responding to the wandering hands of a stranger than a genuine compliment. You can slap a bitch but you can't slap somebody whose company is very much his guilty pleasure, A.K.A his team.

His spoiled and completely shameless team, taking advantage of this, had made a game out of making him blush.Years of trained poker face was weak in front of the power of bad pick up lines and clumsy attempts at hiding their genuine fondness for him, from people he would give his life for. They had long ago stopped fearing him for most part, a fact he did not approve of because that meant that they had grown enough spine to make him a part of their little competitions. All his punishments involved extra drills and pushing them hard, something that was enough to put the fear of God in his juniors, but somehow these brats didn't give a flying fuck.

Aditi was in the lead, though according to Saurabh it wasn't fair because Aditi was Kabir's favorite. She could get away with more audacious lines the rest of them can't even hope to speak. Not without Hardass Kabir making vengeful comebacks in training sessions. They only had themselves to blame for the increased drills that followed.

Paranoid Kabir and blushing mess Kabir had never met. After all, he only got flustered by people he loved. Until a certain day, when a new member entered their team, an oxymoron personality to rival Kabir himself. Khalid Rahmani.

AN: I obviously took some liberties and added a team dynamic that we barely got a glimpse of in the movie. All that hinted towards it in the movie was that scene where Kabir was extremely suspicious of Khalid and extremely protective of his team when he was being an ass towards the poor guy. Also when Aditi shamelessly flirted with him and he ducked his head with a smile, while fake Khalid/Saurabh followed it up with get in line. I mean, Khalid and Kabir's obvious chemistry doesn't explain why Saurabh so comfortably went with the flirting. Hence my headcanon that they all were shameless brats, making a game of hitting on Kabir.

Also Kabir centric cuz repressed men are pathetic little meow meows and I like torturing them

#Kabir x Khalid #kabir dhaliwal #khalid rehmani #war (2019)#queer bollywood #bollywood #i love Aditi incase you didnt notice #she gives off chaos gremlin/bosslady #hrithik roshan #tiger shroff #btw in this pic tiger could uk be more subtle while simping

25 notes · View notes

eremin0109 · 2 years

Text

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui and Badhaai Do are the best fucking queer films in the history of cinema and this post is a big ass FUCK YOU AND YOUR SHITTY OPINIONS to all the homophobes and (some of) our very own queer "critics" who hail problematic shit in BLs and Hollywood as the epitome of queer representation but downgrade anything genuine that Bollywood/Indian media puts out.

#eW sTrAiGhT pEoPlE pReTenDinG tO bE gAy--#Honestly the queer people being pissed me off more than your regualr homophobes #Like the people that hate us I can understand them bashing the film #But when your own people do it????#Honestly y'alls opinions are invalid and these are all the best fucking films ever PERIODT #queer bollywood #queer desi #LGBTQ #Bollywood #ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga #shubh mangal zyada saavdhan #chandigarh kare aashiqui #badhaai do

141 notes · View notes

vampiric-bruce-wayne · 2 months

Text

genuinely i feel like the way rocky lives life is something that would make such a good guide on how to be a secure person also like as a trans guy rocky is the kind of guy i want to be. should i write it analysing his behaviour? yes? definitely right?

#rocky aur rani ki prem kahani #rocky aur rani kii prem kahaani #rocky randhawa #rani chatterjee #bollywood #queer #queer bollywood #trans #transmasc

2 notes · View notes

kwangnyangie · 2 years

Text

how do i stomach the fact that celebrity chef ranveer brar

is gonna romance pratik gandhi of all people!?!!?

this is an insane fever dream

#modern love mumbai #queer bollywood #bollywood #pratik gandhi #ranveer brar

109 notes · View notes

spaceangst · 2 years

Text

“you were like a god to me.”

ahahaha so i can't seem to get rid of my war (2019) khalid and kabir hyperfixation, so i give you. war 2, the fic. written by me, a struggling queer desi during pride month bc if bollywood will not give me the canon queer rep we deserve, i shall do it myself.

on a more serious note, i think this was a perfect opportunity to give us some queer representation that didn't center around the characters' sexualities as the story; rather, it could've been a story about the plot as it were, and the sexualities as just. normal. bc people are so very queer too.

and with that, i give you my fic: “you were like a god to me.”

title inspired by dialogue from one of my favorite scenes from the movie. feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments, please, it would mean the world to me !!

39 notes · View notes

kay-claire · 2 years

Photo

The pre-order for my second book’s paperback is now open!! All book info here

I’m so excited for these! I think the notebook is going to be ADORABLE

#pre-order campaign #my books #my writing #my art #merch #romance book #queer bollywood #queer author #kittens #cat #writerblr #writer #author

3 notes · View notes

myadhdficramblings · 1 year

Text

**A soty fanfic for Abhi/Rohan ship**

In Love with my BFF

Relationships: Rohan Nanda/Abhimanyu Singh

Summary: Joining the St. Teresa's college is supposed to be Abhimanyu Singh's perfect chance to wipe his overly messy slate clean and start over afresh. Except the popular and super rich fellow student, Rohan Nanda refuses to leave Abhi alone - declaring a one-sided war from the moment they crossed paths and hell-bent on driving the new student crazy.

However, Rohan has no idea that their instant rivalry would pretty soon lead to an amazing friendship. But not before throwing a wrench in Abhi's carefully crafted plans and causing further chaos in his already turbulent life!

Words: 77460 Chapters: 6/10 (ongoing fic)

AO3 LINK

#student of the year #abhimanyu/rohan #queer soty agenda #AbhiRohan fanfic #enemies to friends to lovers #mutual pining #abhimanyu singh #rohan nanda #soty #queer bollywood #abhiro

5 notes · View notes

pariaritzia · 7 months

Text

Ranveer Singh and Tota Roy Choudhury performing kathak, an Indian classical dance form typically performed by women, in ROCKY AUR RANI KII PREM KAHAANI (2023)

#bollywood #rocky aur rani kii prem kahaani #ranveer singh #tota roy choudhury #adventures in gifmaking #gonna have to add another installment to my queerness in indian media series #tho I won't be returning to that for a while bc as I said before....it's kind of exhausting lol #but anyway seeing this in the theatre. transcendent. delightful. euphoric. breathtaking. marvelous.#audience cheering and clapping and so happy #and the fact it's ranveer singh....and karan johar directing....feels good #saw in a film companion interview that this was inspired from karan johar's own life bc he said he was 'effeminate' and-#-danced to the women's parts of bollywood songs as a child #glad he got to display this on the big screen in a big budget mainstream hindi movie! and it is positive! and the audience took it well!#long post

216 notes · View notes

desi-lgbt-fest · 2 years

Note

queer desi culture is wondering if the actors & directors of rrr & soty know that their movie has queer subtext (that is on the verge of becoming text) in it. like they HAVE to know, right? they acted in it?

(like no way in hell did sidharth & varun film the scenes where they give long sappy looks at each other & thought 'yep, this is 100% straight', right? or rajamouli was like 'yep, this is all hetero bromance' while directing rrr, right? RIGHT???)

(also, i love how soty & rrr have become a fodder for the queer desi fandom lmao!!)

Well it has been traditional for desi movies to have a strong male bond. SOTY or RRR are not the first movies to be about tenuously formed male friendship that slowly takes over their previous priorities. The 80s and 90s were rife with them. Iconic pairs like Amitabh- Dharmendra, Akshay Kumar- Saif Ali Khan etc made a lot of movies like that. Coincidentally that was the time when first winds of Queer Activism were blowing.

Actors are not oblivious. They probably know. But the story demands that. If I make a friend for whom i give up my dream in third act, i need to look at him like I will give up anything for him in second act. You cannot sell your story otherwise. So they know.

Most of the time they hope general audience doesn't pick up on it and they don't care if queer or queer aware people do, as they are a tiny minority. And majority audience doesn't really pick up on it.

I just read an article the other day about all the movies that had friendship based love expressed through songs, hope you find it interesting.

In fact, check the author out, he has other such articles too

#asks #sorry for the mini rant #queer bollywood #soty #rrr #anonymous #og mod

65 notes · View notes

aaric-s-haven · 2 years

Text

Did I accidentally write a four thousand word SOMETHING in one night on Kabir x Khalid because I'm going through my hrithik phase while having an exam on mathematical physics literally on Monday?

Yes.

Don't be like me.

It sucks

#hrithik roshan #war #queer bollywood #tiger shroff #the green eyed man is a bottom guys #why are all of you believing its gonna be Khalid who bottomd

41 notes · View notes

bishh-kanya · 2 years

Text

Things Desiblr made me realise & do :

That it's actually really cool to be a Desi .

Old Bollywood movies >>>>

Every Desi girl should wear saree and wear bindi and feel like a retro Indian movie star.

Indian history supports queer people , so whenever your aunt is being homophobic , proudly say her , she knows nothing !!!!! If you wanna know more read "Shikhandi " by Devdutt Pattanaik .

What as an Indian man are you doing if you aren't writing poetry?

That nothing can compare to Indian humour .

Indian goddess are the actual baddies .

Haseena's and brown munde's >>>>> rest of population.

Ittar >>> perfume .

Urdu & Persian poetry are top tier .

Kannada devotional writers like Akka Mahadevi are like diamond in the dust .

A gajra >>>french kiss.

Jasmine & lotus are not just flowers .

Pasoori rules the world right now .

Be free like Geet and bounce back like Bulbul .

Madhubala is the embodiment of being gorgeous and cute at the same time .

Rekha is a Siren .

Learning Sanskrit is a rich experience .

Draupadi's vengeance created wars , so can yours .

Kishore Kumar for rain , Lata Mangeshkar for prem .

Alka Yagnik for feeling confident .

Indian rap is richer and sounds more poetic .

96 sanskrit words for love >>>>> the word love .

South Indian movies have the perfect balance of romance and action .

Khanjar is mightier than a sword.

Ye Maharani banke kaha ja rahi hai >>>> you look beautiful honey.

The tension between me and a cute boy at a puja pandal >>>>>>> speed of the earth rotation .

Gold >>>> any other metal

Chandni raat is for romance .

Talk to me in ghazals and geets only !

And many more .......

Writing this made me love being an Indian more !!!!!

If you want add yours , I'd love to read.

#desiblr #desi tag #desi dark academia #desi academia #desi culture #desi aesthetic #indian academia #queer #writing #rekha #madhubala #kishore kumar #lata mangeshkar #alka yagnik #bollywood #devdutt pattanaik #thoughts #indian aesthetic

3K notes · View notes