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pariaritzia · 10 months

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Queerness in Indian Media

↳Film: RRR (2022, Telugu), dir. S.S. RAJAMOULI

RRR is a historical fantasy action drama that follows Bheem (NTR Jr), a Gond warrior who is in search of a Gond girl who was taken away from their home, and Ram (Ram Charan), the British Army officer assigned to catch him. Ram and Bheem meet under false identities and quickly grow closer, but everything is thrown into chaos once the truth is revealed and Ram is forced to choose between his ambitions and his attachment to Bheem.

Long before any white person had ever heard of RRR, queer Indians were cautiously optimistic that there would be something for us in this movie. There was the song Dosti, which felt more romantic than the average song about friendship; Bheem's intense declaration toward Ram in the trailer; Rajamouli explaining that there is no boy-girl romantic song (a staple of masala Indian cinema in any language) because "the romance angle is between these two guys only...bromance...they are the heroes, they are the hero and heroine, and they are the hero and villain"; the lead actors repeatedly questioning interviewers who referred to Jenny and Seetha as Bheem and Ram's love interests; and the writer, V. Vijayendra Prasad, being a huge fan of Salim-Javed movies, particularly Sholay, whose homosocial pairing has been read as queer by queer Indians for decades.

The movie itself gave us more than we could have hoped for from a project made on such a huge scale. Ram and Bheem mimic many of the "hero and heroine" pairings in so many masala movies, doing everything from the "slow-mo staring" for the first meeting, to getting a whole montage song for the progression of their bond, to dressing each other up, to dancing together at a party, to carrying each other, to rescuing each other.

The final rescue scene is perhaps the most telling, as it twists a well-known myth from the Ramayana by putting Ram and Bheem in the position of heroine and hero. It is not Hanuman who tells Rama where to find Sita in Lanka, but instead Seetha who tells Bheem where to find Ram. Bheem, upon finding him, promises to get him out 'even if [he has] to burn this Lanka down to do it'--then promptly carries him on his shoulders the way Hanuman carried Rama, to do away with any suspicions from homophobic audiences.

Those homophobic audiences still made their complaints--a glance at the oldest comments on any clip or behind the scenes video for RRR will make that clear--but they were drowned out by the many fans of the movie. Ultimately, like with any coded movie, the interpretation is up to the individual, but it is undeniable that a number of queer Indians felt that there was a romantic bond between Ram and Bheem. To dismiss that would do a disservice to the many queer people who have, are, and always will work quietly behind the scenes to write our stories, even if they can never say so directly.

#rrr #tollywood #rambheem #this was the hardest post to make simply bc every time I talk about rrr I feel very #'this article contains excessive information' dot wikipedia warning.#thank you to my beloved ivy who has heard all my Excessive Information. ur a real one.#anyway I really had to restrain myself with this one and still it is the longest post for this series. rip.#anyway. wanted to do this one before pride month ends and before I take a break from this series #to make other gifs for a while bc quite frankly these take a long time to put together and I need. a break.#queerness in indian media #long post

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celluloidrainbow · 7 months

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मजा मा | MAJA MA (2022) dir. Anand Tiwari Pallavi Patel is the quintessential, middle aged, devoted housewife who is equally famous for her dance as she is for her cooking. Her husband, Manohar Patel, is the chairman of the local society, her daughter Tara is getting her PhD in sexuality and gender identity, and her son Tejas, who lives in America, is about to marry into a rich but very strict family. But when Tejas' future in-laws come to visit, the accidental revelation of Pallavi's 30-year-old secret puts both the marriage and the Patel's reputation in danger.

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b0tsbby · 6 months

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No cause I actually love the episodes where Nathanial Curtis and Caroline Ford just casually live actioned Dolph and Sarah. Like, now they will always be Dolph and Sarah to me I truly loved it so much.

#captain laserhawk #it solidified Dolph as a character for me so much more #and made me cry a lil seeing a Queer POC as an MC in a piece of media like this #cause Adi low-key did hint at CL also exploring his identity as a queer indian #Just seeing that shit in such an imaginative setting and space was so #ughhhh #I love you so much Dolph #you mean so much to me😔✊#captain laserhawk spoilers

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oldtvandcomics · 1 year

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Happy Queer Media Monday!

Today: Badhai Do (2022) (Title translates to “Give the Good News”)

(The two main characters hiding in a closet, from a promotional poster.)

Badhaai Do is an Indian comedy movie about a gay police officer and a lesbian sports teacher, who get married in hopes of getting their families to stop nagging them about being single. Hijinks ensue, as they both pursue their own romantic relationships on the side, try to keep up the semblance of a good couple, and need to find an explanation about why after a year, they still don’t have any children.

It is a funny movie, that is clearly made with the aim to humanize queer people and champion equal rights, which it is really good at. It also has a very realistic feeling to it. I have no doubt that many queer people have lived, and are still living, this exact same life. It is especially nice that, all in all, it is a happy story. We as a community do tend to have a slight tendency to assume that the only way of being happy is to be 100% out, which is why we really need more stories like this or The Blue Caftan (2022), where gay people in more traditional societies live perfectly happy and fulfilled lives.

Badhaai Do is available on Netflix.

Queer Media Monday is an action I started to talk about some important and/or interesting parts of our queer heritage, that people, especially young people who are only just beginning to discover the wealth of stories out there, should be aware of. Please feel free to join in on the fun and make your own posts about things you personally find important!

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dykeinthedark · 8 months

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i can't watch silly romantic movies/tv shows about highschoolers because the only thing i'm thinking while watching is You Will Break Up 3 Months After Graduation

#highschool sweethearts are cringe #this is not queer specific but it's also why i haven't watched heartstopper yet. im sorry teenagers are annoying abt romance #like i just hate All highschool romance media. not sexuality or race specific! (i also didn't like nhie even though im indian)

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pandasmagorica · 8 months

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First watch: Neverland

This is an all-too-short web series (shy of 1.5 hours total) from India about a lesbian couple who face the disapproval of their families when one of them comes out at college graduation, leading to their separation.

There's a lot of sturm und drang getting there, but there's ultimately a happy ending. Still, there are supportive side characters that help them get through, and the families' opposition, while unpleasant, isn't over the top.

Some technical issues: I occasionally needed the subtitles (the actor playing Rooh tended to swallow the ends of her lines and some lines by both main actors were delivered more quietly than others) and the subtitles weren't always available (and went out of sync, early by several seconds mid-episode once), but 99% of the dialog is in English and the story is totally follow-able without them.

While the episodes are way too short, no time is wasted and they hit the story points hard. I recommend this series. Thank you to @twig-tea for the rec.

Spoilers follow

Early in the series, Rooh and Aditi confess to each other and begin a relationship. But when Rooh comes out at graduation, her father flips out and Aditi's mother starts trying to set Aditi, still in the closet, up with her since-childhood male friend Rishi. Rishi, fortunately, has sized up the score and is supportive. Nevertheless, Rooh gives Aditi an ultimatum to run away with her, Aditi misses the connection, and Rooh disappears.

I was so frustrated with Rooh at this point. Coming out is an individual decision, and I feel she was putting too much pressure on Aditi. The scene is set before the India Supreme Court decision legalizing homosexual acts between adults - it plays a part in the plot - but even if it hadn't been, it's still an unfair ask.

So Rooh disappears for two years where she does very well in her career, to the point where her success is publicized. Aditi brings this to Rooh's father's attention The unshown assumption is that in the interim, Rooh's father has made it clear to Aditi that, whatever he thinks about Rooh being lesbian, he wants his daughter back. Rooh returns, and wants to start over with Aditi, which Aditi rejects. Aditi does show up with her family at Rooh's house for the holi festival, but declines to trade color powder with Rooh. I'm aware of the festival, but don't really know the etiquette. Still, I'd guess declining to trade turns smearing colored powder on each other is an awkward decision and it was clear from their acting that it was indeed an awkward moment for both of them.

As for myself, I came out once on a small scale, realized I wasn't ready, and went back into the closet for several years until I realized I was going to drive myself crazy if I didn't. Aditi has her own aha moment when her family is about to leave, when her mother asks Aditi if Rooh is still a lesbian. Aditi realizes she needs to come out, and takes Rooh back in the most public way possible, with a kiss.

Still, it was abrupt. Much as I was glad to see Aditi and Rooh together, I'm not sure the filmmakers earned it. It probably needed at least one more episode to get there.

At the same time, I have to acknowledge this was probably a low-budget production and if they were going to spend money on anything, I would wish them to spend it on improved sound. Not sure they could do anything about that at this point except to overdub, and that can sound strange.

In a coda, we see Aditi and Rooh sometime later, together, living apart from their families, but still in contact with them, happy.

#neverland series #neverland web series #indian queer #indian QL #indian GL #pandasmagorica #gl series #gl drama #ql series #ql drama #saphic media

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rares-posts · 1 year

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Was I expecting to cry while watching Badhaai Do? Yea

Did I? YEAH

The last twenty minutes literally all I did was bawl my eyes out bro.

#badhaai do #indian queer media #queer media #asian lgbtq movies

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forkaround · 7 months

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Can you imagine a British author writing an Indian story from your culture? That’s Mame writing gay stories. There’s BL that is more fanatical and can be written by anyone vs Queer Stories that are written by real life gay people. Most BLs fall somewhere in that spectrum.

Great work using Britain. Thank you for the colonial lecture. As if what Britian did to India is the same as what you are saying MAME is doing. What a way to reduce the impact, horror and tragedy of one of the worst things to ever happen.

More to your point: I'm not a big British Drama watcher but I do watch American shows. I've seen the most stereotypical depictions of Indians (Rajesh Koothrappali from The Big Bang Theory) and some brilliant ones (Priyanka Chopra as Alex Parrish in Quantico) and some mid-level ones like Kal Penn's character on House. I've enjoyed them all. My friends have enjoyed them all. Raj is one of our favorite characters.

Anyway, yeah, queer media exists on a spectrum. Realistic isn't superior to fantastical and vice versa. So why is it that the general consensus is that a gay man is the only one who can write honest and realistic queer characters? I don't see the same being said for lesbian women. Or Trans people. Has anyone wondered if MAME might be queer herself? No. She has been assumed to be straight. The cishet woman here to destroy the queer man.

And this is a distinctly foreign phenomenon. Asians love her. MAME hasn't done anything that men in BL haven't done. But she is the only one getting vitriol thrown her way.

#mame #indian #fork answers #queer media #queer media analysis #bl media #yaoi

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everyday-is-brighter-with-you · 1 year

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Hey!! People who still visit this blog for any reason ...and bored people! Curious people! People with entirely too much time on their hands! People who like cringe! HEAR YE...

(Plain text: Hey!! People who still visit this blog for any reason...and bored people! Curious people! People with entirely too much time on their hands! People who like cringe! HEAR YE...)

So, um. Basically I'm trying to like, start an OCverse. And you know, if you want to collaborate, and help, and bounce ideas, and have fun because this isn't supposed to be that serious all the time, and stuff, you know, that would be, COOL

It's still just a little sprout, my verse. Actually let me tell you how this started. Well you see I'm in this fandom....and I made a lot of stuff for this fandom.....and now I realised that workload is way, way too much, and I'm FINALLY just keeping it solidly on the side, or atleast trying to. People who've known me for a while will know this fandom is for the 2019 game Smile For Me. People who've known me longer than that while( if I've told them) will know I eventually accumulated all that Stuff into an AU, which I go by calling Roseverse these days.

But, Well! You don't really need to know all that,

Because, you see, this OCverse ( working name is Fading Edge after one of my first Tumblr usernames HA) started out as me OC-fying that AU, but now after a few weeks in incubation it's becoming it's own thing.

And...well....look...I have my friends, but the ones I'm talking to about this right now to try and develop it are, well Busy. So I'm reaching a branch out to you good folks on Tumblr....please, if anyone's interested, help me write!

To let this not turn into a giant ramble ...let me just put down the Qualifications(LOL) that you need to get ON THIS WAGON!;

--Uh, please be tolerant of LGBT/Queer stuff. I know this is Tumblr but one can never be too safe. I'm, like, bi, so if you hate me we can't really make this a good partnership man.

-- Not required but if you're Indian as well, Hi! I am too and most likely the majority of the OCs or atleast the main ones will be so we may have an easier time with that aspect due to our shared background, maybe. The MCs are of Tamil descent if it matters.

-- Also not required but if you have previous knowledge of the game I mentioned AKA Smile For Me or S4M as it is shortened, just the canon is enough, I think we could, with some explaining, work out more on how certain character interpretations or general ideas can translate to original work without being the exact same. If you don't know or care though that's fine we can just talk OC stuff.

-- Read my pinned before you message me or send an ask about this to me! Please I don't want drama.

-- Very likely any writing partnership we form will be longterm because uh. I want to work on this for LIFE. I hope it's not as intense as it sounds, I just need a comfort to fall back on during hard times at the core of it. And...telling a story, my own. You know. And uh....this is for fun so.....hey...we may become friends!! Do you want friends?? I can try to be yours, this is seriously not a professional endeavour.

OK, let's stop the list before THAT drags on too.

I think the last general thing you gotta know is that my writing is by no means a set of structured written stories but instead I prefer it to be a dialogue between me and a friend where I'll send memes, make shitty jokes, good jokes, a lot of jokes really, try for character introspection, connect the dots together and have really satisfying moments when they click, probably get Writing Blocked, have large bouts of anxiety, make lots of art, just fucking. Goof around and get over emotional ( i WILL cry) in general and maybe if the dear sun shines upoun us I will produce writings and such things of varying quality.

So...I think that's it....uhhh..bottom line>

Please if anyone's interested to write with me about my OCverse, send ask or DM-- read pinned first

( Plaintext: Please if anyone's interested to write with me about my OCverse, send ask or DM-- read pinned first)

And the rest of you, who are just passing this by, hey, uh, help a guy out and REBLOG THIS FOR REACH....If You Want To. No pressure!

( Plaintext: And the rest of you, who are just passing this by, hey, uh, help a guy out and REBLOG THIS FOR REACH....If You Want To. No pressure!)

Alternate title: Local Anxiety Sufferer Explains Himself About Fake Little Blorbos Too Much Once Again

Sighhhh...oh yeah and my names Haider.

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pariaritzia · 10 months

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Queerness in Indian Media

↳Film: DON (1978, Hindi) dir. CHANDRA BAROT

Don follows two characters: Roma (Zeenat Aman), a woman who is out for revenge against the crime boss Don, who killed her brother and sister-in-law, and Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan), a street performer who looks exactly like Don and is recruited to help take down his gang.

In an era where women characters wore long hair and dresses and were often in the narrative simply to be romanced, Roma learns karate and judo, chops off her hair, dons a suit, and infiltrates Don's gang. While she does trade in these more masculine traits for feminine clothes and longer hair at later points in the movie, it is always with the intent of disguise--and in the climactic scene, she is back in her suit, punching and kicking the bad guys right alongside the men.

In contrast, Vijay is far more feminine than the average male action hero. However, he is never ridiculed by the narrative for these qualities--he is comic relief at times, but the joke is never his femininity. Furthermore, he is guardian to two children while their father, Jasjit (Pran), serves a prison sentence. Vijay is a caring substitute father who will do anything to ensure that the children are happy, healthy, safe, and educated--a delightful characterization given society's disinclination to allow gender non conforming people around children. While disguised as Don, Vijay adopts more masculine mannerisms (something he has to learn how to do since, as he says, 'Don shoots at the drop of a hat, while I don't even know how to play marbles!'), but he often reverts to his old style as well.

Most surprising, however, is the end of the movie, when Roma, Vijay, Jasjit, and the children all walk off into the sunset together--a family that would be considered extremely unusual in today's times, much less the 1970s.

#bollywood #don #queerness in indian media #this movie is just shenanigans from start to finish and I love it #don't think about the logic. shhh. just have fun.#the wikipedia page has some interesting facts about the making of it and the songs #anyway I love roma and vijay. I love when they find out each other's secret and it's all like #ohhh I felt so drawn to you....I felt that you were like myself.....I felt I can trust you.....#gays recognizing each other. if I do say so myself!#the metaphor is there! it's a salim-javed movie too so! I see it! I see the vision!

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disaster-j · 2 years

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Hi,

As an Indian do you think we will ever get Indian BLs? and why haven't we gotten one already. I mean China did it. Yes, they[pre-2016 ban] are all bad and sad but they exist. I don't think I've seen any Indian queer story driven by love as the main plot.

And if we did get one what would you like it to be? Style or story or whatever comes to mind.

At first I wasn't hopeful even after Badhai Do[which was more a queer angst story than queer joy, which is what I associate with BL] but after Kinnporsche trended in top 10 on twitter week after week...I'm not so sure...But I want one.

Queer Indians deserve one. And yes there was Subh mangal zyada savdhan but that's just one and frankly I didn't really vibe with it. I was in theatres with friends and they were like what a good story and I was like huh??? good??? Okay, maybe but good??? Like maybe they liked it because they hadn't consumed as much queer content [at the time it was only Western] as I had. And I was so irritated by the Ayushman Khurana wears a gay flag and gives a speech. Felt like a lecture and not a movie, if you know what I mean.

Okay so, from where I'm standing, having an indian bl industry is kind of impossible. See, these industries' survival is based almost entirely on their audience's buying power. Specifically, buying novels and merch. Those sales numbers are what attracts investors and advertisors whose investments keep projects afloat. BL audiences are made up of majorly young girls and young girls in India simply don't have the kind of financial freedom to buy explicitly gay merch.

The lack of financial freedom that a majority of teenage girls and unmarried women face in our country has been a cause for concern for a long time and there just hasn't been enough progress made on that front. Same sex relation and content depicting the same is also still a pretty big tabboo across the country. Sexual content of ANY kind is a big tabboo too and most BLs are explicit to some extent. The target audience in this case will not be able to meet the kind of sales goals these producers need to justify the cost of producing BLs. This isn't even an educated guess, the creators of queer indian cinema like SMZS have said that since these same sex love stories don't sell, production houses are discouraged from making more such content in the future. Everything is about money and people will not make stuff they cannot sell.

The few queer shows and movies we do have constantly get overly criticised, with even queer audiences expecting much higher standards from queer media than they do from non queer media which causes these films to consistently flop. Yes the flag cape scene in SMZS is a bit preachy but that's the point? The character is actively preaching. He's being shunned and dehumanized and he's reacting to that by refusing to be silenced and forced away from the man he loves. He's being as obnoxious as possible so he's impossible to ignore. Sure SMZS may not be everyone's cut of tea but they did their best to tell a love story between two men with all the grand gestures typical of a bollywood romance and got no recognition for putting in the effort where no one else did even that much. That's demoralising. No one wants to make content that will get nitpicked and boycotted. No one is going to go out there and dedicate their careers to making movies and shows that y'all are just going to rip to shreds at first sight bc it's not this or that enough while straight content gets to be however bad it wants without a second thought bc "no one expects perfection from bollywood."

I want more queer content just as much as the next queer Indian. Understand that the key to getting that is actually appreciating the content that is already there for all the good that it has brought to table, alongside its faults. Watch the few mainstream queer movies like SMZS, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha, Badhaai Do. Watch the ott content like Romil and Juggal or Made in Heaven. Watch the web shows like Firsts and All About Section 377. Create a non-hostile environment where queer media is allowed a chance to thrive the same way cishet media gets without any conditions and you'll see the content you want emerge with time.

#ask #anon #queer media #indian queer media

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celluloidrainbow · 7 months

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PIXELIA (2018) dir. Ratheesh Ravindran Kumar, a bachelor in his thirties leaves his corporate job in Kochi to become a graphic novelist. He embarks on a new life as an Uber driver in Kochi while working on his graphic novel titled Pixelia. One day a trans woman named Mandakini gets into his cab. They keep meeting, gradually bonding and building a relationship as Mandakini helps Kumar come to terms with his identity and future. (link in title)

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iamthekarmapolice · 4 months

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watched the talented mr ripley last night and it made me depressed that in 1999 hollywood could make a movie about an obviously queer man without him being the butt of a joke and it could go on to be a critical and commercial success

#indian media in the 2000s either never talked about queer people or were so cruel to them #we’re so so so behind on this we’re where western countries probably were in the 1960s #the movie itself was alright the second half was the most stress ive ever felt watching a movie

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oldtvandcomics · 10 months

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Happy Queer Media Monday!

Today: Margarita With a Straw (2014)

Starting Disabled Pride Month strong in a way I know for a fact I won’t be able to live up to in later posts.

(Laila and Khanum introducing themselves to one another.)

Margarita With a Sraw is an Indian movie about Laila, a teenage girl with cerebral palsy. The story follows her as she fumbles her way through multiple crushes and relationships with three boys and a girl. Being queer is explicitly discussed. Laila even comes out to her mother, who first doesn’t understand what “bisexual” is. Both Laila and her longest-time partner, Khanum, are disabled, and said disabilities seriously influence the way their relationships work. Laila has difficulties moving and speaking, and Khanum is blind.

The writer and director explicitly set out to make a movie that deals with physically disabled people’s difficulties in all things sexuality. While she didn’t succeed in finding actresses with the disabilities of the characters, she did make sure to get advocates as consultants. Many elements are taken directly from her own personal life and that of her disabled family members.

You can read the Wikipedia article, if you like, and the movie itself is available on Netflix.

Queer Media Monday is an action I started to talk about some important and/or interesting parts of our queer heritage, that people, especially young people who are only just beginning to discover the wealth of stories out there, should be aware of. Please feel free to join in on the fun and make your own posts about things you personally find important!

#and once again I must state that India is making some really good movies #which comes as a surprise to exactly no-one #but the three queer Indian movies I've seen are all three really good #I'm seriously looking forward to the rest #anyway this movie sure doesn't pull any punches #the bisexual rep is really good too #deserves a better-written entry to be very fair #but I'm tired so this is the best I can do #anyway go watch this thing #movie rec #Margarita With a Straw #disability #disabled representation #queer representation #bisexual representation #indian cinema #queer movies #disabled pride month #Queer Media Monday

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otdderamin · 1 year

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Review: Badhaai Do (2022)

Saw "Badhaai Do" (2022) last night. It was fantastic!

It's an Indian film about a gay cop and a lesbian PE teacher who get sham married to appease their intrusive families. And then have to navigate their relationships with each other, their families, and their real lovers. It's a great examination of the closet from a country where it's often still very necessary for survival. And also about the resiliency of queer people and our determination to be true to ourselves.

It's very funny, but it's also poignant and will break your heart and put the pieces back together. Parts of it are painful and scary. But it's also courageous. It has a lot of fierceness and hope and love. It's a deep cultural examination challenging the absurdity of norms.

The ending is very beautiful and not what I was expecting. It fully earns it in a very heartwarming way. That character growth right at the end was genuinely one of the most beautiful things I've seen in film because it was so unexpected.

Content Warnings: this film deals extensively with homophobia both personal and systemic including fear of police. It also centers family pressure for marriage and children. It depicts corporal punishment by police, a stalker using blackmail, misogyny, and a forced outing.

Badhaai Do (2022):

Image description:

Screenshot of a Tweet. Losing it @prophethusband. Text to homie nicknamed Big Gulp: You make every day of my life better than the next. I feel like I have known you for a thousand lifetimes. Text to wife: Make sure the bathroom door is open when I got home. I'm gonna come in sprinting. Tweet stats: 9:01 AM · Jan 17, 2023 · 215K Views

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#Badhaai Do #movie review #queer media #queer film #If you want to listen to actual Indian people about the realities of their queerness #instead of projecting it on straight 2022 Indian movies explicitly telling you a relationship is friendship #this is a great film to see

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rainingfishandfrogs · 2 years

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🏳️‍🌈 Pride Challenge Day 3: Cobalt Blue

This 2022 Indian Art House film tells the story of a brother and sister who fall for the same man, sending ripples through their traditional family. Based on the 2013 novel by Sachin Kundalkar.

Rating: 3.8/5 I'm not a huge fan of art house films tbh but this movie is shot really nicely and features really fantastic lighting in certain scenes; some parts of the story are pretty slow and the main character's behavior can be a little creepy sometimes ngl but overall it's a really decent film.

Happy Pride! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

#lgbt #lgbtqia #pride month 2022 #pride #pride month #gay #queer film #queer media #film #hindi film #indian film

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