Top 10 Best LGBTQ+ Bollywood Movies
#10: “My Son is Gay (En Magan Magizhvan)” (2017)
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“My Son is Gay” was originally envisioned as a Hindi-language film - the predominant language for Bollywood cinema. After some consideration, however, director Lokesh Kumar realized that it would be more impactful to shoot it as a Tamil language film. Although, by 2017, India had seen its fair share of LGBTQIA releases, none had ever been made in Tamil - meaning “My Son is Gay” would be the first of its kind. A lot of the runtime is spent focused on the gay character’s mother but, unlike many other films of the same ilk, she is often shamed for not accepting her son. To ensure that the movie was respectful and authentic, Kumar spent a year meeting people within the LGBT community.
#9: “My Brother…Nikhil” (2005)
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By now, it’s pretty well known how abysmal the HIV/AIDS response was in the U.S. India faced similar problems, with many citizens in the 80s and 90s lacking even a basic understanding of the infection. “My Brother…Nikhil” takes place during this period, and focuses on a young gay man who contracts HIV and is subsequently arrested and forcibly isolated. His sister, Anamika, is one of the only people who does not desert him as his health deteriorates. The stigma surrounding AIDS in India continued into the 2000s, and even directly affected the film. Although it was based on a true story, the government forced the director to add a disclaimer saying the film was entirely fictitious in order for it to be greenlit.
#8: “Naanu Avanalla Avalu” (2015)
Translating to “I am not a he… I am a she,” “Naanu Avanalla Avalu” is a biographical film based on the words of trans actor, writer, and activist Living Smile Vidya. The, at times, heart-rending story portrays the reality for many trans individuals in India by following Vidya’s life from a gender-nonconforming child to an openly transgender adult. The film met challenges when it came to screening and distribution, all under the pretense of it not being “commercial enough.” Nonetheless, it won big at the National Film Awards, one of India’s most significant film award ceremonies, where it took home the gold for Best Make-up Artist and Best Actor.
#7: “Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga” (2019)
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Roughly translating to “how I felt when I saw that girl,” “Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga” is a charming romantic dramedy about a closeted lesbian finding love with another woman and coming out to her friends and family. Although the film clocks in at just over two hours, it’s a super breezy watch with the kinds of fun musical performances one expects from a Bollywood movie. The most widely circulated magazine in India, India Today, praised the film as an important and brilliant lesbian love story “that Bollywood should be proud of.” This mainstream approval was significant, as the film released only one year after homosexuality had finally been legalized by India’s supreme court.
#6: “Bombay Talkies” (2013)
“Bombay Talkies” is the first in a series of anthology films by Johar, Banerjee, Akhtar and Kashyap – The shorts comprising the anthology focus primarily on issues of the modern era. Released in the 100th year of Indian cinema, the first of these stories, “Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh,” focuses on a gay man. His family is unaccepting of his sexuality, so he leaves his home for a new start, meeting and befriending a female intern with a closeted gay husband. The two men enter a complicated relationship. While all three shorts are certainly worth the watch, “Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh” is probably the installment with the most overt LGBTQ+ themes.
#5: “Daayraa (The Square Circle)” (1996)
At a time when LGBTQ+ films were scarce in Bollywood, “Daayraa” was made, providing a surprisingly sympathetic look at the life of a trans woman. This is done through the eyes of a cis protagonist, who is helped by the trans woman on her journey home. Although the film is certainly not without its issues, and features a tragic end for its trans character, its examination of gender as it relates to both cis and trans individuals often feels generally respectful and appropriately complex. Due to its content, “Daayraa” did not receive a theatrical release in India, but screened in a number of Western countries that hailed it as a daring achievement.
#4: “Kapoor & Sons” (2016)
“Kapoor & Sons” was an undeniable success, earning over five times its budget at the box office and certified fresh at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Interestingly, the movie almost didn’t get made. Why? Actors were afraid to take on the role of Rahul Kapoor, who is revealed to be gay over the course of the film. The actor who did take on the role, Fawad Khan, received a lot of praise for his performance, even winning an award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. To have such prominent representation in such a successful comedy film, played by a respected actor, was said to be “a big leap forward for India’s LGBT movement.”
#3: “Sancharram [aka “The Journey”] (2004)
In 1996, one of the first mainstream Bollywood film to feature a lesbian relationship was released, titled “Fire.” Eight years later, it would be followed by “The Journey.” Due to both films being early examples of lesbian relationships on-screen in India, the two are often compared - with “The Journey” having one significant leg up on its predecessor. While “Fire” focuses on two women who enter a relationship due to their dissatisfaction with their heterosexual marriages, “The Journey” shows two women who naturally feel attraction to each other and fall in love. It’s a bittersweet friends-to-lovers story - one that still holds up today! In 2017, the film was even ranked among the 102 best lesbian films of all time by Autostraddle.
#2: “Aligarh” (2015)
Sometimes a film just hits harder if you know it’s based on a true story. This is certainly the case for “Aligarh,” a biographical film about Professor Ramchandra Siras. Siras, who taught at Aligarh Muslim University, was outed by a local TV station when they broke into his house and filmed him against his will. He was not only suspended from his job on grounds of morality, but also forced to leave the housing they provided for him. His only saving grace during the ordeal was a journalist who helped him take his case to court. What follows is a harrowing portrayal of a man fighting for his right to live a normal life.
#1: “Badhaai Do” (2022)
If you’ve ever wished for a movie centered around gay and lesbian solidarity, “Badhaai Do” may be for you! While protagonists Shardul Thakur and Sumi Singh have their fair share of disagreements over the course of the film, their shared community ultimately brings them together. At the start of the film, the two are being individually badgered by their parents to finally get married. So they end up doing just that… by marrying each other! They live together as roommates, meeting up with their same sex partners in private. This causes rifts in both their real and fake relationships, ultimately leading to them both coming out to their families. It’s a surprisingly nuanced gay story, with characters who consistently feel like real, fallible human beings.
