The digital platform is rapidly emerging as a means of storytelling by the queer community, either through the main characters or through the secondary lines. While everyone praises the efforts to correct the oblique depiction, the filmmakers claim that there is still a long way to go.
“It’s wonderful that LGBTQAI + stories are treated so warmly by the public and that actors, filmmakers, producers and studios go out there to tell these stories without blinking an eyelid. But the best way to approach stories about the LGBTQ community in the future is to tell them as they really are, without exaggerating or making them too dramatic. “Because at the end of the day, they are just stories about the human experience,” said director Mozez Singh, who explored the story of a closed lesbian in his latest online series. Humanwith actress Kirti Kulhari.
According to this year’s GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV study, the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer characters is at an all-time high. And it is also reflected in India with performances such as e.g. The Married Woman, His Storyy, 377 AbNormal, or through secondary plots such as the search for actress Aahana Kumra to find love within her Call My Agent: BollywoodPlabita Borthakur explores life as bisexual Bombay Begumsand Arjun Mathur’s journey as a gay man Theoplasto.
“There is more acceptance. Hence more narratives. So more LGBTQ + movies and shows. “And as the audience evolves, newer narratives have the opportunity like my film Hum Bhi Akele, Tum Bhi Akele. Anshuman Jha, who supported the role of a gay man in the film. He adds, “It’s a long journey, but we’re definitely on the road.”
This is something that Mrinal Dutt has seen His story, agrees with. “Representation is definitely evolving, but there is still a long way to go. There is still a section of society that needs a little opening. “It happens, but it takes time,” he says.
The piece that will unite the pieces that are missing from the narrative is the authenticity. “What is missing from the representation is that the creators are still afraid or limited in their imagination of LGBT + characters,” he claims.
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan Director (2020) Hitesh Kewalya believes that “we have to work with our own prejudices as we move forward creating narratives that represent the queer community.”
He explains, “They are considered different when they write them in history. “Sometimes writers think we can not write because we know nothing about them; that’s the wrong way to approach it.”
Meanwhile, director Onir believes that the exact representation, even on the web, is still in questionable stage.
“They are always heterosexual people who write our stories or people who are in the closet representing us. They themselves take childish steps without understanding us. When I approach an OTT platform, I am told that this is too much. And suddenly I see a straight person making a movie or a series for the community. “This effort is not being made to empower people who have been working in the field for so many years,” he said.
In this, Body Set Director Faraz Arif Ansari adds: “Most of the portrayals in Indian films and on OTT always lack this sense of truth and, therefore, do not always feel like enclosing real queer lives and stories and therefore do not have a deep impact. or does what it needs to do – to open a wider dialogue beyond the queer community. ”
However, not all is lost. Filmmaker Apurva Asrani continues to hope for a change and appreciates the steps to increase inclusion for all.
“From pathetic characters used for humiliation, laughter or bad intentions, LGBTQAI + characters today have a greater purpose in scripts. They have an identity, they have beating hearts… We are no longer criminalized and stories of oppression are slowly becoming stories of community celebration. What stood out to me was the character of Khan (Vikas Kumar). Αάρια. He may be gay, but his purpose in the script is to be of Aarya terrible leaf. A real development that will increase in the future “he signs.
