lesbian Archives

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga Review: The Lesbian Love Story a Post-377 India Needs

A small-town lesbian love story might make Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga the most unexpected romance of the year, but equally riveting is its secondary plot. The Sonam Kapoor-starrer needs to be lauded for its honest portrayal of parent-child relationships, and exactly how far Indian children go to not disappoint their parents.

Sonali Kokra July 21, 2016

Pop Culture

20 Years of Boys Don’t Cry: A Look at the Complicated Legacy of the Transgender Drama

When Boys Don’t Cry released in 1999, it started a conversation about the trans community. But the movie is not without its flaws. It is criticised for inaccurate casting – Hilary Swank, a cis straight woman essaying a trans man – and for being ambivalent regarding its protagonist’s trans identity.

Mavis D'Silva July 10, 2016

Love and Sex

The Kiss that Launched a Lesbian Love Story

The story of the beautiful Ms M who is looking for a husband, but might need a girlfriend. A kiss is all it takes to know the answer.

Vasu Primlani July 3, 2016

Love and Sex

Why I Choose Not to Get Off On Porn

In a world where female sexuality isn’t supposed to exist, watching porn is still seen as sexual liberation. But an acknowledgement of the same desires are invalidated by the medium’s treatment of women, both on screen and behind-the-scenes. How can we celebrate our sexuality through porn while condoning a sexist, exploitative industry that functions on men’s terms?

Kahini Iyer June 29, 2016

People

My Closeted Husband: The Marriage that Lasted 46 Days

In the conversation surrounding forced marriages, the halo of the victim is very firmly placed on the gay spouse. And the wife suffers in silence.

Kripa Krishnan June 21, 2016

People

The Menaka Guruswamy-Arundhati Katju Romance is the Love Story We Need in 2019

In July, ten months after helping to strike down Section 377, lawyers Dr Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju shed new light on why the historic legal victory was also a personal one for them. They boldly came out as the lesbian power couple who carried the LGBTQIA+ rights movement on their shoulders.

Kahini Iyer April 25, 2016

Bollywood

Growing Up to Be Gazal Dhaliwal, the Transwoman Writer of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

This week, screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal will introduce to the world her most anticipated heroine in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, the first mainstream lesbian romance poised to go down in Bollywood history as a watershed moment. It marks the end of her decade-long struggle to be “seen”.

Poulomi Das April 15, 2016

Bollywood

Why Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga Fails as a Queer Movie

Many mainstream Bollywood movies have relied on the “gay twist”, but none of those were interested in selling themselves as a progressive empowerment fable like Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. Worse, its lead protagonist is a cipher, who isn’t defined by anything other than her repressed homosexuality.

Karthik Shankar April 12, 2016

Bollywood

Has the Famously Homophobic Bollywood Really Changed in Post Sec-377 India?

In a post-Section 377 world, Bollywood has evidently taken major leaps. I was recently brought in as a consultant for a film script when the production team felt that the straight men writing a story about queer lives lacked insight.

Manish Gaekwad April 4, 2016

Bollywood

From Fire to Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga: A Brief History of Homosexuality in Indian Cinema

In 1996, Deepa Mehta’s Fire was met with riots and outrage. Politicians leapt over themselves to denounce the film as a threat to Indian culture, plenty more objected to the film’s religious allusions. Today, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga has received the kind of acclaim and acceptance that, not so long ago, seemed impossible.

Kahini Iyer April 3, 2016