{"id":1078,"date":"2016-03-26T23:41:16","date_gmt":"2016-03-26T23:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=1078"},"modified":"2026-07-17T13:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T13:58:20","slug":"netflix-pride-lgbt-films-loev-gay-love-story-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1078","title":{"rendered":"Crazy Little Thing Called Loev"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

T<\/span><\/p><\/div>

here\u2019s a sharp, fleeting sequence in Sudhanshu Saria\u2019s <\/span>Loev<\/span><\/i> that encapsulates what it means to be a LGBT person in this country. <\/span>\n\nSahil and Jai, the protagonists are on their way back from dinner. Jai can\u2019t take his eyes off his partner, and reaches out to lace their fingers together but within seconds, is forced to disentangle. A man is staring at them, observing their interaction closely. But there\u2019s a subtle shift in Jai\u2019s mind: The stranger\u2019s presence makes him reach out again and hold Sahil\u2019s hand more purposefully. <\/span>\n\nIt\u2019s a blink-and-miss moment, but it speaks volumes about how your choice of sexuality is simultaneously an affront and an act of courage. And it is especially poignant considering we\u2019re in <\/span>Pride Month<\/span><\/a>, which marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, considered \u201cthe tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States\u201d. In India, though, we continue to battle the stigma \u2013 on screen and in life. <\/span>\n\nWhile watching <\/span>Loev<\/span><\/i>, I was reminded of the time my visibly annoyed friend met me after a date with another guy. Earlier that evening, a similar situation had unfolded, when his date had dared to link their arms and had attracted strange looks from people around them. My buddy was torn because he neither wanted people to perceive them as a couple, nor hurt the other boy\u2019s feelings. My friend chose to swallow his fear and carry on, but the thought that he could hold the hand of a girl in Mumbai without the same stigma attached, continued to bother him. <\/span>\n\n\"loev1\"\n

\n

It is only with Loev that I find one is bound to forget that their sexuality is meant to be a well-kept secret.<\/p>\n

Courtesy: Loev\/ Netflix<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\nThis, and other little details come together to guarantee that <\/span>Loev<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> a fairly unremarkable tale, is elevated to a momentous film for the Indian queer community. Saria himself described it as a \u201cPost Gay\u201d film. There\u2019s none of the usual conflict regarding coming out, and no one in particular to hide from \u2013 except the Censor Board maybe; <\/span>Loev <\/span><\/i>was released directly to Netflix to bypass any nicks and cuts. <\/span>\n\nSaria is not off the mark. Our track record in portraying gay characters has been less than stellar. Gay characters have been stock props in Bollywood, objects for ridicule and mockery. We\u2019ve had a <\/span>Fire <\/span><\/i>in the past, though it\u2019s unlikely that in the current socio-political scenario, a movie like it would see a release, especially since the Censor Board and the establishment pretends that homosexuality doesn\u2019t exist. Last year, when <\/span>Aligarh <\/span><\/i>released, the film\u2019s writer Apoorva Asrani wrote in a Facebook post: \u201cIt is soul crushing for a gay person to find the word homosexual muted…\u201d The year before, the CBFC again courted controversy for banning <\/span>Unfreedom, <\/span><\/i>a film about a same-sex relationship between two women, stating that the film would \u201c<\/span>ignite \u2018unnatural passion\u2019\u201d. <\/span>\n\nYet, there is a flicker of hope. In the past we\u2019ve had to accept films like <\/span>Dostana <\/span><\/i>as progress, but we\u2019ve come a long way since then. Last year\u2019s <\/span>Kapoor & Sons<\/span><\/i> celebrated a well-rounded gay character, where homosexuality was not even spelt out: It was only meant to be understood. It was a wonderful surprise \u2013 surreal even \u2013 to think that we could come up with a gay character who was portrayed, not as an outcast, but an affectionate, beer-guzzling, Chinese-cuisine-loving son. And even as <\/span>the Censor Board tries to smother any traces of queerness from popular cinema, a few short films and web series have quietly been stirring mini revolutions. <\/span>\n\nIn Faraz Ansari\u2019s <\/span>Sisak<\/span><\/i>, two men struggle to voice their affection for each other, as they live under the insufferable weight of Sec 377. Karishma Dube\u2019s <\/span>Devi <\/span><\/i>speaks of an affair that\u2019s doubly sinful: homosexual in nature, and dismissive of class divides. In JLT\u2019s web series, <\/span>The \u2018Other\u2019 Love Story, <\/span><\/i>Aanchal and Aadya\u2019s friendship gradually grows into love. <\/span>\n\n\"fawad-khan2_1459061647_1459061652_800x420\"\n

\n

Last year\u2019s Kapoor & Sons celebrated a well-rounded gay character portrayed by Fawad Khan.<\/p>\n

Courtesy: Kapoor & Sons\/ Dharma Productions<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\nSure, even in these stories, the kisses are rushed, sometimes tinged with guilt. <\/span>There\u2019s always that frightful undercurrent of \u201cWhat if we are caught?\u201d Even on celluloid, queer couples fall asleep with the fear of waking up to a<\/span> trembling Kantaben<\/span><\/a>, standing at the foot of their bed. In <\/span>Devi <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>The \u2018Other\u2019 Love Story<\/span><\/i>, this fear is realised, and the couples have to face the music. It\u2019s awful and it\u2019s strange, that something so ordinary to me and my peers, is beyond the comprehension of those around us.<\/span>\n\nIt is only with <\/span>Loev <\/span><\/i>that I find one is bound to forget that their sexuality is meant to be a well-kept secret and that it can result in brutal persecution. <\/span>It is only now that we have characters like Sahil and Jai, or Aadya and Aanchal, to let us know that we aren\u2019t abominations. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Little details come together to guarantee that Loev, a fairly unremarkable tale, is elevated to a momentous film for the Indian queer community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":1082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nCrazy Little Thing Called Loev<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Little details come together to guarantee that Loev, a fairly unremarkable tale, is elevated to a momentous film for the Indian queer community.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1078\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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