National Award-winning actor Ayushmann Khurrana is all set to return on the silver screen with another film that defies formula. His next, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, revolves around the two, and how they confront their family and deal with stereotypes and taboos associated with homosexuality.

But before his project, there have been several Indian films that have explored homosexuality and started the LGBTQ conversation. However, thee have been a few which managed to shed light on the subject in a manner that led them into the spotlight, hitting no false notes. 

From Aligarh to Fire, let’s take a look at 11 films that dared to do the opposite rather than showing homosexuality in a derogatory way.

Fire (1996)

The Deepa Mehta film, which starred Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi, helped mainstreaming homosexuality in India. Exploring the relationship of a lesbian relationship, it was the first of it’s kind in Indian cinema as it featured the actresses as two wives who find comfort with each other in a close-minded household. Expectedly so, the film took India’s patriarchal force by a storm. 

RECOMMENDED READ: 'Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan': Censor Board grants a U/A certificate to Ayushmann Khurrana’s and Jitendra Kumar's love story

Sancharram (2004)

The 2004 Malayalam feature film talked about the interfaith love story of Kiran (played by Suhasini V. Nair) and Delilah (played by Shruthy Menon). The film was an honest exploration of the attitudes of the society and the family dynamics that come with dealing with homosexuality.

My Brother…Nikhil (2005)

After Fire, Onir’s My Brother Nikhil is the one film that triggered a talk surrounding homosexuality. Set in Goa, the film is based on the life of Dominic D’Souza and starred Sanjay Suri, Juhi Chawla, Victor Banerjee, Lilette Dubey, and Purab Kohli. It not only talked about the troubles of a gay couple but shed light on the topic of AIDS at a time when there wasn’t much awareness about it.

Dostana (2008)

Karan Johar backed Dostana, starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the lead, tells the story of two men who pretend to be gay to share an apartment with a girl; eventually, both fall in love with her. The film with A-list stars turned out to be a commercial success and was the first masala entertainer in Bollywood that started the conversation about homosexuality. 

Arekti Premer Golpo (2010)

Directed by Kaushik Ganguly, the Bengali film starred the late Rituparno Ghosh and Indraneil Sengupta, with the former playing a gay filmmaker. After the initial decriminalization of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in the year 2009, it was the first film shot on homosexuality.

Bol (2011)

Written, directed and produced by Shoaib Mansoor, the Pakistani film brought focus on the gender issues as a patriarch of a religious Muslim family detests his intersex child, who eventually ends up struggling to find an identity in the society. 

Margarita With a Straw (2014)

The 2014 film, directed by Shonali Bose, starred  Kalki Koechlin as a patient with cerebral palsy turned out to be an important film as it explored both disability and female sexuality. It brought forth the Indian mindset towards homosexuality and bisexuality as well.

Aligarh (2016)

The film starring Rajkummar Rao and Manoj Bajpayee is based on the real-life case of the late Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, a former professor at Aligarh Muslim University. Directed by Hansal Mehta, the film was a sensitive depiction of the discrimination faced by homosexuals from the eyes of an Indian gay male.

Kapoor and Sons (2016)

The Shakun Batra directorial was nonetheless a sincere attempt to tell a story about an Indian family and their reaction when a member has a different sexual orientation. It features Fawad Khan as a gay writer and kudos to the filmmaker to deal with homosexuality in the most sensitive way rather than stereotyping his behaviour.

My Son is Gay (2018) 

The Tamil film a tale of a gay man coming out in front of her mother and how it affects his relationship with her. Directed by Lokesh Kumar, it talks about the rights of marginalized people to live with dignity in a society that considers homosexuality a taboo.

Super Deluxe (2019)

The Tamil thriller featured Vijay Sethupathi as a transgender person named Shilpa. The actor not only got an overwhelming appreciation for his portrayal but also helped in breaking the shackles of the LGBTQ community.

Special Mention - Made in Heaven (2019)

The web show, created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, treats the subject of homosexuality a lot of sensitivity. The male lead Karan, played by Arjun Mathur, is a gay business partner/friend to rich society wife Tara Khanna (Sobhita Dhulipala). Together, they plan weddings of the urban elite. However, the show’s highlight is the queer storyline, which shows their culture (and rights) in the center, that too extremely proudly. All thanks to the makers for portraying a gay man as the lead rather than taking him as a side-hero or an anti-hero.

So which film are you binge watching this week?