Nearly 17 years later, you see movies where characters are begging to be accepted or willing to lead a life of compromise to fit into a heteronormative society. My lead character was willing to walk out of his home and family unless he and his lover were accepted. In 2005, I made My Brother…Nikhil, which got a ‘U’ certificate then. Why is this change not reflected as much in mainstream cinema in India? Youngsters are much more empowered today and connected to people who belong to the community or are allies to make their journey easier.ĪLSO READ | Pride Month: ‘Push boundaries, one step at a time’ There is so much reference that people have access to, today. Today, you see people from small towns and villages making videos and reels featuring the queer narrative. However, others were not criminalised by law unlike those who identify as queer. We are a long way from being an equal society - on the basis of caste, gender and sexuality - but that’s something a lot of us are fighting for. With homosexuals no longer being treated as criminals (after the Supreme Court in 2018 repealed Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalised gay sex), it empowers the community to fight for other civil rights.

You saw a queer character on the big screen for the first time when you watched My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) while studying at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. ALSO READ | ‘We need to start normalising queer characters in films’: Indian screenwriter Mrittika ‘Mou’ Sarin