Small Screen, Big Pride: Movies to Watch This Pride Month
Must-Watch Queer Movies and Series
Halfway through the year, we are now in the Pride month. Dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community, the month celebrates the achievements of queer folks as well as protests against the continued discrimination they face.
Concise history of LGBTQIA+ in India
When it comes to India, the ancient age was progressive about sexual orientations and gender beyond heterosexuality and gender binary. This is reflected in some texts from ancient age as well as carvings on temples like Khajuraho. Unfortunately, the scene flipped when Britishers introduced their homophobia in Indian cultural landscape, criminalizing homosexuality. Though they have now decriminalized homosexuality in their own country, Indians continue with the hatred British planted the seeds of.
Queer movies and series
This blog post celebrates the representation and diversity in movies and series, focusing on queer themes or characters. So without further ado, let’s get into the recommendations. Though from Indian standards, most of these are for people above 16 years of age.
Red, White and Royal Blue- Adapted from Casey McQuiston’s novel, it is a modern-day gay love story between Prince of United Kingdom/England and son of USA’s President. A goofy rom-com film to watch while you hoard over a tub of ice-cream.
Sex Education- A informative Netflix series with drama, ranging from basic biology, choice, and nuances of teen relationships. The series cover some queer characters like Eric and Adam, while showing their character growth and not reducing them to stock characters.
Heartstopper- In my opinion, one of the best queer series with a varied representation. From gay, lesbian and bi to trans and asexuals, the series cover mostly all main orientations and genders as it shows journey of each character, while keeping Charlie and Nick in highlight.
Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan- An Indian gay rom-com movie which is entertaining, realistic and puts forward the message of familial acceptance of queer folks.
Baai from Modern Love Mumbai- The episode 2 from Amazon’s Modern Love Mumbai focuses on same theme as the above one. A gay son is distant from his family because of his homophobic father who won’t accept him. But the death of lead’s grandmother brings him back to his childhood home, bringing back the past incidents.
Maja Ma- An Indian movie where incidents lead to a closeted mother’s orientation to be revealed, leading to upheaval in her family and how she navigates through it.
Badhaai Do- A story of a lavender marriage where the leads live their own life, until an event creates tension at their home. Though some scenes may feel illogical and can be a heterosexual movie at its core, it is still a good watch.
Geeli Pucchi from Ajeeb Dastaans- This episode from Netflix series focuses on 2 lead lesbian characters who feel connected to each other but belong to different castes. This episode not just deals with difference due to heterosexual marriage, but also brings the ugly head of caste inequality.
Good Grief- As the character grieves his husband's death while on a trip to Paris where he uncovers secrets. The past moments depicted with his husband are 😢🥹. Also, the film portrays the different layers/steps of grief, so worth a watch with tissue by your side.
There are several other movies I am yet to watch and books to read. There are several in my watchlist. I did start some movies/series or books like Maurice, Call Me By Your Name but something didn’t click with me, but it may interest you readers. I may keep updating these list, so visit this post sometimes for any new recommendation.
Happy (or Hopeful) Pride to all those celebrating and fighting for rights and equality.
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