Coming out in the Mainstream: a study of contemporary gay bollywood cinema

Abstract

Cinema is a dominant ideological apparatus that negotiates with subjectivities and pleasures. Mainstream Hindi cinema has evolved in its portrayal of gay narratives as socio-political and cultural changes in India have caused the shift in representations of gay identities as a subtext to explicit coming out narratives. This study explores the portrayal of coming-out narratives in mainstream Hindi cinema, focusing on how these films represent gayness within India‘s evolving socio-cultural context. It examines how Hindi cinema frames coming-out moments, negotiates gay identities and positions gay cinema in the mainstream. The theoretical aspects and coming-out studies challenge traditional understandings of identity, visibility, and acceptance, highlighting how homophobia continues to shape these narratives. Homophobia complicates the process of coming out by making visibility unsafe through stigma, discrimination and often violence. The turning point in coming out narratives was My Brother Nikhil, directed by Onir. It stands as a landmark film in Hindi cinema, shedding light on the struggles of coming out and living openly as a queer individual within an unforgiving society. The thesis studies Karan Johar‘s ‗Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh‘, Hansal Mehta‘s Aligarh, Tanuj Bhramar‘s Dear Dad, and Hitesh Kewalya‘s Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, through which it tries to explore the trajectory of coming out narratives in Popular Cinema. The trajectory suggests a gradual shift towards a more inclusive point of view, where queer identities are not only acknowledged but also celebrated.