New Bollywood film “Bombay Talkies” is billed as a milestone not only for marking 100 years of Indian cinema – it is also one of the country’s few mainstream movies ever to have shown a gay kiss.
The centenary film, which had a special screening at Cannes, comprises four self-contained short stories by leading directors looking at the impact of Indian cinema on people’s lives.
The short film from director Karan Johar features a kiss between a young man and his best friend’s husband as part of an exploration of sexual identity and marital discord.
While such scenes in the past may have elicited catcalls in India’s populist single-screen theatres, this time the kiss has been winning applause from audiences, according to gay rights advocate Nitin Karani.
“That’s a positive reaction, which may indicate that society is more ready than film producers when it comes to gay stories,” he said.
And with one of the characters in the kiss played by ‘sex symbol’ actor Randeep Hooda, the film “shatters stereotypes faster”, Karani believes.
In another of the short stories, director Zoya Akhtar shows a young boy exploring his feminine side by emulating and dressing up as Katrina Kaif, his Bollywood heroine.