Gayfest: Film and book guide
(1993)
Director: Jonathan Demme
A legal drama where a gay man (Tom Hanks) sues his former employers for wrongful dismissal. One of the first mainstream Hollywood films to tackle homophobia and HIV/AIDS.
(1996)
Director: Deepa Mehta
This romantic drama starring Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi was one of the first Hindi films to depict a lesbian relationship. Led to public dialogue over LGBTQIA+ issues and free speech.
(2004)
Director: Ligy J. Pullappally
Based on a true story, this Malayalam
film chronicles the
by Ismat Chughtai (1942)
A child’s recounting of the intimate relationship between a begum and her maid in a traditional Muslim household. It was the subject of an obscenity trial in Lahore in the 1940s which Ismat Chughtai eventually won.
by Vijay Tendulkar (1974)
Set in the pre-independence era in a Pune college campus, this ‘love triangle’ between Bapu, Mitra and Nama was Tendulkar’s commentary on homosexuality and women’s emancipation.
by Karichan Kunju (1978) Translated from Tamil as by Sudha G. Tilak (2022)
Arguably the first Tamil novel to portray the gay community. When Ganeshan returns to Kumbakonam after forty years to seek treatment for leprosy, he must also come to terms with his past: his exploitation at the hands of older men, his growing relationship between two females–a Hindu and a Catholic–from childhood friendship to young lovers.
(2005)
Director: Ang Lee
Based on Annie Proulx’s short story of the same name, this neo-western portrays the complex romance between two cowboys played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Credited with advancing queer-themed cinema into the mainstream.
(2005)
Director: Onir
Based on the real-life story of Goan activist Dominic d’souza, who contracted HIV and fought against forcible quarantine by the authorities. The family drama started conversations about consciousness of desire, and his own sexual identity.
edited by Hoshang Merchant (1999)
A ground-breaking anthology about male homosexual desire which features writers such as Vikram Seth, Bhupen Kakkar, Mahesh Dattani and Raj Rao.
Edited by Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai (2000)
A rich compendium that traces a wide arc across centuries of same-sex desire and gender nonconformity in Indian literary history, from the Kamasutra to contemporary fiction.
by Maya
Sharma (2006)
Ten real-life narratives by queer working-class women from north India which look at caste, class, religion and same-sex desire in radical ways.
homosexuality and HIV/AIDS awareness in India.
(2015)
Director: Hansal Mehta
About an AMU professor’s fight for reinstatement after he is sacked because he is found to be gay. Manoj Bajpayee plays Ramchandra Siras in this film based on a true story.
(2016)
Director: Barry Jenkins
A coming-of-age drama that critics called one of the finest films of the 21st century, it tells the story of a gay black man who grapples with his sexuality and identity while dealing with both physical and emotional abuse.
(2019)
Director: Levan Akin
This Georgian romantic drama about a gay love affair between
by Sachin Kundalkar (2006) Translated from Marathi by Jerry Pinto (2013)
A novel that tells of the longing of a sister and brother for the same man; of their emotional isolation and their struggle to find intimacy.
by Amruta Patil (2007)
A graphic novel about friendship and heartbreak, about love and lesbianism in an Indian city and how mental health is crucial to the freedom to be one’s true self.
by A. Revathi (2012)
A volume of narratives produced entirely by transpeople who got the Tamil Nadu government to recognise their rights as a community.
by two rival dancers sparked protests in its home country. At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival it received a 15-minute standing ovation.
(2021)
Director: Jane Campion
A Western psychodrama that explores themes of closeted sexuality and toxic masculinity. This adaptation of Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel garnered universal acclaim for its direction and lead performances, especially Benedict Cumberbatch.
(2022)
Director: Harshavardhan Kulkarni
Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar play a gay man and a lesbian woman in a ‘lavender marriage’ in this Hindi comedy-drama. Lauded for emphasising that sexual orientation is only one part of a person’s identity.
A heartwarming and heartbreaking memoir of growing up gay in 1990s heteronormative Bombay.
by
Parmesh Shahani
A personal-is-professional take on why office culture needs to be more diverse, with success stories from IBM, Wipro, Godrej, Tata Steel and the Lalit Group of Hotels.
edited by Niharika Banerjea, Debanuj Dasgupta, Rohit K. Dasgupta and Jaime M. Grant (2018)
A rainbow collection of essays on the radical political possibilities of friendship and love by activists from diverse movements.
by Himanjali Sankar (2014) & by Payal Dhar (2014)
Two young adult novels which talk about teenagers coming out of the closet.