The recently released trailer of Shelly Dhar’s ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’ shows a woman who has grown up dreaming of a “happily ever after”, but while she is still a child she learns that the road to love is paved with complications. The film, produced by Vinod Chopra Films and Fox Star Studios, releases on February 1, 2019.
The movie centers around Sweety, played by Sonam Kapoor who at the insistence of her family is on a quest to find a suitable husband. She meets several prospective grooms who include the writer Sahil Mirza played by Rajkummar Rao. Sweety, however hides a secret, a secret which according to the film’s synopses “might not find acceptance in her family and society.”
In a sense, Ek Ladki ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga is an important movie, being the first mainstream film to be released post the strike down of the draconian homosexuality laws by the Supreme Court of India.
The film’s tagline – “Let love be” – makes it clear that it is about the celebration of love, especially in the post 377 India. In that sense, it can prove to be a path-breaking film because it will be the first to include mainstream actors like Sonam Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Juhi Chawla, openly talking about the issue. Until now, we have only had art house cinema like Fire or the poorly made Girlfriend. There has been no sensitive portrayal of the subject and this is something that the Sonam Kapoor starrer promises, from the looks of it.
In a country where the LGBT groups lived for long in the fear of being ostracized, and the legality of their existence did not matter to anyone – family, society, or the law they were compelled to live in a closeted world. Gay men still had some visibility in films but have mostly been shown as effeminate characters to be looked down upon and to provide comic relief. Hindi cinema has hesitated to show women in a way that would confuse sexuality boundaries and be a threat to the existing social order.
In a cinema-obsessed country like ours, we cannot deny the role Bollywood has played a role in cementing heteronormative sexuality as accepted sexual behavior, with the result that homosexuality is regarded as nothing but a pathological deviation.
One of the first films to cause discomfort used to tight boxed male and female characters was Deepa Mehta’s Fire that showed a bond between two married female characters, Sita and Radha. The relationship was seen as an evil threat to established order and needed to be removed to reestablish family and societal norms.
Almost ten years later, Karan Razdan’s Girlfriend tried to depart from the norm. It showed a woman who dwells in both the masculine and feminine worlds. As a street fighter who later becomes a serial killer, the female protagonist tries to break gender boundaries set by a patriarchal society. But it also shows a feminine, victimized character who is incapable of taking care of herself and thus has to be ‘rescued’ by a woman who has subverted societal norms.
These two films were highly discussed and received critical reviews. The connections between characters often translated into friendships, solidarity, affection, and companionship.
Let’s hope that with a movie like Ek Ladki ko Dekha to Aisa Laga, the narrative shifts from hegemonic representation of genders to a more emotional representation. Indian films have a place for every emotion. A visible social acceptance, of what the law has already embraced, would go a long way in showcasing it.