Some of the most popular shows on Indian television take pride in the length of time they’ve been on air — some for years (though with ludicrous plots yet very popular), thanks to the soap opera revolution brought in by Ekta Kapoor and her ilk. But the most worrisome aspect of these traditional soaps is the way they treat genders — women are restricted to kitchens and anyone from the LGBTQI community is reduced to a mere travesty, with funny background music even as they enter the frame. Breaking into a more open and realistic depiction of genders, new Indian web series are taking baby steps towards bolder shows, and they look quite promising!
Probably one of the first among Indian web series about same-sex stories is The Other Love Story — a story of two Indian women in love. “I never realised that it was the first same-sex web series. When I came up with the idea it was just a love story between two girls, just like any other normal love story,” says Roopa Rao, the director of the series.
The story of Aadhya and Anchal is set in ‘90s Bengaluru, at a time when there wasn’t much information about the queer community. “Today, one can go online and find many support groups for the LGBTQ community, but back in the ‘90s there was nothing,” Roopa says, adding that when she first approached the producers for the series, they thought it was a porn series!
Another one is the web series titled All About Section 377, and as the name suggests, it aims to sensitise masses about the LGBTQI community and change the way they are portrayed. They do this through the story of a young homophobic man who moves to Mumbai and has to live with a gay couple for the first time in his life. He then begins to understand them as time passes. “By making fun of the LGBTQI community in mainstream media, we are only closeting them more. We produced the series so that we can bring a change in their portrayal,” Amit Khanna, the director of the series shares. Although this series could use a finer script and editing, it makes an honest attempt of destigmatising the queer community.
Despite not having any nudity or obscene language in the series, the censor board has been obstructing them from airing on television channels, adds Amit, hoping to be able to air on television soon.
Coming from the Yash Raj Films’ subsidiary Y-Films, is the show Sex Chat with Pappu and Papa, which has been bringing out the closeted topics of sex, homosexuality, and a lot more, through questions from an adorably inquisitive seven-year-old boy Pappu. Papa in the show, played by the Udaan actor Anand Tiwari, is posed various questions on sex, sexuality by his son. This Papa, unlike many others we see in society, finds intelligent and hilarious ways to answering the questions, and doesn’t brush them off or turn them into a taboo.
“We wanted to bring out information about sex and gender in a sensible way with a tinge of humour added. Sometimes, while trying to talk on these issues, one can go so horribly wrong so we had to be very careful of the script. This series is a way of delivering fulfilling experiences as storytellers, and breaking the taboo around some key topics. It is always better that a child understands sex and genders through their parents and not through pornography, which is a very wrong way to understand the same. After this series, we’ve noticed discussions being initiated on sex and gender which is a great achievement. My favourite part in the series is how I explain homosexuality to Pappu in a way that it is easy to understand yet not silly,” elaborates Anand.
We hope in near future, these steps can lead to a stronger and inclusive Indian television — where parents don’t need to shush their children on questions of sexuality, and the queer community is treated with the respect it deserves.
(With inputs from Priyanka Praveen)
