Society does not have much space for people who defy the mainstream, especially for those with a homosexual identity. In India, the mainstream love stories that most people encounter are about heterosexuality. But despite this glaring absence of popularity or even visibility, homosexual identity has still managed to consistently survive. The Indian films Fire and My Brother Nikhil are examples of film bringing marginalized people to the forefront.

Fire

Deepa Mehta’s Fire was released in India in 1998 and ignited the film world with its bold statement. It was about women who bond out of loneliness and neglect and who develop a lesbian relationship. The film was shocking to the Indian moral brigade who found it defamatory to the image of India in the public eye. Many went on rampages, tearing down posters and disrupting theatres where the film was playing. Though the film angered many, at the same time, it was one of the first Indian films to illustrate a positive lesbian relationship.

My Brother Nikhil

My Brother Nikhil is the story of a state swimming champion Nikhil who goes through severe psychological and social stigmatization once it is discovered that he is HIV positive. Set in Goa between 1987 and 1994, the film marks Nikhil’s struggle with with the stigma of HIV and homophobia.

The stigma of HIV

The stigma related to AIDS is shown in a scene where the other swimmers all leave the pool on seeing Nikhil. It is seen again when a restaurant refuses to serve Nikhil’s parents because their son is HIV positive. What follows is a series of tumultuous events where he is thrown out of his house and later put into jail: examples of ostracism due to being gay and HIV positive.

Breaking down stereotypes

The film is a major landmark in the Queer history of India. Not only was it one of the first mainstream Bollywood films with a gay storyline, but it also broke several stereotypes. The effeminate gay man was suddenly replaced with Nikhil, a seemingly normal man with no cliched traits to mark him as gay. This depiction of a gay man challenges the stereotype that all gay men are effeminate or dress in drag, making My Brother Nikhil a film that challenges social norms and stereotypes.

The film also challenges stereotypes by not stating how the protagonist contracts HIV. Though the public perception is that gay men contract the virus through promiscuity, this film avoids this stereotyped view by leaving the possibility of how Nikhil became HIV positive open. Instead of focusing on how Nikhil contracted HIV, it emphasizes the challenges that each of the characters face and how their changing identity is shaped through this tragedy. HIV infection here works as a metaphor for the stigma of being gay and HIV positive.

Positive images of love

The relationship between Nikhil and his boyfriend, Nigel, is also depicted in a positive way. It is heartening to see Nigel’s love for Nikhil. Despite the hostility directed towards Nikhil which also directly affects Nigel (his house is defaced and the word “faggot” is written in graffiti), he still remains committed to Nikhil until the end. Nikhil and Nigel’s relationship is one defined by love, companionship and mutual respect which again breaks the stereotype that homosexual relations are merely about the desire for physical intimacy.

Mainstream Indian films still have a long way to go till homosexuality can be out of the closet. However, films like My Brother Nikhil and Fire are paving the way for acceptance of marginalized people.