Angels in America (2003)
A modern-American epic set amid the mounting AIDS crisis of the Reagan era, Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play was translated to the screen in a multipart, six-hour event for HBO by director Mike Nichols. The performances are staggering: Al Pacino as the ignominious Roy Cohn; Jeffrey Wright is the sharp-witted gay nurse who tends to him; Mary-Louise Parker as a pill-popping housewife wed to a closeted Mormon; Emma Thompson as an imperious (and sometimes sassy) angel; and Meryl Streep in four roles, including the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg. The work takes us back to a time when AIDS was stigmatized as a “gay plague.” Yet its messages — about corruption in politics, the scourge of bigotry, the comforts and limitations of faith, the human capacity for both love and betrayal — resound in any age.
Bound (1996)
Before the Wachowskis had the financial pull to film big-budget dreamscapes like The Matrix trilogy, there was their 1996 directorial debut — shot on only a $6 million budget after the filmmakers refused to bow to studio pressure and erase the lesbian romance at the film’s center. The result is a witty, bloody neo-noir following a mobster’s girlfriend (Jennifer Tilly) and her ex-con lover (Gina Gershon) as they conspire to steal a small fortune from the Mafia. Bound walks the line of exploitation without crossing it, partially thanks to the directors bringing on feminist writer Susie Bright as a consultant on the movie’s sex scenes. You could not ask for a more distinctively queer perspective on a traditionally straight, male genre.
The Boys in the Band (1970)
William Friedkin’s take on Mart Crowley’s popular 1968 off-Broadway play already felt a little dated when it came out a year after the Stonewall riots (the casual racism and focus on self-loathing didn’t help). Yet the film remains one of the first frank big-studio treatments of uncloseted gay and bisexual men, as it follows eight friends (and one hustler) who’ve gathered in a New York City apartment to celebrate a birthday party. What follows is a lot of camping it up, some dancing, and a good deal of tearing each other to pieces. Lines like “show me a happy homosexual and I’ll show you a gay corpse” will still make you cringe, but the film remains a time capsule of a moment when men were conflicted with how they “got” to be gay. It works best as a signpost and a throwback — just ask the all-gay cast who starred in the a major Broadway revival, or Ryan Murphy, who’s adapting the cinematic remake as a savage, comic period piece for a new generation.
Carol (2015)
Director Todd Haynes’ adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel centers around two women — unhappily married socialite Carol (Cate Blanchett) and the department-store salesgirl she pursues an affair with, Therese (Rooney Mara) — so hemmed in by 1950s convention you can practically see the boxes that surround them. That also means you can feel the bravery in their electric moments of veiled flirtation: a look that lasts a second too long, a grin that fights its way across their faces. A spur-of-the-moment road trip gives them the freedom to explore their desire, playing house in the privacy of hotel rooms, until a vicious custody battle forces Carol back into the closet. That should be tragic end of the story, but Carol zigs where you expect it to zag: In an era where lesbian love is not just shunned but is actively punished, she and Therese have no reason to rekindle their romance but for the joy they find in each other’s company. The lingering last shot proves how good a reason that can be.
Edward II' (1991)
The movies of Derek Jarman, a major British filmmaker, ran the gamut from punk provocations (Jubilee, Sebastiane) to period-piece biopics (Caravaggio, Wittgenstein) to the avant-garde (Blue, which replicated the director’s gradual loss of eyesight as he was dying from an AIDS-related ailment). If we had to pick one film to serve as an introduction to this visionary’s body of work, however, we’d choose this radical retelling of Christopher Marlowe’s play about King Edward II (Steve Waddington) and his love for his confidant Piers Galveston (Andrew Tiernan). Mixing heritage-drama aspects with outré postmodern flourishes and a heightened sense of homoeroticism, the movie presents the relationship between the two men as a political act as much as a romantic one; Edward’s army is refashioned as ACT UP-style activists, and the behind-the-scene machinations of Edward’s wife, Isabella (longtime Jarman collaborator Tilda Swinton), double as a critique of Britain’s oppressive, historically strict anti-homosexual laws. Just when you think it could not get more anti-Masterpiece Theater delirious, Annie Lennox shows up to sing a Cole Porter song.
Made In Heaven
Revolving around the personal hurdles of Tara Khanna played by Sobhita Dhulipala and Karan Mehra played by Arjun Mathur - a Delhi-based wedding planner duo, ‘Made In Heaven’ is by far one of the most queer-friendly and women empowering Indian TV shows to hit a streaming site. It touches on the topic of homosexuality with skilful subtlety and highlights the struggles and prejudices that the community faces on a regular basis. The intimate scenes between actor Arjun Mathur and Vikrant Massey are approached with great sensitivity and care.
Queer Eye
Now in its fifth season, starring the fab five - Antoni Porowski (a food and wine expert), Tan France (fashion expert), Karamo Brown (culture expert), Bobby Berk (design expert) and Jonathan Van Ness (grooming expert), this series follows the stars as they travel around the United States and help people transform into their best selves. The more you watch, the more you will fall in love with this motley crew of real-life queer characters. Make sure you have tissues by your side while watching it.
How To Get Away With Murder
This show stars Academy, Emmy and Tony awards winner, Viola Davis as Annalise Keating, a bisexual criminal defence attorney and professor of law, in the lead role. The show is filled with amazing twists and sub-plots but the best part about this show is the strong representation of gay characters, especially fan-favourite, Connor Walsh played by Jack Falahee -- an openly gay law student in a relationship with Oliver Hampton, played by Conrad Ricamora, who is also gay in real life. Their chemistry in the show will give you major couple goals. The show also deals with the thorny association of homosexuality with HIV but in a heartwarmingly real manner. In addition to the above three, there are a number of other key characters in the series who are either homosexual or exploring their sexuality.
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga
In this movie, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja portrays the struggles of a lesbian girl living in a small town in Punjab. This movie came as a breakthrough development in Indian cinema. She dreams of becoming a bride one day, even though her idea of love is not something anyone in her family or circle can understand. As the plot unveils, we witness her journey of coming out as a lesbian to her conservative family.
- Meyhar Nayar