Shodh Sari-An International Multidisciplinary Journal
Vol-03, Issue-04 (Oct-Dec 2024)
An International scholarly/ academic journal, peer-reviewed/ refereed journal, ISSN : 2959-1376
Gender Dissidence in Contemporary Indian Films – The Role of LGBTQ Community in Claiming Space in Indian Cinemas
Verma, Ramendra Nath1
1Department Of Mass Communication (Ssmfe), Sharda University, Greater Noida, U.P.
Sabharwal, Dhruv2
2Associate Professor Department of Mass Communication (Ssmfe), Sharda University, Greater Noida, U.P.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59231/SARI7771
Subject: Film Studies / Gender Studies / Sociology
Page No: 383–391
Received: July 18, 2024
Accepted: Aug 30, 2024
Published: Oct 01, 2024
Thematic Classification: Gender Dissidence, Indian Cinema, LGBTQ+ Representation, Queer Cinema, Media and Society, Cultural Space Claiming.
Abstract
The outdated Section 377 has been repealed by the Indian Supreme Court, giving the marginalized LGBTQIA++ group more freedom and space. For a very long time, the LGBTQIA++ community has been fighting for its identity and rights. They have endured derision, mockery, and even denials of their very existence. This community has been shown with a great deal of contempt in the majority of Indian cinema. This essay thoroughly examines every facet of LGBTQIA++ representation in Indian cinema. But Indian cinema has turned a new page recently, with many of these films attempting to show these characters in a more positive light as well.
This essay will make an effort to locate such films that, in general, deal with issues of gender inequality, queer culture, and LGBTQ+ rights. This article would strive to conceptualize and reveal a utopian society through the use of queer film theory and a critical approach to feminist and trans-feminist film theory. The majority of the methodological instruments employed in this study are a component of the multisensorial approach to queer studies and visual culture in general.
Keywords: film theory, queer theory, queer studies, LGBTQ, transfeminism, and cinema
Impact statement
“Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, etc. “The outdated Section 377 has been repealed by the Indian Supreme Court, giving the marginalized LGBTQIA++ group more freedom and space. For a very long time, the LGBTQIA++ community has been fighting for its identity and rights. They have endured derision, mockery, and even denials of their very existence. This community has been shown with a great deal of contempt in the majority of Indian cinema. This research paper had strived to conceptualize and reveal a utopian society through the use of queer film theory and a critical approach to feminist and trans-feminist film theory. The goals encompass character analysis and narrative craft, encompassing the depiction of characters’ inner conflicts, the manner in which homophobia and its associated stigma are tackled, the extent of society acceptance, and the human rights viewpoints embedded therein.
About The Author
Dr. Dhruv Sabharwal, Professor, Department of Mass Communication, SSMFE, Sharda University, Greater Noida
Working as a Professor and School Coordinator of Sharda School of Media, Film, and Entertainment at Sharda University. Before joining Sharda University, had worked with Amity University Gwalior as an Associate Professor and Head of the Department. I had been associated with various private universities and media houses.
Specialization in advertising and Public Relations Research, Media Management, and Data Journalism. The area of research involves Covert Advertising. Ph.D. degree in Journalism &Mass Communication from Amity School of Communication, Amity University Gwalior, India.
Published various research papers in Scopus indexed journals, Web of Science, UGC Care listed Journals, and Chapters in various Books. Guest Editor of Scopus Indexed Journal -JCCC (2018-19) Attended and organised various national and international conferences. Done various Orientation Programmes/refreshers courses and FDPs. Apart from this, published a book titled “Fundamental of Advertising & Public Relations” in 2018. Also, a member of the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) Bhopal Chapter and a Google-certified fact checker.
Ramendra Nath Verma had been awarded Ph.D. in Mass Communication from Sharda University Greater Noida in 2024.He has been awarded the M.Phil. in Journalism and Mass Communication from BBAU Lucknow 2016. Dr. Verma started his career in the field of Journalism from “Top Story” newspaper being published from Noida in 2011.After obtaining his M.Phil. he got chance to work in renowned MNC Concentrix as PR-CRM. He started his career by teaching as a lecturer (Regular Faculty) in Sadhna Academy for Media Studies Noida and later on became Assistant Professor in Journalism and Mass Communication in Noida International University.
Dr. Verma has attended many national and international level conferences and seminars and has presented many research papers which has been published in Scopus and UGC Care Journals. He has also contributed many chapters for books and conference proceedings which has published by renowned publishers. Besides this being an active academician he has also attended many FDP’s, Refresher Course, Webinars, etc.
Cite this Article
APA 7th Style: Verma, R. N., & Sabharwal, D. (2024). Gender dissidence in contemporary Indian films – the role of LGBTQ community in claiming space in Indian cinemas. Shodh Sari-An International Multidisciplinary Journal, 3(04), 383–391. https://doi.org/10.59231/SARI7771
Chicago 17th Style: Verma, Ramendra Nath, and Dhruv Sabharwal. “Gender Dissidence in Contemporary Indian Films – The Role of LGBTQ Community in Claiming Space in Indian Cinemas.” Shodh Sari-An International Multidisciplinary Journal 3, no. 4 (2024): 383–391. https://doi.org/10.59231/SARI7771.
MLA 9th Style: Verma, Ramendra Nath, and Sabharwal, Dhruv. “Gender Dissidence in Contemporary Indian Films – The Role of LGBTQ Community in Claiming Space in Indian Cinemas.” Shodh Sari-An International Multidisciplinary Journal, vol. 3, no. 4, 2024, pp. 383-391, https://doi.org/10.59231/SARI7771.
Statements & Declarations
Review Method: This article underwent a double-blind peer-review process by independent experts in Film Studies and Gender Sociology to evaluate the critical discourse on queer representation and the cinematic evolution of gender dissidence in the Indian context.
Competing Interests: The author Ramendra Nath Verma and the author Dhruv Sabharwal declare that they have no financial, personal, or professional conflicts of interest that could have inappropriately influenced the research findings or the critical analysis presented in this study.
Funding: This research was conducted as part of the authors’ academic and research activities at Sharda University, Greater Noida. No specific external grants or commercial funding from film production houses were received for this work.
Data Availability: The analysis is based on a qualitative study of contemporary Indian cinematic texts and secondary literature regarding LGBTQ representation. All analyzed films and academic references are cited within the manuscript and are available through public and academic repositories.
License: Gender Dissidence in Contemporary Indian Films… © 2024 by Ramendra Nath Verma and Dhruv Sabharwal is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. This work is published by the International Council for Education Research and Training (ICERT).
Ethics Approval: As this study is a qualitative and critical analysis of public cinematic media and does not involve direct clinical experimentation on human participants, it was deemed exempt from formal ethical review by the Institutional Research Committee.
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