Bombay Talkies Film Analysis

Kapil Kanagal

COMPLIT 247

Bombay Talkies Film Analysis

19 May 2015

The Plight of the Homosexual Community in Indian Culture

Bombay Talkies consists of four separate but intertwined short films. By having a different director for each short film, each one seeks to examine a different topic and engages in a different style of presenting the thematic elements of the film. Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh, the first film presented in the movie, explores the topic of homosexuality and its impact on heterosexual relationships. It also explores how homosexuality can impact family life and people on an individual level as well. Star, addresses the life of an unemployed father that finally finds success after making it into a Bollywood film. In the film, the actor’s father appears as a spirit to encourage him to persevere through the failures. Sheila Ki Jawaani addresses the traditional gender roles in conservative Indian society and seeks to challenge them. Murabba tells the story of a man from Allahabad, who travels to Bombay to meet Amitabh Bachchan with gifts to give to the star, while also trying to meet Amitabh to fulfill his father’s dying wish. In this paper, I will address the topic of homosexuality and compare and contrast how Dostana addresses homosexuality with how Bombay Talkies addresses homosexuality.

            In regards to how Dostana addresses homosexuality, it is apparent that the film glamorizes and sexualizes homosexuality. The film is a comedy, so accordingly, it presents homosexuals in a stereotypical manner to critique society’s representation of homosexuality. Additionally, Dostana addresses homosexuality in a more jocular manner than Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh does. By doing so, Dostana fails to truly address the struggles and plight of the homosexual community in India. Though Sam and his mother originally struggle to reconcile regarding Sam’s homosexuality, she ultimately comes around and supports her son regardless of his sexual orientation. In India, which is much more conservative than the United States, this reconciliation often fails to occur. Thus, this comedic portrayal inevitably fails to communicate the real struggle homosexuals in India face.

            Contrastingly, Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh addresses the issue of homosexuality in a more serious manner. In the opening scene, we see Avinash toiling through a fit of rage and sadness. We soon see the stark contrast of this behavior from his normal, happy, jovial self, accentuating the passion and emotion surrounding the plight of homosexuals in India. It is later revealed that Avinash’s father used to beat him, simply because Avinash was homosexual. Furthermore, a beating Avinash receives from Gayatri’s husband Dev is what triggers these memories. This scene is one of the most powerful in the entirety of Bombay Talkies, and its role cannot be understated. It displays the raw emotion and struggle those in the homosexual community face when coming to terms with their sexuality. By displaying this raw emotion and strife within Avinash’s family, Bombay Talkies is able to get viewers to commiserate with Avinash’s sadness and relate to the struggle he is facing.

            The beatings and struggles Avinash faces in Bombay Talkies more accurately represent the plight of the homosexual community in India, than Dostana does. By addressing the marginalization of the homosexual community in a more serious manner, Bombay Talkies is able to more powerfully depict the filial strife homosexuals in India face, through Avinash’s relationship with both his father and Dev. Ultimately, we see Avinash sitting on his bed, upset in the final scene of this short film. By ending Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh in this way, director Karan Johar is able to fully encapsulate the struggle Indian homosexuals face in the status quo.