Bombay Talkies Review - Naveen Heragu

Naveen Heragu

5-16-15

Bombay Talkies Review

            Bombay Talkies is a collection of 4 short films which was developed in 2013 to celebrate the 100^th year of Indian cinema. Each of the four films was directed by a different director and used different actors. I will be focusing on the first of the four films, titled “Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh,” and directed by Karan Johar.

            Karan Johar interestingly chooses to once again present the touchy topic of homosexuality in his short film, in a much different manner however, than he had previously done in his comedic film “Dostaana”. Upon viewing the two films, one can clearly see the growth of Karan Johar as a director in his ability to portray more serious subject matter in a though provoking manner to his audience. However, the two films both have similarities in their failings to properly present homosexuality to the Indian audience with realism and free of stereotypes. Overall, I feel that although “Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh” was a massive step forward in terms of the depiction of homosexuality in Indian cinema, it still had many failings which kept it from achieving any real change in the plight of Indian homosexuals.

            One major improvement in the portrayal of homosexuality came through the character of Dev in Bombay Talkies. Dev is portrayed as a calm, focused, and overall normal husband and citizen. There is nothing out of the ordinary about his character when we first see him in the film. It is only through Avinash’s various tests of Dev that we even start to suspect that he is gay. This overt normalness of Dev’s character is a huge leap forward in terms of portraying and understanding homosexuality in India. This is because it showed that sexuality is just one aspect of a person’s character. It hopefully helped the audience see that the stereotypes of gay men being brash, loud, effeminate and inappropriate are completely false. Dev’s character is a successful news reporter, who is wealthy, has a deep voice, is married to a beautiful woman. He is basically all the things any heterosexual man would want to be. Unlike in Dostaana where the gay characters are portrayed in a highly stereotypic fashion, being aggressive and openly sexual towards other men, and, worst of all in the eyes of the Indian heterosexual audience, effeminate, the character of Dev in Bombay Talkies shows that gay men are just like heterosexual men, other than in their sexual preferences. Hopefully, through the character of Dev, this film helped break down some of the stereotypes associated with homosexual men among the Indian audience and in doing so helped generate some empathy from heterosexual viewers. In order to empathize with another’s plight, one must be able to relate to him/her. Through the construction and portrayal of Dev’s character in the film, Karan Johar helped breakdown some of the barriers between straight and gay men in India and hopefully helped generate some compassion within the audience.

            Although Karan Johar did many positive things for Indian gays through this film, he also, again as in Dostaana, included many stereotypes and unrealistic behaviors mistakenly associated with gays, through his portrayal of the character of Avinash. Avinash, other than the fact that he is not feminine in his behavior, embodies many of the stereotypes and many of the fears Indian men and women have about gay individuals. For example, somehow, Avinash, within 30 minutes of meeting Dev, knows he is gay. That makes no sense. There is no way someone could have detected that within a short span of time. And what is worse is that Avinash immediately starts on a path to confirm and basically out Dev. After barely getting to know Dev and having only the slightest inkling that he may be gay, Avinash feels him up and kisses him in front of all his colleagues. First of all, there is no workplace in India where you can show up and caress the neck of the man you want in public - whether you are a man or a woman. That is not the way it is done in Indian culture. Second, the aforementioned behaviors of Avinash are basically fuel for the fire of hatred against gays which burns in many Indian’s hearts. It promotes the irrational fear that gay men are destroying Indian culture by being openly sexual with other men. And, Avinash also introduces the idea that certain gay men are just ruining other previously normal men’s lives. The fact that he basically stalks a married man after barely coming to know him and breaks up his marriage without a second thought creates a horrible image of homosexual people amongst the viewers of this film. It is quite confusing why Karan Johar, on one hand, creates the stable, normal character of Dev and, on the other hand, introduces the hot headed, destructive, and careless character of Avinash as a completely different representation of homosexuality. All in all, although Karan Johar makes improvements in his portrayal of homosexuality in Bombay Talkies in comparison to Dostaana, the positives of Dev are counterbalanced and possibly even outweighed by the negative qualities and portrayal of gays associated with Avinash.