The cinematic rendering and the construction of narratives surrounding queer representations reproduced via Bollywood cinema wields considerable influence in moulding the collective imagination. As a dominant yet dynamic force, Bollywood reproductions are continually informed by the broader fluxes seen in social, legal, cultural and temporal changes. Albeit as an apparatus, it also retains its powerful agency, actively participating in the meaning-making processes. While the legal climate with regard to queer concerns has witnessed progressive changes, especially with the decriminalization of Section 377, significant inquiries still remain as to how the subjectivities and desires of queer women are depicted, represented and regulated in mainstream media and its subsequent metamorphosis across differing periods and contexts. The paper investigates two Bollywood films- Girlfriend (2004) and Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019) released in distinct socio-legal time periods, seeking to examine how queer women and their desires are visually articulated, framed and constructed. Using qualitative content analysis, the paper examines the discursive processes and institutional mechanisms by scrutinizing the narratives, character depictions, cultural tropes, dialogues and visuals in these films. While Girlfriend can be read as a pathologization of non-normative love, inciting moral panic in the process, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga negotiates with the politics of palatability/respectability while contending with contingent queer visibility. Drawing on Judith Butler’s theories of gender performativity and heteronormativity, the paper argues how queer love is either interpreted as- the ‘deviant other’ or is ‘conditionally accepted’ by assimilating desires within the normative structures of society.

Authors:
Lhamu Tshering Dukpa, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, India
Swati Akshaye Sachdeva, Sikkim University, India

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Lhamu Tshering Dukpa is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in India

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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