Hindi cinema has enlightened us with various tabooed themes over the decades be it premarital sex, teen pregnancy or the depiction of homosexuals. Such movies aren’t digested like the way a typical Bollywood masala entertainer is consumed by the Indian audience until they provide a dose of entertainment. While we have witnessed several stereotypical depictions of LGBTQIA+ community in Hindi films like Kal Ho Naa Ho, Mast Kalandar, and Dostana, Bollywood is surely progressing towards a realistic representation of it.

Madhuri Dixit’s recently-released film, Maja Ma, is the latest example.

Today we are celebrating eight films that dealt with LGBTQIA+ theme in Hindi cinema before Maja Ma.

1. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

Sonam Kapoor and Regina Cassandra played lesbians in Ek Ladki Ko…Image credits: Rediff

Released in 2019, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga featured Sonam Kapoor in lead role. Sonam played the role of Sweety Chaudhary, a lesbian who comes out of closet in her Punjabi family. Regina Cassandra was cast as Kuhu, her partner. It was quite a brave attempt to showcase the realistic image of LGBTQIA+ community.

2. Kapoor & Sons

Fawad Khan played gay in Kapoor & Sons. Image credits: DNA

Shakun Batra’s directorial venture, Kapoor & Sons, was another great attempt to normalise coming out of closet. Not only did the film dealt with dysfunctional equations in an urban household, it also focused on LGBTQIA+ theme through Fawad Khan’s gay character, Rahul Kapoor.

3. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar were gay couple in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan. Image credits: Bollywood Hungama

Ayushmann Khurrana, who has mostly chosen socially-relevant scripts on tabooed subjects, brought Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan in 2020, a film on homosexual love story. Panchayat star, Jitendra Kumar was cast as Aman Tripathi, a small-town man who comes out as a gay and convinces his family about his relation with his partner. Ayushmann played the role of Kartik Singh, the lover.

4. Badhaai Do

Bhumi Pednekar and Chum Darang were lesbian couple in Badhaai Do. Image credits: Rotten Tomatoes

While Badhaai Ho highlighted middle-aged couple becoming parents, the second installment of the franchise, Badhaai Do was all about LGBTQIA+ community. Starring Bhumi Pednekar and Rajkummar Rao, the 2022 film dealt with a story of two queers getting hitched in lavender marriage and how they struggle to be with their respective partners.

5. Dedh Ishqiya

Huma Qureshi played Madhuri Dixit’s companion-cum-lover in Dedh Ishqiya. Image credits: Khaleej Times

Before Maja Ma, Madhuri Dixit had played another LGBTQIA+ character in the 2014 film, Dedh Ishqiya, the sequel of Ishqiya. Madhuri as Begum Para was paired opposite Huma Qureshi in this queer love story. Huma was cast as her constant companion-cum-lover, Muniya.

6. Aligarh

Manoj Bajpayee played Ramachandra Siras, the homosexual professor in Aligarh. Image credits: The News Minute

Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao-starrer Aligarh aptly represented the real-life story of Ramachandra Siras, the homosexual professor in Aligarh Muslim University. Bajpayee’s acting as a suspended gay teacher who was caught having sex with a male rickshaw-puller was top-notch. Rao was cast as a journalist in the film who was sympathetic towards him.

7. Margarita With A Straw

Shonali Bose’s Margarita With A Straw dealt with a story of Laila Kapoor, the teenager who is diagnosed with cerebral palsy and falls in love with Khanum, the blind activist woman of Pakistani-Bangladeshi descent. While Kalki Koechlin played the role of Laila, Sayani Gupta was cast as Khanum.

8. Fire

Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das played lesbian couple in Fire. Image credits: Harvard Art Museum

Starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, Fire was way ahead of its time for portraying LGBTQIA+ community back in 1996. Loosely based on famous novelist, Ismat Chugtai’s story, Lihaaf, Fire is touted as the first Hindi film to showcase lesbian romance.

Apart from them, films like Sheer Qorma, My Brother Nikhil, and Bombay Talkies also dealt with LGBTQIA+ theme in Hindi cinema. Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf’s series, Mismatched is also on the list.