Cinema of courage

Lesbian love When Kiran met Karen has been in the news for its bold theme. An Indian American film by Manan Singh Katohora is having a tough time in finding a distributor for India. Here's a look at some of the other films that explored the theme of queer love and dared to brave the media and cultural police in India.

Rare chemistry: Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das' electric performances made Deepa Mehta's Fire a film rarely seen in Bollywood. The story of two daughter-in-laws falling in love with each other made a scathing comment on male arrogance and complacency. The film was met with violent protest across India.

Masala disaster: Well, Karan Razdan's Girlfriend doesn't really deserve the badge of courage for its warped portrayal of a woman's possessive love for her female friend and roomate. The film was talked about for an explicit love sequence between its two female leads, Isha Koppikar and Amrita Arora.

Brave indeed: Director Onir's debut film My Brother Nikhil turned out to be an intense and sensitive portrayal of a gay man battling AIDS. Sanjay Suri did full justice to his character as Nikhil.

Not a straight film: Mahesh Dattani's debut film Mango Souffle did manage to impress, but was aimed at very niche audience.

Early beginnings: Jabbar Patel's Subah starring the legendary Smita Patil and Girish Karnad was one of the earlier films to have explored the issue of lesbian love.