We asked queer digital creators Pranat Srivastava and Suraj Namboodiri about which queer on-screen queer characters they relate to and here's what they had to say!
We've seen everything from our teenage lives to our love lives mirror on the big screen
through characters we’ve grown up watching. Which made us wonder how difficult it must’ve been for a person from the queer community to find anything relatable at a time where daily content really wasn’t that inclusive of anything. Thankfully, over the last few years, mainstream TV shows and movies have astarted being inclusive of queer characters, even though they have a long way to go. It’s easier to come across queer characters who have not only had the same experiences but can also help people from the community understand their stories better.
Here's what Suraj Namboodiri and Pranat Srivastava had to say!
Suraj Namboodiri
“Kareena from K3G has been one of the first characters who inspired me and probably more queer folks to be ourselves with her flamboyant energy, even though the character she played wasn’t queer. Fawad Khan’s character, Rahul Kapoor in Kapoor & Sons was one of the most well written characters I’ve come across and the movie touched my heart and gave me hope of
acceptance. Very recently, Raj Kumar played Shardul Thakur, a masc gay policeman
in Badhaai Do. The idea of masculinity and how it’s perceived, most importantly how society finds it difficult to accept us with our own individuality, sparks a lot of conversation as his character is playing a cop and we haven’t seen many characters and stories written with gay characters in the not obvious setting like police, army, navy, gym instructors, bodybuilders and athletes. I suppose I am the first openly gay fitness coach in India and it’s difficult to navigate that in a “masc” driven industry. And making a name for ourselves, for our work rather than just our sexuality and feminine traits or mannerisms gets harder.”
Pranat Srivastava
My favorite queer character was the warlock Magnus Bane from Mortal Instruments (movie, tv show and book series). What was so different about him was the fact that his entire personality wasn’t based on being gay, something that happens usually with gay characters. He was so much more- a fighter, a wizard, a friend and an advisor.
This article was a part of Social Kechup's May'2023 edition!
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