Kaashvi Sheoran
Watching Kajol run to Rahul as the train is leaving to reciting dialogues like “Thappad se darr nahi lagta Sahab, pyar se lagta hai”, Bollywood has always been about the extra drama and flare. Our hearts have been won watching Love Aajkal’s climax and our hands fisted as we watch our favourite hero being beaten up in an overdone fight scene. This is Bollywood, yet amongst all of it, are films with realistic and relatable narratives that tug at our heartstrings, make us weep, and laugh till our stomachs hurt. These films demonstrate that love isn’t always simple, families fight, and the perfect child might be gay. That is precisely what Kapoor and Sons does.
The story focuses on a family of five with equal amounts of hate and love for one another. The film’s primary narrative is around the repercussions of the resentment that the family members have been harbouring covertly for each other. The family is reunited in Coonoor after their beloved grandfather has a heart attack and expresses his wish for a family photograph. Rahul and Arjun Kapoor, the sons of the family, played by Fawad Khan and Siddharth Malhotra, respectively, have returned home and are faced with more conflicts and turbulence than they could have imagined.
This film unravels each character’s long-held secrets and conflicts, and it is here that Rahul’s sexuality comes into play. He is stuck between tensions with his brother, his parents’ problematic marriage, and trying to be the perfect son. His mother looks for the right woman for him until it is revealed he is gay. Because his sexuality was disclosed at the end, it created a queer character whose sexuality did not define him or set him apart from the rest of us. We continue to love him and realise that his troubles and struggles are genuine and could happen to anybody in real life. His character is given layers of personality and emotions throughout the film, rather than just a narrative device. Fawad Khan’s portrayal of the character was authentic and free of LGBT+ clichés.
The scene where Rahul’s mother realises that her son is gay is significant in the film. His mother is portrayed as an open-minded and progressive woman throughout the film. Still, her response to learning that Rahul’s foreign girlfriend is, in reality, a boyfriend is hard to believe. She accuses him of lying, and she wonders what she did to deserve such a son. Her response to her ideal kid being gay is a true reflection of an old mentality that still exists in India.
Many homosexual men in South Asia are compelled to enact this all-too-real scenario. Gay men from India who live abroad find it simpler to avoid marriage concerns by making vague stories to relations with fictional women rather than outright admissions of homosexuality.
The character’s reaction to the circumstance is motivated by the prejudice and judgement that the LGBT+ community faces. Nonetheless, his character has been represented beautifully throughout the film, with a genuine personality and imperfections. This film conveys that the LGBT+ community is exactly like us; they have problems, but being queer does not imply flamboyance, libidinousness, or other traits.
This film did an excellent job of depicting a homosexual character realistically. Before Rahul can be classified based on his sexuality, he must first be represented as a person. This is an essential lesson for us to remember: we are humans first, homosexual or straight second. Hence, this film has had a significant influence and made an enormous impact on Indian society.
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