Top 5 Queer Bollywood Movies To Watch This Pride Month Like Aligarh, Taali, Badhai Do, ETC

This Pride Month, celebrate stories of love, identity, and acceptance with these powerful queer Bollywood films and series. From inspiring real-life journeys to heartwarming romances, these titles are a must-watch for every movie lover.

1. Aligarh

Aligarh is a 2016 biographical courtroom drama starring Manoj Bajpayee. This film is based on the real-life story of Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras. The story revolves around Dr. Siras, who is a renowned Marathi professor at Aligarh Muslim University. The story takes a turn when a bunch of reporters barge into his house without his consent and record him in a consensual sexual act with a male rickshaw puller. The video is shown on news channels and he faces a lot of humiliation, isolation, judgment, and discrimination from society. The ending of this film is something that will shock you and will make you question society, the people, the laws, everything. You can watch this movie on Amazon Prime Video.

2. Taali

Taali is a 2023 biographical web series starring Sushmita Sen. This series is based on the real-life experiences of a transgender activist named Gauri Sawant, who fought for the rights of the transgender community in India. The plot revolves around Ganesh, a young boy who feels out of place among others and finds himself unable to meet the expectations of society. Growing up, Ganesh is faced with rejection, discrimination, and difficulties as a result of being transgender. Gauri Sawant is the reason why we have transgender teachers, actors, judges, etc., and watching her journey in Taali will definitely inspire you. You can watch this series on JioHotstar.

3. Badhaai Do

Badhaai Do is a 2022 comedy-drama movie starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar. The story revolves around two characters, Shardul Thakur, who is a police officer and is gay, and Suman Singh, who is a physical education teacher and is a lesbian. This film is about how they are not able to address their sexuality in society, so they decide to be in a lavender marriage. After both the serious movies, this is a light-hearted film that will make you laugh. You can watch this movie on Netflix.

4. Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is a 2021 romantic comedy movie starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor. The story revolves around Manvinder Munjal, who is a typical Punjabi guy. He works as a fitness trainer and gym owner in Chandigarh. He meets a lovely Zumba trainer named Maanvi Brar and falls in love with her. His world changes when he gets to know that the girl with whom he was so in love is transgender. Because of his orthodox mentality, he cannot accept that he fell in love with someone who was once a guy. This film is also comic and romantic, yet addresses serious issues at the same time. You can watch this film on Netflix.

5. Badnaam Basti

Badnaam Basti is a 1971 Hindi drama directed by Prem Kapoor starring Nitin Sethi and Amar Kakkad. This is the first-ever Bollywood film to portray same-sex attraction. Even though the theme is very subtle, in those days people did not even talk about the queer community, so making a film about them was a big step. The story centers on two close male friends, Viplav and Prakash, who share a deep emotional bond, but their relationship becomes complicated when a woman named Bansari enters their lives. Thid film is available on youtube.

Today, Badnaam Basti is remembered as a pioneering film in the history of LGBTQ+ representation in Indian cinema and actually paved the way for films such as Aligarh, Badhaai Do, and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui.