In
this
month
of
Pride,
people
talk
about
the
LGBTQ
community
and
the
struggle
they
faced
to
get
an
identity
in
society.
After
the
decriminalization
of
Section
377,
the
people
from
the
LGBTQ
community
are
now
feeling
free
to
open
up
about
themselves
and
can
get
married
to
the
love
of
their
life.
However,
looks
like
representation
of
the
community
is
not
yet
changed
on
Indian
television.
Recently,
Star
Pravah
show
Phulala
Sugandha
Maticha
showed
a
queer
character
in
the
show.
In
the
episode,
other
characters
Chandrakala
and
Daulatrao
Jamkhedkar
played
by
Aditi
Deshpande
and
Prashant
Choudappa
can
be
seen
teasing
the
queer
character.
They
pass
remarks
on
his
mannerism
and
addressed
him
as
gulabjaam
(sweet)
and
chakram
(mad)
as
well.
Well,
the
misrepresentation
of
a
queer
individual
and
homophobic
slur
in
Phulala
Sugandha
Maticha
didn't
go
down
well
with
the
members
of
the
LGBTQIA+
community.
They
expressed
their
grievances
with
Indian
Broadcasting
Foundation
(IBF)
and
filed
a
complaint
against
the
makers
of
the
show.
The
makers
of
the
Star
Pravah
show
have
not
yet
responded
to
the
complaint.
Talking
about
the
show,
Phulala
Sugandha
Maticha
is
the
remake
of
the
popular
Hindi
show
Diya
Aur
Baati
Hum.
It
stars
Harshad
Atkari
and
Samruddhi
Kelkar
in
the
lead
roles,
while
Aishwarya
Shete,
Aditi
Deshpande,
Prashant
Choudappa,
Tushar
Sali,
Amogh
Chandan,
Purva
Phadake,
Usha
Naik
and
others
in
pivotal
roles.