Finally. Finally finally finally. Indian courts yesterday ruled that gay sex is no longer illegal in India, stating that “The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognizing a role in society for everyone.”

Thankfully, in this new age of Bollywood where fimmakers are actually veering away from formulaic masalas, some films did have gay characters and addressed some issues pertaining to the gay community, some better than others. Here’s a look at some of those films that made an impact:

• Honeymoon Travels, Ptd. Ltd (2007)– A light film with some heavy themes. One of them was of an gay non-resident Indian who married an Indian girl he met online. Another newlywed couple start to face problems when the husband discovers that he may be gay. The reason why the film was important is because it doesn’t portray the two gay characters as cross dressers (which is Bollywood’s default definition of homosexuality). The men are perfectly normal, and are gay. It’s not overly dramatic, it’s actually very relatable. Hats off to the director!
• Fashion (2008)– The film was another from Madhur Bhandarkar, who is famous for his films with strong female leads. The film was mainstream, thanks to the strong backing of Ronnie Screwvala (the producer), and the lead actor Priyanka Chopra, but still touched on themes that were seldom addressed in films before. One of them was homosexuality. Some men were openly gay, while another openly gay established fashion designer asked a female friend to marry him because of pressure from his mother. She does, knowing full well that he is gay. The film did a great job handling the subject because it wasn’t demeaning and it was a realistic portrayal of gay men needing to marry to appease their family.
• My Brother… Nikhil (2005)– This film came out years before any of these others. I would credit it with opening the gates for homosexuality in Bollywood. The film wasn’t like the others– it was serious, and it was a tear-jerker. Also, the main character, unlike the other films, was actually gay. The protagonist, played wonderfully by Sanjay Suri, was diagnosed with HIV. The film doesn’t show any love scenes between the two men, but it does show a type of intimacy that was never before shown between two men in Bollywood. The movie was produced by one of the most powerful production companies in India, Yash Raj Films, but the promos never touched on the gay relationship, just on the AIDS theme.
• Dostana (2008)–I saved this movie for last because it is getting all the hype when it comes to homosexuality in Bollywood. (The New York Times even referred to it in its article about the court case today.) The reason why this film is a big deal is because it is produced by Karan Johar, and stars three A-list actors. Personally, I found some of the story ridiculous (like Priyanka Chopra’s wardrobe, or why Bobby Deol was even in that film). The two leading men (Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham) pretend to be gay so they can live in an apartment with a girl who has an overprotective aunt. It was a masala flick that was a bit different, but still did have all the songs and ridiculous wardrobe choices and overacting. Although the actors pretend to be gay, homosexuality isn’t looked down upon, and a doting mother even accepts her son and his son-in-law. I wouldn’t say that the film was revolutionary for gay rights, but it seemed to make it OK to be gay, which was definitely needed. I just wished that the  characters would have actually been gay.

I have left out Straight because the film failed and didn’t really seem to make sense, but it’s worth a mention because the leading character (Viinay Pathak) thinks he might be gay. It wasn’t that revolutionary, or even that good. I didn’t include Fire because it wasn’t really a Bollywood film and was made way before the period of Bollywood I’m referring to, although it was fantastic. Movies like Girlfriend wasn’t included either because it was all skin and no depth.

Obviously, Bollywood has a long way to go. I’m hoping that Bollywood moves on from only showing cross dressers or gay characters included in the script just for comic relief. Hopefully this progressive movement by the Delhi Court ushers in an even more progressive movement from Bollywood.