Bhai-Sexuals: A Step Back Into the Closet?

Parmesh sent me a piece in the Indian Express on the "bhai-sexual" in Hindi cinema (link). The piece talks about heroes who share great screen-chemistry with a male friend much more than with their lady love. Think Munna-Circuit and you get the idea. I agree that in films like Lage Raho Munnabhai, Sanjay Dutt's relationship with Vidya Balan pales in comparison to his relationship with Circuit. The article goes on to celebrate this, and also suggests that we are not yet ready to move beyond "friendship."

Same-sex desire, this critic argues, is not yet acceptable. Audiences won't take it. And stars won't risk it. "Male bonding in our movies has to be taken at face value. There cannot be any homoerotic tinge to it. No Bollywood hero will ever risk his reputation by acting as a homosexual. Actors are very concerned about their reputation. The life span of an actor is too short for such risks."

I wonder if it is critics who need to be under the scanner, not films. Critics play a key role in defining the boundaries of meanings - the outer limits of meaning making - and in articles like these, "friendship" becomes a nice and nostalgic trope to avoid addressing same-sex desire in Hindi cinema. Much like the stars, critics too have a shelf-life, and they too will not risk coming out and speaking more honestly about same-sex desire in mainstream cinema. Without neglecting bollywood's track record in creating brilliant "friendship" themed films, it should be possible to critique films like Kal Ho Na Ho for their confused, sterotypical, and unintelligent take on same-sex desire.