At the edge of the circle

Is Love Enough? Sir (2018)
There is a reason why the Tillotama Shome-starrer tops the list. The film opens with the life of Ratna (portrayed by Shome), a maid who has been employed by Ashwin and his girlfriend Sabina. Amidst the privileged life of her employers, Ratna struggles to sustain her own. Through some awkward glances, it is seen that Ashwin eventually falls for Ratna. By taking love as the classic class-breaker, the director, Rohena Gera, questions the capitalist system created by society. What is most beautiful is Ashwin’s treatment of Ratna. The relationship is neither forced, nor one-sided. He respects her like every being must be respected and pushes her to pursue her dreams. The film does not provide the audience with the answers to whether the relationship will reach its ultimate, presumed end — marriage. It changes the entire focus of the viewers by not letting them have that question in their minds and reimposes the idea that if love isn’t yet, then it must eventually be enough.

Chameli (2004)
The Indian cinema industry has been continuously obsessed with the unexplored lives of prostitutes. It is often questioned that the industry that is so focussed on glamorising the lives of women working in meagre conditions, what has it ever done to improve their condition. The answer often lies in a single word — nothing. The film, directed by Sudhir Mishra with Kareena Kapoor Khan as Chameli, is one of the initial takes on a modern prostitute. Khan flawlessly adds value to her character by allowing Aman Kapoor (Rahul Bose) into her life. Aman, who is undergoing a difficult time, easily gives in to Chameli’s advances. The narrative of the film becomes a medium of inner change for Aman, who seeks reflection and introspection in Chameli.

Fire (1996)
One of the most scandalous films of its time, Deepa Mehta’s Fire shows an unacceptable lesbian relationship in an Indian household. The film is loosely based on Ismat Chughtai’s ‘Lihaaf’. It is one of the first mainstream Bollywood films to explicitly show homosexual relations. Not just social, it also violated religious sentiments as it used ‘Radha’ and ‘Sita’ as the names of the protagonists. In the weeks following its release, the film was called ‘explosive’, ‘gutsy’ and ‘pathbreaking’.

Article 15 (2019)
The title of the film was based on a constitutional article. It offers equality and condemns any discrimination based on caste. However, the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer did not receive much acclaim from the cinema critics. It was often called an inappropriate representation of the marginalised community, the film was one of the first mainstream movies to talk about a much present but much more hushed topic in the Indian subcontinent, caste. Even the protagonist of the film, who is a renowned mainstream actor, was questioned for his position in the film. Critics suggested that director Anubhav Sinha could have given a chance to actors belonging to the lower castes in the industry rather than taking an upper-caste individual and presenting him as the saviour for all. The cinematic piece worked as a form of open dialogue and served as a topic of discussion in the mainstream discourse for much longer after its release.

Margarita with a Straw (2014)
Films on marginalised communities can not be closed without discussion of the cinema that offer an insight into the lives of the disabled. Our society still fails to accept the disabled with open arms and even worse, it still does not provide them with spaces that help them ease their pain. Starring Kalki Koechlin as a teenager with cerebral palsy, Margarita with a Straw is a film directed by Shonali Bose. The film talks further about her complex relationship with a blind girl. It deals with the challenging concepts of sexuality, inclusion, self-love and self-acceptance. The film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival where it received a standing ovation.