India’s queer expressions on-screen: The aftermath of the reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code

This article explores how a reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the emergence of identitarian discourses have variously effectuated the representation of queer characters in Bombay cinema. It offers close analysis of film texts, both prior to as well as after the reading down of Article 377, in order to map a larger network of change towards a neo-liberal inclusion of the ‘gay’ citizen subject. A study of representation of queer characters in these films points towards how the ‘queer’ becomes a discursive category, open to appropriation, and also shows how earlier traditions/tropes of representation are either reworked or subverted to fit into a globalized discourse of identity.