KATHMANDU

I was binge watching Amazon Prime's new show "Made in Heaven". The lead of the show Karan Mehra (played by Arjun Mathur) is a wedding planner who is a homosexual. The series was quite refreshing because the makers showed his sexual orientation in a natural and nuanced way and not normally how gay men are stereotypically represented.

The discourse of how the LGBTIQ community is represented in the media has always been a matter of concern. The media either act like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand by ignoring their existence or present an outlandish portrayal.

The gay men are either wearing shiny, glittery clothes or lusting over straight men. The lesbians wear shirt and trousers and apparently hate make-up. The bisexual people apparently don't exist for them and trans people are meant for comic relief.

Currently, Nepali cinema is in a transitional phase where filmmakers are making an effort to bring diverse stories. However, one thing it still needs to improve is the representation of LGBTIQ community.

Though we have seen progressive movies like "Highway" and "Soongava", and the recent web series "Singha Durbar" where characters from LGBTIQ community had significant roles, the majority of Nepali media still stigmatise homosexuality and are far behind a pragmatic representation.

The gay men in Nepali media are shown as hypersexual predators who always lay their eyes on straight men and crack double meaning jokes. Women are not the only one who suffer from the notions of toxic masculinity in the cinema. The gay men are treated like trash and made fun of to showcase the masculinity of heroes who are only attracted to women.

Jharana Thapa's "Ae Mero Hajur 2" used the same trope that has been practised for ages. Ajashra Dhungana played Sameer, brother of the woman protagonist in the movie. He is a gay man who always wears pink clothes. Though the makers have tried to incite empathy towards his character, the way he has been portrayed cannot be discounted.

Bishwas Bishwokarma, a character portrayed by Praween Khatiwada, was the press advisor to the Prime Minister on the show and his sexual orientation was not the only medium of describing him. He was treated like a normal human being who had a career, passion, and dedication, and happened to love someone of the same-sex.

We have reached a stage where cinema is evolving. Gone are those days when people used to enjoy drone shots and the actors dancing on Mustang and Tilicho. We now need movies that serve our appetite for watching meaningful contents.

LGBTIQ people are normal people who just have a different preference and it’s high time that media and society stop stereotyping them and create a platform where we can understand them better.