Once India’s Supreme Court ruled gay sex as no longer a criminal offence in 2018, it didn’t take long for Bollywood to release a series of movies that focus on same-sex relationships. India’s first ever lesbian love story — “Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga” (How I Felt When I Saw That Girl) released in 2019 — champions an unapologetic “love is love” message that was a hit with critics, movie-goers, and members of the queer community alike. That said, despite the sudden increase of LGBTQ representation in Indian media (which is very much a positive), there’s still progress to be made. LGBTQ experiences still haven’t been explored from the queer gaze and need to embrace subtly over preachiness in order to tell authentic stories of queer sexuality, critics and academics say. Since the release of “Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga”, numerous other LGBTQ-focused rom-coms have since hit the big screen. For example, 2021’s “Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui” (Chandigarh Does Romance) is Bollywood’s first ever transgender film. It tells the story of Maanvi Brar, a cis-passing transgender woman, who falls in love with Manu, a cis-male. Manu doesn’t initially realise that Maanvi’s transgender, and once he finally finds out, he’s disgusted. Will Manu overcome his bias and follow his heart? This film is as funny as it is moving, and helped push trans acceptance into the mainstream.