 "Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui")
A new subgenre has emerged in Hindi cinema—the Queer romantic comedy. At the moment, it is a slow trickle, with one or two films a year. It began with ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’ (2019), followed by ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ (2020), and then last year’s ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ (2021). The release of the trailer ‘Badhai Do’, starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar, earlier this week confirms that a new genre is in town. And the success that some of these films have tasted at the box office means they will be more.
This is a far cry from ‘Fire’ (1996), which had provoked violence and vandalism in different parts of India. Or, small-budget, indie projects like ‘Bomgay’ (1996)—arguably
