Well, this is a two horse race. I’m not even gonna pretend that anything else is in the running. The cool thing is, these two films represent two different and equally valid ways of bringing queer content to the screen. And we get to pick which one is “gayest” (in the best possible way)!
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga
This movie is explicitly specifically about the experience of being gay in India, from childhood to adulthood. That’s the whole plot. And we get a love story in there, and a coming out story, and all these beautiful wonderful things. Just, SO GAY.
War
This movie is explicitly specifically NOT about being gay. It’s about action and fight scenes and spy versus spy and stuff. But at the same time, the chemistry between the two male leads is so vibrant and powerful that the audience is swept away with their emotions. Just, SO GAY.
So, which is your pick? The movie that builds a whole narrative around coming out and so on, or the movie that just has a lot of love scenes between two men without ever explicitly calling them “gay”?
dontcallitbollywood 
I’m going to argue for War and here’s why: you never seen Sonam and her girlfriend really interact in a romantic way on screen except for a few fleeting glimpses. The story doesn’t center their relationship. Instead it’s about the people around the couple coming to terms with their love and also with the hopes and dreams they themselves have that have been squashed by societal expectations. War is squarely about the romance. It centers the man love above all else. In the mid section when the narrative gets away from man love and focuses on the not-romance with Vaani, the movie sags like an undercooked souffle. Like ELKDTAL is about how societal expectations oppress and warp people, some of whom are gay, while War is a love story.
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So you are arguing that the essence of “gay” is in the internal story, rather than the external? Valid!
On Fri, Jan 3, 2020 at 4:47 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I complained about this in my review. They don’t even have a song! It also only veeery slightly touches on the things lesbians actually deal with in India, a lot of which is amplified sexual and domestic violence of the kind women in general deal with.
I’ll also vote Made in Heaven, because War otherwise obviously wins, but I feel bad about it because ELKDTAL is so earnest and also has lesbians, and I don’t want to be one of those people who never likes anything feminist because it’s not the perfect feminist thing. Made in Heaven for realsies needs some lesbians in it though.
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Zoya and Reema have done so many films about queer men, but the queer women tend to be just on the side like the awesome cousin in DDD. Maybe they are too close to it? Maybe they feel like if they told a Lesbian story, they wouldn’t be able to be objective about their work?
Anyway, Made in Heaven has so much space for a bride who is in love with her best friend, or a guest star who comes on to Sobhita, or ANYTHING. Should totally be there.
On Sat, Jan 4, 2020 at 1:35 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, since they’ve been so good I’m kind of surprised it hasn’t been done yet.
I guess they’re scared about it being too connected to them or something? A shame.
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They had that covertly lesbian girl in DDD. It was there for the folks who knew what to look for.
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Made in Heaven, which I just finished, was streamed in 2019, so I would vote for it as it combines both the explicit subject with the chemistry. If it is only between the two movies, well I also vote War.
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Oooooo, interesting! It’s got the inner love story, but also the consideration of the external effects. I think I vote Made in Heaven too, if we open it up to streaming.
On Fri, Jan 3, 2020 at 4:52 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I am happy for Sonam and Regina in ELKDTAL, but if I’m going “kiss…kiss…kiss” in my head whenever Tiger and Hrithik are in a shot together it’s hard not to pick them over Sonam and Regina. So, War it is by sheer bucketloads of hot chemistry.
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Poor Sonam and Regina! Taking on these risky roles, trying to make a statement, and the being effortlessly overshadowed by Hrithik and Tiger who weren’t even trying.
On Fri, Jan 3, 2020 at 5:27 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I…can’t believe…War…is gayer…than an actually gay movie.
Alisha said it perfectly though, I’m just here to cast my vote.
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This is turning into such a blow out, I may have to change it to “War versus Made in Heaven” just for there to be some competition.
On Fri, Jan 3, 2020 at 5:32 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I haven’t seen Made in Heaven, that vote I wouldn’t be able to contribute to.
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Well get on watching it! It’s amazing!
But also, this is why I am debating adding that poll, streaming stuff just doesn’t have the reach of films. Wouldn’t really be fair if most people couldn’t vote.
On Fri, Jan 3, 2020 at 6:01 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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As I mentioned yesterday I still haven’t seen War but sounds like it’s pretty gay. This is a tough one…Ek Ladki is so so important as a mainstream film with mainstream actors and a gay story. So in support of the LGBTQ+ community (including me!) I will say Ek Ladki and buck the trend on principle. Because being gay to me isn’t about the heat factor…it’s about the isolation that happens when it first occurs to you…the rejection you may feel from your community and family. In fact, gonna watch it again!
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Thank goodness, a lone voice in the wilderness championing ELKDTAL!!!
On Fri, Jan 3, 2020 at 10:18 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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The most poignant scenes in ELKDTAL were when young Sonam falls in love with her friend and draws brides and then her dreams are crushed and her best friend is beaten by her brother. That was so painful to watch. Also, at the end during the play when the camera focuses on the old man and the young girl and you know he’s been through so much and she’s finally understanding the feelings she’s having.
What made War gay to me wasn’t just the sexual chemistry, it was the love story. The men love each other. It’s canon. Literally 10 minutes into the film someone tells Tiger, “You love him.” And the love is treated completely sincerely. It’s never a wink-nudge, it’s never sarcastic or joking. It’s so much better than how these things are handled in Hollywood films where it would be lampshaded and laughed about.
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I appreciate your take on this! I’m looking forward to seeing War.
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Qurbani has nothing but subtext, and as far as I’m aware, that is one of the beloved classics for gays in India. So even though I haven’t seen War, I can very well imagine it being „gayer“ than ELKDTAL
And that may even be on purpose – on the part of the ELKDTAL crew. They were clearly doing everything to NOT make it a gay movie. And I think that’s their biggest achievement. They didn’t make a movie for the gay community, or really about the gay community. They made a movie that SUPPORTS the gay community as best they could imagine. I happen to think that’s even better than making the gayest movie of all time.
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Oh you really should see War! It’s great.
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My votes would be for
1. Made in Heaven
An entire ecosystem of gay characters, all of different shadings – out, in, in denial, sleeping around, in relationships, in gay marriage, in heterosexual marriage. The most beautiful, heartwarming, satisfying, and frank but tasteful and lovingly shot gay lovemaking scene.
2. Sonu ki titu ke sweety
Like War, it’s in the acting and the camera work, but unlike War, it is supported by the backstory, a lifelong bond btwn our heroes, built from childhood. I really felt the love and commitment between them viscerally. And bonus for showing as comic relief an older male “couple” in the same boat. This movie more than any other makes you rethink binary notions of “is it a romance or a bromance” and allows for a more fluid idea of what love can be.
3. War
For all the reasons that everyone has started. Such gay popcorn entertainment!
4. Ek Ladki
If Sonam were a better actress, I would have emphasized with her plight more, and this might be #2. But instead, it was more a story about allies, family, and society, and the various ways that they deal with learning and accepting (or not accepting) that one of their own is gay. This is itself a laudable goal, and arguably more original than making it the story of the gay person themselves.
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Oooo, putting SKTKS above War! Controversial! I agree with your reasoning, it’s a far fuller relationship, and it is the central relationship of the film. I personally would still give the advantage to War on pure chemistry between the leads basis.
On Mon, Jan 20, 2020 at 9:57 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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