Straight actors who excelled in playing LGBTQIA characters

Some argue that LGBTQ roles should be reserved for queer actors, while others claim that genuine actors should be able to play any character. Over the years, only a few critically acclaimed films in Tollywood have seen some rare sensitive approach and breaking of gender stereotype which has made these films on LGBTQIA relationships special. Here’s an elite list of straight actors who has delivered stellar performances as LGBTQIA characters. Read on…

Subrata Sen’s film ‘Nil Nirjone’ (2003) shed light on a nuanced understanding of non-heterosexual relationships. The bold approach while showing a lesbian relationship between the characters played by Raima Sen and Mou Sultana has made this film a milestone in Bengali contemporary cinema. Also starring Moon Moon Sen, June Maliah, Rajatava Dutta, ‘Nil Nirjane’ happens to be the first digitally made Indian film.

The National Award-winning film ‘Nagarkirtan’, directed by Kaushik Ganguly, saw Riddhi Sen as a transwoman and Ritwik Chakraborty as the love interest. With its sensitive take on queer relationships and the sordid reality of transphobia the film in an eye-opener. Riddhi Sen as Puti gives a performance that spells out how richly he deserved the National Award for his performance, switching between and among his multi-layered role smoothly.

In ‘Samantaral’ (2017), Parambrata Chattopadhyay took everyone by surprise with his portrayal of an intersex man oppressed by the family and having to hide his gender identity. Riddhi Sen, who played nephew to Parambrata, tries to break the mystery around Parambrata’s character, a supposedly mentally ill uncle, sets him off on a journey of self-exploration.

Agnidev Chatterjee’s ‘Teen Kanya’ deals with the gamut of emotions that a woman goes through and in the process, explores the various facets of an individual and the mercury level showed no signs of dipping as Rituparna played a lesbian character opposite Unnati Davara. Her making-out scene with Unnati and the lip-lock took the temperature a notch higher. But Teen Kanya is not just about sex and lip-locks! At the end of the day, there’s a strong story. The boldness lies in the concept. It’s about woman power.

‘Samo – The Equals’ was Chandreyee’s directorial debut and while playing a LGBTQIA character in the film she even sparked rumours about her sexual preferences. However, Chandreyee once clarified saying, “This film is about couples who go through various kinds of relationships (man-man and woman-woman)... it’s also about their sexual preferences and I have treated all sexual preferences equally. The emotions in a man-woman and a man-man or a woman-woman relationship are the same. It’s no different in any way.”