Our take
It’s refreshing to watch stories about queer people in the Global South unfold with this much joy and love and excitement. Many films and TV shows will have you believe that it’s all tragedy, and while the queer experience is certainly without its struggles, it seems unfair to hyperfocus on that aspect alone when there’s a lot of tenderness to go around. Rainbow Rishta finds the perfect balance between realism and romance, between strife and pride, in delivering the stories of its subjects. In doing so, it deepens our understanding of the global LGBTQ community.
The story
Rainbow Rishta is a romantic documentary series that follows LGBTQ+ stories about finding and celebrating love across India - whether it is dating as a transwoman, planning a one of its kind rainbow wedding, trying to rent a home as a young lesbian couple or figuring out a long term relationship as a gay couple.
The six-part docuseries follows the lives of young queer people, including a transwoman, a lesbian couple, and a drag queen, as they find and figure out love in current-day India.
The pride! The sheer, unapologetic pride they carry despite living in a country that has yet to recognize, much less tolerate, their union, is admirable. Lesbian couple Aneez and Sanam, for instance, refuse to hide their status from landlords and brokers, even though it makes house hunting ten times harder than if they pretended to just be friends and roommates. “Why should we hide? We deserve to be out too.” It’s this strong-willed dignity and self-love that makes the show both urgent and wholly watchable.
More of this wholesome slice of queer life, please!
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
