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QUEER MEETS BOLLYWOOD – AND THE NEW SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA Source:Star Observer A recent conversation during post-Midsumma pride march celebrations at a Melbourne pub soon veered, as they inevitably do in South Asian groups, to Bollywood – and particularly in a shocking new film. The movie in question, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan – loosely translated as Be Extra Careful of Marriage – is a new gay romantic comedy, starring Bollywood A-lister Ayushmann Khurrana (think, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling) wooing his male lover and parents. The pride celebrations and very visible queer culture in major Australian cities sometimes allow us to forget the fact that there are still communities where being out could lead to serious consequences. The Queer South Asian world – comprising immigrants from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Maldives – face serious challenges, from lack of societal acceptance, subcontinental rivalries, and national politics to language and class barriers. “It ...