SOUTH ASIANS ASSEMBLE

E.g: Best Bollywood movie of all time!

“Your friendship is more valuable than this life.” 

RRR (2022) dir. S. S. Rajamouli

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

Not salsa, not flamenco my brother. Do you know naatu?

ఆర్.ఆర్.ఆర్ (RRR) రౌద్రం రణం రుధిరం, ఎస్ ఎస్ రాజమౌళి దర్శకత్వం వహించారు

Queerness in Indian Media

↳Film: RRR (2022, Telugu), dir. S.S. RAJAMOULI

RRR is a historical fantasy action drama that follows Bheem (NTR Jr), a Gond warrior who is in search of a Gond girl who was taken away from their home, and Ram (Ram Charan), the British Army officer assigned to catch him. Ram and Bheem meet under false identities and quickly grow closer, but everything is thrown into chaos once the truth is revealed and Ram is forced to choose between his ambitions and his attachment to Bheem.

Long before any white person had ever heard of RRR, queer Indians were cautiously optimistic that there would be something for us in this movie. There was the song Dosti, which felt more romantic than the average song about friendship; Bheem's intense declaration toward Ram in the trailer; Rajamouli explaining that there is no boy-girl romantic song (a staple of masala Indian cinema in any language) because "the romance angle is between these two guys only...bromance...they are the heroes, they are the hero and heroine, and they are the hero and villain"; the lead actors repeatedly questioning interviewers who referred to Jenny and Seetha as Bheem and Ram's love interests; and the writer, V. Vijayendra Prasad, being a huge fan of Salim-Javed movies, particularly Sholay, whose homosocial pairing has been read as queer by queer Indians for decades.

The movie itself gave us more than we could have hoped for from a project made on such a huge scale. Ram and Bheem mimic many of the "hero and heroine" pairings in so many masala movies, doing everything from the "slow-mo staring" for the first meeting, to getting a whole montage song for the progression of their bond, to dressing each other up, to dancing together at a party, to carrying each other, to rescuing each other.

The final rescue scene is perhaps the most telling, as it twists a well-known myth from the Ramayana by putting Ram and Bheem in the position of heroine and hero. It is not Hanuman who tells Rama where to find Sita in Lanka, but instead Seetha who tells Bheem where to find Ram. Bheem, upon finding him, promises to get him out 'even if [he has] to burn this Lanka down to do it'--then promptly carries him on his shoulders the way Hanuman carried Rama, to do away with any suspicions from homophobic audiences.

Those homophobic audiences still made their complaints--a glance at the oldest comments on any clip or behind the scenes video for RRR will make that clear--but they were drowned out by the many fans of the movie. Ultimately, like with any coded movie, the interpretation is up to the individual, but it is undeniable that a number of queer Indians felt that there was a romantic bond between Ram and Bheem. To dismiss that would do a disservice to the many queer people who have, are, and always will work quietly behind the scenes to write our stories, even if they can never say so directly.

PRABHAS & PRITHVIRAJ SUKUMARAN in SALAAR: PART 1 - CEASEFIRE (2023)

man be having small waist for what?? for other men to grab it? whore🙄🙄

you know what I miss rn? The niche desi fandoms that were hyperactive for a while and slowly fizzled out. So many friendships were born out of these fandoms. There three that were the most impactful out of these for me. So RIP Bahubali Fandom, RRR Fandom and Ponniyin Selvan Fandom. Also are y'all still sneaking out here?

deva’s mother: my son is an angel

deva: *kills men*

deva’s mother: he won’t hurt a fly

deva: *kills more men*

varadha: *appears*

deva’s mother: YOU ARE WHY MY SON BECAME A DEVIL—

Ammadi

Hi Nanna (2023) dir. Shouryuv

I made some RRR memes but so far my daily recommendation to people in my life to watch this movie hasn't been followed so I shall post them here

At some point I feel like either varadha or deva is going to die. imagine if it ends just like Nandini and Adita Karikalan in PS-II where nandini just screams to hold adita karikalan's body just one last time again while she was being dragged away?? What if Varadha dies by the hands of his own salaar, deva who is avenging the shouryaangas, his hands having the same blood of the one who he took a vow to be the hunted or the hunter just for him?

(I want someone to sketch this </3)

Deva and Varadha in SALAAR (2023)

just watched salaar and the one thing i have to say is that we collectively need to applaud indian cinema's ability to deliver homoerotisim to us under the guise of brothers whooo best friends whoooo we will die for eachother yayyyyy you touch him i kill you. like what?

anyways, loved the movie. the plotline confused me first but then it literally sucked me in. always love complex characters and relationships. and vardha and deva's relationship is literally like a fucking maze. the action and music never fails to astound me in south indian movies. it kinda gave me kgf vibes and then i learned that they are both made by the same director. we love you for what you have given to the indian society sir. can't wait to see what happens next.

(don't read further if you don't want spoilers!!!)

i can't wait to find out why they became enemies. in the scene where deva is playing cricket with the kids and they ask whether he has no other friends, he looks anguished in my opinion. it could be that he made some mistake and vardha is holding it against him. but can't wait for them to finally stand face to face and just the outpour of emotions and conflict. ugh i love movies so much.

also fanfiction writers please write more about these two together. either in a platonic way or romantic, doesn't matter to me.

:)